Project Management Professional (PMP) credential

I don't like Microsoft Project.
But I'm not dismissive of project management.

It's not an issue of "do the work and get things done." Organizations don't really function that way.

It's not necessary for someone to be PMP certified to be a good project manager, but when you're hiring you're more likely to get someone good if set minimum standards.

It's not necessary to have a college degree to be a good journalist, but when I was going through journalism resumes, I'm looking for college grads.

If I was looking for a project manager and found someone with experience and/or a degree in project management, I'd wonder why the person hadn't taken the logical step of getting the certification.

 

So are Project Managers today what Black Belts used to be when Six Sigma was The Thing?

 

Kind of.
PMP is a specific certification with the field of project management.

There are similar in that Six Sigma delas with processes and effectiveness. The difference is the PMBOK/PMP best practices do not attempt to handle processes and effectiveness organization-wide.

The majority of projects fail. They don't come in on time and/or they don't come in on budget.
Some times they turn into Boston's Big Dig, but usually they are less epic than that.

 

I should clarify, by "difficult to obtain," I meant in terms of having to go to school for a semester or two, or four. No doubt you need to do your homework and there's a lot of stuff to learn. It does, however, seem like if you have a handle on the basics and a decent brain in your head, that you can throw yourself into the material and preparation and obtain it in a few weeks if needed.

 

PMPing ain't easy.

 

In my new company, it will be essential to have if I ever want a promotion.