The longer and harder the road to get a certification or degree however, the better the filtering process.

Anyway, the fact that the credential doesn’t guarantee a particular performance on a given project seems to me an insufficient argument against the credential. Unless we are positing that all credentials are worthless, a philosophical position that may well be defensible, but I thinl that is not what this tjread intended.

We treat these various degrees and certifications and credentials with different levels of seriousness and credibility. But even among the more serious of them, we would not treat all practioners equalm neither would most of us hire one without that credential in most @ases. Most, ut not all.

As long as time and family allows I won’t get discouraged – expect me to add comments from time to time I enjoy your blog. Besides, discussing topics of interest is yet another great way to learn, isn’t it?

Regarding the title thing… I thought it’s not that easy to get a PMP title, certificate, whatever… I would assume there’s enough work & practice involved. Anyhow, I think I might have followed a similar path like you – returning to get a degree in Project Management, plus a certification, separately. Both feel similar to me One is a tad more academic, the other – more practical. Both required a decent amount of work.

I’m not talking about titles / functions at work. They are almost meaningless to me.

I didn’t start pmStudent when preparing for my PMP. I had gone back to school for a degree in Project Management, and this blog was a way for me to share my thoughts as I explored the world of formal PM, viewing it as a discipline with right and wrong approaches. It also helped me formulate applications of theory to my daily work as a project manager.

Second, I disagree with points 1 and 3. I certainly don’t mean any of this harshly, and want to encourage Lech and others to keep sharing their thoughts! I just think it’s important to distinguish between a piece of paper on the one hand, and real professional growth on the other. Both can be achieved if you pursue the PMP in the right way; both can be achieved in isolation of each other as well.

Point 1 – Although PMP is used as a title from time to time, it’s not a title in my opinion. I think it’s important to draw a distinction between certifications and titles. It takes more to earn a title in my opinion, meaning you earn the title of ‘project manager’ by managing projects. I’ve seen too many PMPs that are not managing projects to be comfortable with equating the certification and title.

Point 3 – The only way any certification should make you more confident is if you’ve learned information during the process of acquiring it that lead you to become better at what you do. I know that’s what Lech meant, but I want to make sure it’s clear that the piece of paper without the journey to acquire it is useless.

Apart from that (or perhaps – especially because of that), any network of professionals is a huge benefit by itself.

http://pmstudent.com started when Josh was preparing for his PMP. A worthy cause if you ask me.

Cheers!