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The Top 5 Project Manager Certifications for 2021 are: 

#1 Project Management Professional (PMP®)

#2 PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner

#3 Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) 

#4 Certified Scrum Master (CSM)  

#5 PMI- Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) 

Any Certification plays a key role in the career path as it holds solid proof of subject matter and continuous learning. Project management is one of the most challenging tasks as it ensures that the goals of projects closely align with the strategic goals of the business. 

According to the statistics report by WRIKE,

“80 percent of high-performing projects are led by a certified project manager”.

There is a huge demand for project management professionals all over the world. 

The gap between skilled project management workers and the availability of project management professionals is widening. There is a shortage in terms of skilled professionals to fill the roles. Hence the demand certified project managers are high.

The certified project managers possess expertise and knowledge on different elements of project management. 

According to PMI’s Project Management Job Growth and Talent Growth 2017-2027 ,

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles.  

The Top 5 Project Manager Certifications for 2021 are:

Project Management Professional (PMP®)

PRINCE2 

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) 

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)  

PMI- Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) 

Project Management Professional (PMP®)

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a globally recognized certification accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). PMP certification is a benchmark for project management. The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects. 

PMP certification is aligned to the reference guide PMBOK- 6th edition released by PMI. It is the fundamental resource for the PMP credential aspirants. PMBOK-6th edition is developed by subject matter experts and reviewed by PMI’s Project management community.  PMBOK guide is available in English and 11 other languages (Arabic, Chinese [simplified], French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese Brazilian, Russian and Spanish).

Prerequisites for PMP Certification:

Target Audience for PMP: 

• Project Manager
• Project Coordinators,
• Supervisor for PMO
• Team Manager
• Team Leader

Exam format for PMP examination: 

PMP examination is based on five domains mentioned in PMBOK-6 edition

Cost of PMP certification 

Demand and scope for Certified Project Management Professional: 

There are 1 million certified PMP professionals. The need for qualified PMP professionals is around 2.1 million per year as per the PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis. So the demand for PMP is huge. 

Average Annual Salary of Certified Project Management Professional:

According to ziprecruiter.com, Project Management Professional's salary can go as high as $172,000.

According to Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition, certified PMP professionals earn 23% higher salary on average across 37 countries surveyed.

The countries with higher increase in the median salary of certified professionals are:

In the United States, the median salary of Certified PMP professionals among survey respondents was 25% higher than the median salary of those without the PMP certification ($115,000 versus $92,000).

The step by step procedure to fill the PMP application form is given in our blog post: The process of filling the PMP application form. 

PRINCE2

PRINCE2® is an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments and the "2" refers to its relaunch in October 1996. In the UK, PRINCE2® is considered the de facto standard for IT project management. PRINCE2 doesn’t define the project as a temporary endeavor, rather as a project management method it delivers based on a business case.

PRINCE2 is one of the most globally accepted project management methods. It can be applied to any kind of project irrespective of scale, type, geography, organization or culture. 

PRINCE2 is a certification program owned by AXELOS and this method is sustained by a scheme that offers four levels of certification:

• PRINCE2 Foundation
• PRINCE2 Practitioner
•  PRINCE2 Agile Foundation
•  PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner.

Prerequisites for PRINCE2 Certification:

PRINCE2 Foundation certification: There is no formal prerequisite to take up PRINCE2  Foundation Certification. 

PRINCE2 Practitioner certification: To take-up PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification, you should have any one of the following certifications.

• PRINCE2 Foundation
• Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
• IPMA Level A (Certified Projects Director)
• IPMA Level B® (Certified Senior Project Manager)
• IPMA Level C® (Certified Project Manager)
• IPMA Level D® (Certified Project Management Associate)

Target audience for PRINCE2 Certification: 

PRINCE2 Foundation Certification

PRINCE2 Foundation certification is recommended for current and aspiring project managers. It is applicable for:

• Team Managers
• Project Board members
• Project Support
• Operation Managers
• Professionals who manage projects

PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification

This certification is best suitable for project managers, professionals involved with managing projects and aspiring project managers. It is also applicable for:

• Team Managers
• Project Board members
• Project Support
• Operation Managers

Exam Format for PRINCE2 Certification: 

PRINCE2 Foundation Certification:

• Multiple-choice questions
• 60-minute duration
• 60 questions
• Closed book
• 33/60 required to pass = 55% passing score
• The exam can be taken in any of the 5 languages

PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification:

• Multiple-choice questions
• 150-minute exam duration
• 68 questions
• 38/68 required to pass = 55% passing score
• Open book exam (official PRINCE2 manual only)

Cost of PRINCE2 Certification

According to AXELOS, 

“AXELOS is not a training organization or exam body and so prices for training courses and exams are set by our partners and will vary.”

