Best Project Management Certifications of 2024

PMCs or Project Management Certifications can offer you a competitive edge for helping you proceed ahead in your career along with overall sustainability call it your career catalyst which will be adding credibility to your career graph by offering you recognition at a global level in the software industry market. As per the research, more than 70 percent of the businesses can extract high-performing project results if led by a certified individual such as a Certified Project Manager and the demand will increase for sure by 2027. 

Still planning if or not to execute a career transition? Take a look at the top PMCs many IT companies entertain before offering you roles related to Project Management in 2023.

What is Project Management?

Project Management is concerned with the job role that requires specific knowledge of skills, tools, and techniques in order to initiate specific plans and manage and execute new initiatives along with the implementation of new rules within the organization. There are different types of Project Management, such as Waterfall project management, Lean project management, Agile project management, etc. 

Different Roles in Project Management:

These are different roles in project management:

• People Manager
• Project Sponsor
• Project Manager
• Delivery Manager
• Process Consultant, etc. 

Top Project Management Certifications:

1. PRINCE2 Certification 

PRINCE is the short abbreviation of PRojects IN Controlled Environments. You may wonder why the number 2 is placed after this! This is because it was relaunched in Oct 1996 as it started collecting global recognition from many potential employers. In addition to all of this, PRINCE2 is an advanced-level 3 to 4-year project management degree rather than just a certification whose price is around 900 US Dollars (in accreditation with AXELOS Ltd.). This certification has sub-categories – a) PRINCE2 Practitioner (starting with $340) and b) PRINCE2 Foundation (starting with $200). 

But before you think about enrolling for the Practitioner one, you need to have completed at least one of these – PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2 Foundation, or IPMA Certification. The good news about the certification is that the management and delivery strategies of a current or futuristic project – from start to finish – will be conveyed by the modules of PRINCE2 certification in a business-oriented manner. All you need to do is start improving your project management skills with the performance-oriented teachings of this certification (keeping in mind its prerequisites) applicable to real-time IT problems.

2. CAPM Certification

CAPM has a full-form Certified Associate in Project Management. This is an ideal choice for aspirants looking for some global recognition in the project management market at the entry-level. Thinking if this certification demands hands-on experience! No, you need not demonstrate any experience in which you have enhanced the credibility of the existing quality parameters of a project’s lifecycle (from initiation to closure).

However, some prerequisites can’t be avoided like a secondary degree and 1500 hours of experience with any of the projects you like to manage or monitor. The fee for this certification is around 225 US Dollars (this is for members), and 300 US Dollars (this is for non-members) powered by 5 years of validity without any requirement of renewing the PDUs (Professional Development Units). But to maintain CAPM certification, it is imperative to keep earning up to 15 PDUs every three years so that there is no hustle from your end to find another way to enrich your project management skills effectively and credibly. 

3. PMP Certification

PMP would be your industry-relevant Project Management Professional Certification supported by the Project Management Institute. This certification can skillfully fill the vacant spaces for Project Management Professionals who are always in demand because of their expertise, competency, capability, and knowledge exhibited in terms of project management solutions towards the evolving customers’ requirements. However, there are some prerequisites of this 3 years certification program bounded by the constraints of COST, SCOPE, and time. The first is a secondary or four-year professional degree in the relevant field. 

Second, is your contribution in terms of 35 hours of PM i.e. Project Management Training or Education. The third one is your 7500/3500 hours competitiveness in directing and leading the management projects (with no compromise on business ethics). Worried about the price! The certification costs 405 US Dollars (for PMI members) and 555 US Dollars (for non-PMI members). All you need to do now is explore the agile project management practices this certification will offer and supercharge yourself toward the journey of becoming a sincere and competitive project manager.

4. CSM Certification

CSM or Certified Scrum Master Certification is a way through which you may ally with Scrum. You may ask what Scrum is actually. It is a framework that lets you utilize the Agile principles of Software Engineering to not only develop and deliver the products but also make them sustainable in various complex and challenging environments. Emphasizing becoming a Scrum Master isn’t a bad thing but you need to become more agile with the learning methodologies of CSM Certification powered by Scrum Alliance. The cost of this certification with a 2-yr validity is ranging between 995 US Dollars to 1395 US Dollars. 

Thinking, if some prerequisites are there? No, you can relax now for sure and all you need to keep in mind is attentiveness while taking classes for the framework and lifecycle of Scrum. With such an attitude, you not only sharpen your Scrum skills but also ensure that the team/teams you are leading are committed to continuous improvement while completing the projects assigned successfully and on time.

