The Value of the PMP in Asia
Paul Giammalvo
Paul D. Giammalvo our correspondent in Indonesia responds to a colleague's query on the state and value of the PMI's Project Management Professional Certification in Asia.
The query...
"Would you give me an insight what career can student of Project Management pursue ? Lately many people questioned me about PM and how it differs from MBA, Engineering Management, or Technology Management, and I could not really answer the questions...."
The best example I can use to illustrate the difference between the PMP and MBA/MSc is China. Currently, China has committed to having 50,000 PMP's before the Beijing Olympics in 2008. While I am not certain they will make that number, I can assure you they are well on their way, with some 3,000 as of last count. 700 Chinese Nationals are signed up for the next scheduled PMP Exam in September. And all this in only three years. To put this in perspective, we have been offering the PMP in Indonesia for about 10 years now, (starting at Caltex in 1992!!) and to date we have only about 400 Indonesian PMP's, with the leading companies in Indonesia being Ericsson, VICO, BP, Astra Graphia, MinCom, Nokia, Unocal and Freeport McMoran roughly in that order. You may note that each of these companies has formally built the PMP into their career path development program, especially Nokia. (Nokia pays two months base salary as a bonus for earning your PMP)
In China, the PMP is running about even in popularity with the MBA taking
a slight lead followed by the PMP second. Of course, an MBA normally takes
2-3 years part time, while the PMP can be had in as little as 90 days of diligent
study. (Assuming you are working a full time job in addition to
studying)
To be fair, the PMP is certainly not the equivalent of an MBA in terms of
effort nor in terms of depth of knowledge. In large part, PMI has excelled
at marketing what many would argue is a "decent" knowledge based
program, claiming it to be a competency based certification. Most of us do
not believe this to be true and are urging PMI to either develop a true competency
based program (i.e. the Australian Institute for Project Management (AIPM-
www.aipm.org.au or the
European based International Project Management Association (IPMA- www.ipma.ch)
or to claim the PMP for
what it is- a knowledge based examination that establishes the minimum acceptable
benchmark of knowledge necessary in order for one to call oneself a Project
Manager. To put this in perspective, the PMP takes 4 hours and consists of
200 questions. The far more technically demanding Certified Cost Engineer
(CCE) credential offered through the Association for the Advancement of Cost
Engineering International (AACE) consists of 100 questions but takes 8 hours
to complete. Plus a 2,500 word paper. And even that, although it overlaps
the PMP more than 85%, is still NOT a true competency based credential. Only
IPMA and AIPM have true competency based programs, but both have failed to
market them as effectively as has PMI with the lesser program.....
One other excellent option is to follow the lead of Robert Dimitroff, PMP, recently from Duri, who is taking the George Washington University Distance Program in Project Management. (MScPM) while not cheap, (kira kira $36,000) it only requires two visits to the USA of one week each. Once to start and the second to graduate. MIT and Stanford also offer very similar degrees in Engineering Management.
The PMP is a decent knowledge based program that has been marketed extremely well, probably over well. But the reality is the market recognizes it and it makes a real difference in getting work, especially for an Indonesian looking for work outside. (Many of our PMP's have gotten jobs in Singapore, Sweden, Alaska, Brunei, Australia and Taiwan, based largely on them having their PMP) So despite the shortcomings, it DOES have real, measurable market value, and with considerably less time, effort and cost of getting an MBA, MScPM, or Engineering Management Degree.
Hope this helps answer your question? And with cuts coming, we would recommend that getting your PMP would be a wise investment in your future employability. China Oil Company is also starting to get their employees PMP Certified this year. If you have additional questions, please feel free to email either myself or Mbak Yani Suratman, our President Director.
Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, PMP, CCE, MScPM
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
About the Author:
Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, PMP, CCE, MScPM, is Director of the ASEAN Project
Manager's Center of Excellence, Inc. (APMX) For over 12 years, he has been
provided Project Management training and consulting throughout SE Asia.
He is active in the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering
International, (AACE); Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); Construction
Management Association of America, (CMAA) and serves on the Global Project
Management Forum Steering Committee. Email
Paul
G. Giammalvo or visit
Paul's Website