Demand and Scope for PRINCE2 Certification 

PRINCE2 certification proves to be an asset as it accelerates your career in the field of project management.

A 2016 AXELOS survey questioned individuals in project management and other roles, such as IT, senior management and operations. They reported that "regardless of function, candidates do find that PRINCE2 is valuable to their career".

Average Annual Salary of Certified PRINCE2 Professional 

According to Payscale.com,

The average annual salaries for certified PRINCE2 professionals in the United States are shown below.

Currency: USD, Updated: Mon Nov 11 2019

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) 

Certified Associate In Project Management (CAPM®️) is an entry-level certification in the field of Project Management accredited by the prestigious Project Management Institute (PMI®️). If you are a junior level Project Manager and want to set the stage for a remarkable career, then CAPM is the right credential to pursue.

CAPM validates the knowledge of the globally recognized language of project management. CAPM is aligned with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). 

In this rapidly growing profession, CAPM can act as a stepping stone in the field of project management. 

Prerequisites for CAPM Certification: 

Target Audience for CAPM Certification 

• Entry-level professionals in project management.
• Professionals who do not have any project management experience.
• Junior Project Managers
• Project team members
• Project members involved in one or more projects

Exam Format for CAPM Certification 

Total Questions: 150

Pretest question: 15 (Not added to CAPM score)

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Duration: 3 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Note: We do not know which 15 questions are pretest questions so all the questions are to be attempted with equal importance. Pretest questions are generally experimental in nature and given to check the validity for further examinations.

The exam is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) with the following format:

Candidates are more likely to clear the exam if they have studied the PMBOK® Guide well. The fundamental knowledge, terminology, and processes of project management aligned with the PMBOK guide will help you to clear the exam.

Cost of CAPM Certification:

CAPM is an entry-level certification. If you are a student and an aspiring CAPM certified professional, you can take up Student Bundle to get PMI Student Membership and CAPM exam fee into a single application.

It costs US$257: $32 for the cost of student membership and $225 for the member price of the CAPM exam.

Demand and Scope for CAPM certification

There is a huge demand for Project Managers in all sectors.

Did you know, according to PMI’s Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap Report (2017-2027),

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in a project management-oriented role.

(Source: Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027)

To meet this demand and skill gap, many professionals are taking up industry-recognized Project Management certifications to enhance their skills and stand out from the crowd.

Average Annual Salary of CAPM Certified professional

According to Payscale.com, the average annual salary of certified CAPM certified professionals are:

Certified Scrum Master (CSM)  

Certified Scrum Master (CSM), accredited by Scrum Alliance validates the knowledge of Agile principles and practices and makes you more noticeable than others. Scrum is the most used methodology of Agile.

According to the 12th Annual State of Agile Report, The Scrum Methodology is most widely used amongst software development teams as it divides complicated tasks to user stories.

Prerequisites for CSM Certification: 

Target Audience for CSM Certification 

Anyone interested in working in an organization practicing Agile with Scrum methodology can pursue CSM certification. 

• Project Manager
• Product Manager
• Software Engineer
• Business Analyst
• Team Leader
• Development Team Member

Exam Format for CSM Certification

Demand and Scope for CSM Certification

According to a survey conducted by  State of Scrum 2017-2018,

81% of the respondents agree that Scrum Certification can improve the practice and 84% of the respondents select ScrumMaster as a most popular certification. 

According to the survey,

Average Annual Salary of Certified Scrum Master 

PMI- Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) 

Project Management Institute's Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) is an industry-recognized certification, accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). PMI-ACP course is mostly sought by Project Manager or aspirants following Agile practices and trains about the concepts, principles, methodology, tools, and techniques employed in managing projects.

Prerequisite for PMI-ACP certification:

Target Audience for PMI-ACP Certification 

• Project Managers
• Agile Project Managers
• Agile Developers
• Product owners
• Business Analysts
• Scrum Masters
• Scrum Team Members
• Program managers
• Project team members
• Professionals aspiring to shift from waterfall methodology to agile methodology 

Exam Format for PMI-ACP Certification

Total Questions: 120

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Passing marks: 100

Duration: 3 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Cost of PMI-ACP Certification

Demand and Scope for PMI-ACP Certification:

According to the 13th State of Agile Survey Report (2019),

• 71% of respondents adopted agile because it reduces project cost
• 74% of respondents adopted agile as it accelerates the software delivery
• 51% of respondents claim that adopting agile increases productivity
• 43% of respondents stated adopting agile enhances the product quality

According to the report by EY: Digital Transformation for 2020 and beyond, Global Telecommunications Study, improved organizational agility is at the heart of successful digital transformation.

Average Annual Salary of PMI-ACP Certified Professional

According to Indeed.com,

Average Annual Salary of Certified PMI-ACP Professional is,

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