From the website of a PMI “Registered Education Provider”:
According to recent research it is found that PMI’s PMP® certification adds 24.3% to the salary average.
This is given as sufficient justification for pursuing the certification. This certification comes from the Project Management Institute. Now the entire idea of consolidating general project management seems very nice to me, but perusing the PMI’s site I was unable to find any research validating the superiority of projects managed by certified project management professionals versus those led by managers sans certification or PMI sanctioned training.
It’s not that I think this education is without any value. Surely general project management principles could aid any project from start to finish. But it seems that everyone has bitten on the idea without any real validation. The only real sales pitch that any of the project management organizations seem to have is that getting certified increases your salary. The benefits of joining the institute are outlined on the website:
-Dedicated to best practices and results -Enthusiastic about quality, productivity and return on investment -Serious about your own professional and personal development -Committed to ethical business practices
Those are good reasons to join, I suppose. And I love that they mentioned that killer boardroom password, “best practices.” It’s… curious that none of these claims are backed by performance evidence though. Do PMPs lead projects with 10% average cost reductions? 50% fewer delays?
It appears that no one knows and likely no one really cares. As long as businesses value certifications for their own sake it pays for employees to seek certifications - bam! - positive feedback loop.