Accomplishing your professional goals requires great patience, tireless effort, and in-depth knowledge of your area of expertise. People try various different ways to be successful and put significant effort into gaining more experience and improving their earning potential.
With that said, if you are seeking a career as a project manager, acquiring PMP certification is essential for your growth. The certification can offer professionals a number of benefits and pave their way to international recognition and better career prospects.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of PMP aspirants are uncertain whether they should consider opting for the PMP certification. The reason these professionals hesitate from applying for the PMP exam is that they are not sure if it would be beneficial to their industry. In this article, we explain how you can determine whether the PMP certification is best for your industry.
The Role of a Project Manager
A project manager is responsible for handling countless tasks and responsibilities. They need to plan and manage the delivery of various projects to ensure their completion on time.
Therefore, it isn’t surprising that the role of a project manager is not limited to any specific industry. These professionals play a vital role in the organizational structure of various industries.
Regardless of which industry they are serving in, project managers have to plan, secure, lead, organize, and control the resources assigned to a project. Moreover, they have to utilize their leadership skills and motivate the team members to achieve specific goals so that the projects can be completed.
Why the PMP Certification Can Help All Industry Professionals
A project manager is an invaluable asset to almost every organization and industry. Every organization needs competent professionals to allocate resources, plan and schedule tasks, and supervise team members for the delivery of various projects.
The companies that utilize a project-based model require such talented professionals. While the position may be known by different names in different organizations, these professionals have to undertake similar tasks and responsibilities as a project manager.
The PMP certification prepares professionals for the skills required for that specific job role. The examination is industry-agnostic and does not even specify a favorable methodology for project management. This offers the professionals with the PMP certification a number of advantages in terms of applicability in businesses across various industries worldwide.
Software development is favored in the curriculum because it revolves around the agile methodology, but most of the components of the certification are business-oriented. This allows the certification to be applicable to every business, regardless of industry.
However, the curriculum for PMP is ubiquitous across all major industries, the way you apply project management principles may differ in various sectors. Even the terminologies used in the principles can vary from industry to industry.
For instance, in the financial and insurance sector, the term ‘risk’ strictly represents financial risk and there are specialized techniques to counter these risks in the curriculum. On the other hand, the definition of risk in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry is different. Risk in these industries may refer to the reliability of the end product and the dangers it could pose to potential patients.
Regardless, the PMP certification prepares experts from all industries to handle projects efficiently. As a result, you will never see a restriction on which industry professionals can seek PMP certification. In fact, the PMI organization offers guidance for professionals seeking PMP certifications across the following industries:
· Aerospace and defense
· Agile
· eBusiness
· Energy, Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical
· Ethics in Project Management
· Utility Industry
· Healthcare
· Human Resource Project Management
· Information Systems
· Financial Services Industry
· Global Diversity
· Global Sustainability
· Government
· Program Management Office
· Project Management Quality
· Project Risk Management
· Requirements Management
· Scheduling
· Change Management
· China Project Management
· Construction Industry
· Consulting
· Earned Value Management
· Service and Outsourcing
· Innovation and New Product Development
· International Development
· IT and Telecom
· Leadership in Project Management
· Learning, Education, and Development
· Legal Project Management
· Marketing and Sales
· New Practitioners
· Organizational Project Management
· Pharmaceutical
... and that's just to name a few!
PMP Salary by Industry
While there are several advantages of attaining the PMP certification, research has shown that the greatest advantage of the certification is a substantial increase in earnings. Acquiring an acclaimed international certification, such as PMP, will give you a considerable edge over your counterparts and help you earn a better salary.
In the 10th edition of the salary survey conducted by the PMI, the institute interviewed thousands of professionals ranging across 37 countries. They discovered that 70% of all survey participants reported an increase in salaries in the past 12 months.
Out of these respondents, as much as 26% of professionals reported an increase of 5% in their salaries over the past 12 months. On average, the average salary of a professional with PMP certification was 23% higher than the salaries of individuals without the certification.
According to the survey, the success of PMP certified project managers is not limited to a single industry as well. Industries across various sectors are always seeking competent project managers for the successful delivery of their solutions. Therefore, professionals from various industries can expect growth in their salary with this certification.
The following table enlists the salary increases across various industries. You can see further details regarding the survey here.
Summary
In conclusion, the PMP certification can validate the credibility of project managers and help them achieve professional growth. The course has the capacity to shape your career as a successful project manager. Regardless of which industry you belong to, the PMP certification is worth investing your time and effort into.