I have been working as IT manager at a bank for 7 years. Here are a couple of examples of scenarios where the person had enough experience to apply, even though they were not official ‘project managers.’ A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore, defined scope and resources.”īy applying this definition, a salesperson who routinely makes sales calls will not be eligible for the PMP® credentials because he worked in operations, not a project. The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. It is important to highlight the project management experience that you gained through your job on your application.įor example, if your formal job title was ‘business analyst,’ but on the job, you identified stakeholders and managed risks on the project, this job experience counts towards your PMP® experiences because you’ve done tasks that are within the realm of roles and responsibilities of a project manager. If you performed any tasks covered in the PMBOK® guide, then that experience will count towards your application.įrom our experiences, we’ve seen many candidates with titles such as “QA analyst” or “senior BA” qualify for their PMP®. planning for your wedding, home improvement project, or sending out a newsletter for a charity).Ģ) Did I perform project management functions in my role?Īs mentioned earlier, you don’t necessarily need the title “project manager” (although it is recommended). Volunteer positions won’t count towards your PMP® (e.g. You can determine whether or not your job experience meet the exam requirements by asking yourself the following questions: PMI wants to see that you’ve done at least 1 task from each of the 5 process groups that’s outlined in the PMBOK guide (more on this later). In order to see whether a job experience qualifies for the PMP® or not, PMI will look at the actual role that you’ve done, instead of focussing on your job title. In fact, many engineers and business analysts were able to qualify and pass their PMP® certification. This being said - you do not necessarily need your job title to be “project manager” in order to apply for your PMP®. All of your work experience listed for your PMP® application has to be within the last 8 years.įor your PMP® exam, you must list out relevant project management experiences, not any type of work experiences you’ve had.įor example, if you worked as a waiter or waitress 5 years ago, this experience will not count towards your PMP® application.