Getting started is in the process of globalization and evolution, each passing moment in today’s world. In such a scenario, IT firms and many other companies have come to prefer only certified and trained professionals for their team projects to lessen risk and maximize profit. Thus an individual aspiring for posts like project head, project manager, etc., can opt for CAPM certification. CAPM is the acronym for Certified Associate in Project Management. It is a certification process that is headed by Project Management Institute based in London. It is a part of the range of certifications they offer for the people working in project management besides others like PRINCE2, PMP, etc. This certification is opted for by candidates that are aiming for better job scopes and opportunities in project management fields irrespective of the years of experience they might have or have not gained.
Prerequisites required for appearing in the test- The qualifications that an applicant must have to appear for the test are again based on the experience he or she holds. An applicant with no experience at all must have a secondary degree like a high school diploma or equivalent along with twenty-three hours of project management education, while the experienced applicants need to possess a secondary degree along with 1500 hours of project management hours. Project management education generally refers to the credit hours of formal education on project management a candidate is required to obtain.
The test consists of 150 questions, out of which 15 questions are pretest questions. PMI allows a total duration of 3 hours for solving the paper.
Validity: – The certificate is valid for only five years, at the end of which the aspirant might have to take a retest in order to avail of a new certificate. There is an option for members to collect Professional development units for every 3 years in 15 numbers to regenerate the validity.
The 15 Professional development units are further subdivided into a Minimum of 9 education Professional development units and a Maximum of 6 giving back Professional development units.
Education PDUs are gained from seminars, webinars, and formal education and also from self-study. These are earned as one per hour.
Giving back PDUs are gained from service like experience, volunteering, etc.
These are gained after reporting to PMI about it. It is a process by which PMI gets a hold of the relevance of your certificate to this date. PMI has a separate portal for reporting of PDUs. The portal is called CCRS – Continuing Certifications Requirement System. The PDU based renewal is a three-year spanning term that applies all certifications managed by the PMI. The PDU earning, logging, and certification validation has been made easier by PMI via the CCR handbook. CCR handbook is an online available PDF consisting of 19 pages at maximum and comes in a small size of only 1MB, yet it does not fail to cater to any question that may arise in the mind of an aspiring candidate or a certified professional.
Renewal fee: – If the candidate chooses to renew his or her certificate, a charge of US Dollars 60 for members and US Dollars 150 for non-members is to be submitted to PMI for the renewal of certificate along with Professional development units.
This certificate guides the successful candidate through a mob to the topmost position without much hassle. In interviews, recruiters and interviewers prefer interviewees with this certification over other candidates. An overall personal development, along with features related to project management like risk management, profit maximization, etc., is the main focus field of the CAPM certification test.
Job profiles that can be availed easily after a certificate of CAPM range from marketing coordinators, social administrators, specialists to senior project managers. The cherry of the cake is that CAPM is not designed keeping in mind any specific firm or sector. It applies to all types of companies like planning, banking, software, IT firms both in the public and private sector. Topped with global acceptability, CAPM is a dream come true. A higher pay scale and better job options are just the starting steps in the career of a certified candidate. CAPM, valid for 5 years, opens doors to several new and improved opportunities effortlessly once cracked.
