Ashley Neu
PMP® Certification Holders Earn 20% More Than Their Non-Certified Peers
By far, one of the most appealing benefits of achieving the PMP® certification is the significant increase in salary you can expect. According to the 9th edition of PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey, the average salary of a PMP® in the United States is $111,969 which is the 3rd highest earning country in the world for PMPs according to their data. Additionally, 78% of the US survey respondents reported annual salary increases greater than 1% over the past year.
Average PMP® Salary – Based on Years of Experience
Similar to other advanced level certifications, the PMP® requires several years of relatable work experience before the certification can be earned and as such the higher salaries are not reported until later on in one’s project management career.
- Less than 3 years – $56,222
- 3-5 years – $67,590
- 5-10 years – $87,867
- 10-15 years – $100,966
- 15-20 years – $111,863
- 20+ years – $120,196
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Top Earning Project Management Techniques
There are many methodologies that organizations can follow and as such they require project managers with a concentrated set of skills. The PMP® certification can be leveraged within a company that follows any of these techniques but often times managers will need to couple their PMP® with another more concentrated certification such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner® or Scrum Master Certified.
- Extreme project management – $115,458
- Agile/interactive/incremental project management/Scrum – $114,448
- Lean project management – $114,421
- Event chain project management – $114,353
- Earned value management – $114,127
- Critical chain project management – $113,253
- Project portfolio management – $112,833
- Process-based project management – $110,896
- Waterfall project management – $109,921
- Program management – $109,194
- Change management – $107,617
- Risk management – $106,887
- Resource management – $104,242
Top Industries Project Management Techniques
As with any career, average salaries are often based on the industry. If you are trying to take your PMP to another company and are looking for the most lucrative offer, then you should narrow your search to these top industries for project managers.
- Pharmaceuticals – $127,426
- Resources (agriculture, mining, etc.) – $127,382
- Consulting – $124,697
- Aerospace – $118,147
- Engineering – $116,990
- Utility – $114,676
- Government – $113,781
- Information technology – $112,291
- Financial services – $110,591
- Legal – $110,548
- Manufacturing – $108,196
- Healthcare – $106,623
- Telecommunications – $106,038
- Other – $106,015
- Food and beverage – $104,261
- Insurance – $103,745
- Construction – $102,391
- Business services – $100,591
- Real estate – $98,544
- Training/education – $93,866
*PMP, PMI, PMBOK, Project Management Professional, Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI-ACP, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and its Logos are registered marks of the Project Management Institute.