When am I a PE? Post exam or post registration?

[snickerd3]

For me project management isn't something you learn in a textbook, it's something that requires a little bit of gray hair

millennials are paying salons to dye their hair gray now... gray is an "In" thing right now

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Some folks put more credentials after their name than what appears in the starbucks order.  I don't get it.  Half of the credentials are given out for sitting through a class.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Fox,

Based on conversations I've had with many folks who took and passed the PMP at my old office when I was considering taking it, they considered it a joke for a couple reasons:

1.  The exam is a walk in the park compared to the P.E. 

2.  The exam had little to no real world project management connection.  If you memorize the PMBOK you will ace the test.  I am still waiting to find a PM that actually follows all the PMBOK recommendations.

3.  The certification was considered a money making scam for PMI, the institute that has oversight for the PMP.

This does not mean that it isn't a valued certification.  It is quickly becoming a must have for the PM jobs that I've seen posted internally.

 

[knight1fox3]

Fox,

Based on conversations I've had with many folks who took and passed the PMP at my old office when I was considering taking it, they considered it a joke for a couple reasons:

1.  The exam is a walk in the park compared to the P.E. 

2.  The exam had little to no real world project management connection.  If you memorize the PMBOK you will ace the test.  I am still waiting to find a PM that actually follows all the PMBOK recommendations.

3.  The certification was considered a money making scam for PMI, the institute that has oversight for the PMP.

This does not mean that it isn't a valued certification.  It is quickly becoming a must have for the PM jobs that I've seen posted internally.

Thanks for the insight.  #3 really makes sense as to why it is not of extreme value.  I actually did enjoy taking the PM for engineers graduate school course for my MSEE degree.  Perhaps that would be of more value to professionals.  It definitely forced me to look at resolving PM issues in a different way and provided insight on conflict resolution.  Got some additional training with MPP as well.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

My instructor for the grad school PM class I took was a member of the PMI board but also had a couple decades of actual PM experience on large scale real world projects so she made it relatable and practical.  If I had taken the PMP after taking that class I would have felt confident about passing without any additional studying.

 

[willsee]

Just out of curiosity, why do some consider PMP to be a joke?  I only work with a few people who have it and they complain about the professional development hour maintenance every 3 years.

And just for kicks, here's an email sig for you @Road Guy, from one of the profs I had for my Proj Mgmt for Engineers grad school course:

Dana M. Johnson, PhD, CQE, CQA, CMQ/OE, CSSGB, CPA, CMA
Professor, Supply Chain and Engineering Management
School of Business and Economics
Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

Wonder how many projects they have actually managed?

 

[cupojoe PE PMP]

Thanks for the insight.  #3 really makes sense as to why it is not of extreme value.  I actually did enjoy taking the PM for engineers graduate school course for my MSEE degree.  Perhaps that would be of more value to professionals.  It definitely forced me to look at resolving PM issues in a different way and provided insight on conflict resolution.  Got some additional training with MPP as well.

Fox,

Based on conversations I've had with many folks who took and passed the PMP at my old office when I was considering taking it, they considered it a joke for a couple reasons:

1.  The exam is a walk in the park compared to the P.E. 

2.  The exam had little to no real world project management connection.  If you memorize the PMBOK you will ace the test.  I am still waiting to find a PM that actually follows all the PMBOK recommendations.

3.  The certification was considered a money making scam for PMI, the institute that has oversight for the PMP.

This does not mean that it isn't a valued certification.  It is quickly becoming a must have for the PM jobs that I've seen posted internally.

I have taken the PMP:

1. Confirm, the exam is a walk in the park.

2. To people thinking about taking the exam, I actually recommend to NOT read the PMBOK, it makes it more complicated than it needs to be. My recommendation is to read Rita Mulcahy's book. It would be impossible to follow the PMBOK to the letter. You would never be profitable and projects would take ages. Further, the PMBOK was developed out of the IT industry, not brick and mortar projects. There are things to be learned for individual processes, but comprehensively, it is trash.

3. At $550 to take the exam, plus the study materials. I can see how this makes a **** ton of money for PMI. Further, they require your 35 hours of training to be provided by a PMI certified company, in person. So they get a kick-back from that as well. There is a small exception for employer provided training, but most people shell out the ~$2k for the 35 hour training class. Then to renew, you have to have training in PDH's but they divide up to different categories, some requiring you to use PMI certified training companies again. Then another few hundred dollars to renew. The folks over at PMI are swimming in money over this certification.

For all the negatives, they have really sold it to HR departments and certain clients. I got it because I think it checks a box with HR and potential clients and might be a tie breaker between me and someone else. But in reality, I don't see how it is helpful. People who talk about how great it is confuse me.

 

[14bk41]

Technical certifications are not too bad.  The worst are sigs/business cards with "MBA".  Same for those with "almost-PhD" (i.e." I completed all classes but I am still working on my dissertation but you are free to call me Doctor now") labels.  I forget how they actually abbreviate it but it's ridiculous and took me a while to find it out.

 

[Kam]

Technical certifications are not too bad.  The worst are sigs/business cards with "MBA".  Same for those with "almost-PhD" (i.e." I completed all classes but I am still working on my dissertation but you are free to call me Doctor now") labels.  I forget how they actually abbreviate it but it's ridiculous and took me a while to find it out.

this one?--> PhD candidate

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

This is a joke right?  Right up there with Name McNamy, BS, EIT?

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

I can confirm the PMP has very little real-world application in it's testing and study materials. The required study class I took was very up-front about it being a very academic approach to management and to not lean on any real-world experiences when trying to understand the material.  Several of the questions were setup so that all 4 choices were correct, but they wanted the "most" correct (i.e. what is literally the next step identified in the book, not what could concurrently be done).

BTW, concurrent activities in the PMBOK are almost banned. Task 1...then task 2.... then task 3 (even though 3 can start at the same time as 2).

I have seen several positions listing it as a requirement or preference.  Even here in NZ.

I think the company shelled out over $2k for me to get it.

BTW, the continuing education requirements are 60hrs every 3 years.

I still like to say I am certified to PiMP my PE-ness though. That reminds me, I have 20hrs pdh's left for re-certification...