Guest Author
So you’ve earned your Project Management Professional® certification and all the stress of the exam has melted away. Now you can sit back, relax, and enjoy all that being a PMP® has to offer. Well almost. Being a PMP® is an honor within any industry, it validates the time, knowledge, effort, and skills it takes to earn such a prestigious title. You have to make sure you keep your certification active though; and just how to you do that? By making sure you earn PMP® PDUs.
Intro to the CCR Program
The Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program is a means for the Project Management Institute (PMI) to ensure that the knowledge of practitioners who have obtained PMP certification, remains relevant as changes in the profession and industry arise. This, of course, includes maintaining certified status as well.
The program requires practitioners to earn PMP® PDUs (professional development units) and the number required varies per certification. 1 PDU corresponds to 1 hour of learning or a relevant activity. For the PMP® certification, one will need to obtain 60 PDUs over the course of 3 years to remain certified.
Below are some of the ways you can earn PDUs for the PMP® program. These are also applicable for the other certifications programs.
How To Earn PMP® PDUS
1. Courses or Formal Training
There is no better way to supplement your knowledge and update yourself on news and trends in the profession than with training courses. These can either be online or in-person classes and self-paced (on demand) or instructor-led.
PMI® regularly holds educational events too and these are visible on their events calendar. These outlets are great ways for you to improve their network and are effective ways to learn more about the profession first-hand. Otherwise, you are definitely free to source learning from third party providers.
2. Other Educational Media
Aside from on demand and classroom courses, webinars and educational videos are also allowed. There are numerous PMI® Registered Education Providers you can reach out to or simply register on ProjectManagement.com.
In additon to the content on ProjectManagement.com, reading physical and digital books (from PMI store or third-party), whitepapers, blogs and articles are also accepted as PDUs.
3. Meetings and Activities
PMI® chapters are available worldwide and there is sure to be one nearby. Professional meetings help PMP® certification holders learn from other professionals about the circumstances of their practice and also give the opportunity to network. These chapters may also host professional events as well which count towards PDUs. Additionally, PDUs can also be obtained from meetings and activities hosted by third-parties.
4. Informal Learning
It is also possible to earn PMP® PDUs from informal learning. This can be in the form of professional discussions with colleagues, “lunch and learn” sessions at the office, or possibly a mentoring program within the organization. It is also worth mentioning that the PMP® can be mentored and one can also be the mentor. When sharing knowledge as a mentor or simply teaching others about project management, PDUs can be credited.
5. Practicing the Profession
By simply applying your skills and knowledge in the industry, you are contributing towards the growth of the profession. As long as you work in a domain area relevant to the certification, PDUs can be granted.
6. Contributing Knowledge Resources
Information is highly valued in this profession and contributing it, even more so. By sharing your knowledge, others can learn from it and gain valuable insight. You can accomplish this by authoring articles, books or blogs or by creating and hosting presentations and webinars. While these can be held in any knowledgebase, PMI® also offers the option to contribute to ProjectManagement.com or to the knowledge shelf.
7. Volunteering
With over 800,000 active certification holders, it comes as no surprise that there is a booming and active community of professionals holding various roles that are also up for volunteering. There are numerous volunteering opportunities available on the PMI® website ranging from assisting in events to holding formal positions in different committees and groups.
*PMP, PMI, PMBOK, Project Management Professional, Project Management Professional (PMP) and its Logos are registered marks of the Project Management Institute.