5. PMI-ACP Certification

PMI-ACP is the Agile Certified Practitioner Certification administered by the Project Management Institute. Thinking about how you may enhance your versatility in existing projects somewhere demanding Agile practices! This certification will be a wiser choice comprising of many choices of Kanban, XP, Lean, TDD i.e. Test-Driven Development, and Scrum. But there are some prerequisites that one can’t afford to ignore. First is the high school diploma or an equivalent Associate Degree in the Agile Development field. 

Second is your cumulative experience of 2000 Hours while managing Agile projects assertively demanding good collaborative skills, and tools and techniques having higher response time. In case you don’t have that experience, you may also use your references from the Agile Management Industries. Then, you can evolve well with the market dynamics by enrolling for this certification whose cost ranges between 490 US Dollars to 640 US Dollars. Later, if you wish to maintain the validity of this certification, you should be earning 30 PDUs in Agile topics every three years.

6. CompTIA Project+ Certification

CompTIA Project+ certification, in accreditation with CompTIA Project Co., costs around 285 US Dollars. There is no specific duration applicable for this certification however this will be fruitful for you if you have a year of experience in the field of project management. Indeed, this certification is more multifaceted than other Project Management certifications preferred by industrial experts because it will help you manage the entire lifecycle of small-to-medium scale projects by covering the indispensable project management concepts. 

Those concepts are ensuring proper communication amongst the current manageable project’s resources, maintaining documentation of the project management plans well, monitoring and controlling the performances of various project modules, and performing various project closure activities while keeping in mind the risks and other constraints of a project. A point that one can’t avoid is that this certification is targeting well, the specific mindsets i.e. business professionals, of the IT industry as they are capable of completing the project at hand with the right mindset. Despite all this, the certification is self-paced and has the potential to continue your learning process in every stage of your preparation with its time-saving training modules packed with various disciplines of project management.

7. AgilePM Certification

One of the most popular certifications in the field of Agile Project Management. AgilePM training from APMG has two levels of certification AgilePM Practitioner and AgilePM Foundation and both of them have equal importance. This course guarantees a deep knowledge of becoming an Agile project manager by blending Agile practices with complete governance and control of Project Management. While studying for this certification you get a practical understanding of the principles and philosophy of Agile Project Manager. You will also learn to apply in the real-life industry and it will help you to gain profound knowledge to understand the roles and responsibilities. 

AgilePM certification costs between 800-1400 USD which includes the examination fee. However, there are no eligibility criteria for this certification but the candidate must clear the foundation certification before appearing. Talking about the examination format, there are 50 multiple-choice questions out of which the candidate must answer 25 to get the certification in 150 minutes.

8. CPMP Certification

Certified Project Management Practitioner or CPMP is an EC-council, an organization formed after the attack of 9/11 to deal with information technology and cyberterrorism. It is a perfect course for project managers or someone who wants to get experience in project management technical leadership, management skills, etc. The CPMP certification costs up to 199 USD and the candidate has to attend a 3-day preparation course. After the completion of the course, a person can get a job for $50,000 – $88,000. Also, people who have completed this CPMP course are expected to take projects related to obstacles related to managerial level, leadership hurdles, and infrastructure development. 

9. CPD Certification

Certified Project Director is a high post with a high level of management certification. The examination is also tough and the institution which is supposed to provide the course should also have all the requirements to validate the course. Also, if you have certification in CPD then should maintain the number of hours in the field. A person who is a certified project director should not be confused with any other field as a CPD professional has to do a detailed study along with proper certification, online education, and supporting documentation. Also, this is a very prestigious certification that has some specific requirements, including, knowledge about methodologies and principles of project management, and the expected salary ranges between $138,000 – $173,000. The price of the course is $400 – $555 with no exact course duration. 

10. PgMP Certification

People who are well-established in their careers and can see numerous tasks or projects are eligible for this certification. People holding PgMP certification are supposed to tackle complex tasks with ease across various organizations, locations, and cultures. To complete this certification one has to pass a panel review as well as an examination. Talking about the exam 150 questions are questions related to evaluating projects and relationships with stakeholders. It costs between 800-1000 USD and is ideal for people who are experienced and can handle several projects easily. 

Conclusion:

These were the best project management certifications, and you can choose any of these as per your requirement and need. These certifications are very much helpful in getting a hike in your career and people who want to grow in life must consider doing any of these courses for their betterment.