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PMI Cerified Associate In Project Management (CAPM)

 
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Have you heard about PMI Cerified Associate In Project Management (CAPM) ? I recently heard about this from one of my friends. I did a google search to understand whether it is a worthy addition to have in one's certifications list but I couldn't get anything useful.

If you have some ideas to share on this, can you please post your thoughts. Is there any real advantage of having this certification or its just a useless stuff that no one cares to look at ?
[ January 02, 2008: Message edited by: Srikanth Basavaraju ]
 
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Originally posted by Srikanth Basavaraju:
If you have some ideas to share on this, can you please post your thoughts. Is there any real advantage of having this certification or its just a useless stuff that no one cares to look at ?



To help answer this question, I thought that a good starting point would be to look at what PMI's web site says their certifications are for. Overviews of their certifications are at http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Our-Credentials.aspx, and according to this page:

Candidates for PgMP should be currently responsible "for the coordinated management of multiple related projects".

Candidates for PMP should be currently responsible "for all aspects of the project for the life of the project".

Candidates for CAPM should be currently be "project team members".

So according to these descriptions, it seems to depend on what you wish to demonstrate. If you wish to demonstrate to an employer that you have the competence to manage a portfolio of projects, then perhaps PgMP could demonstrate that.

If you wish to demonstrate that you are competent to manage a project, then perhaps PMP can do that.

If you wish to demonstrate that you are competent to be a team member, then perhaps CAPM can do that.
 
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Originally posted by Bagwan Mehrat:

If you wish to demonstrate that you are competent to manage a project, then perhaps PMP can do that.

If you wish to demonstrate that you are competent to be a team member, then perhaps CAPM can do that.


PMP requires at least 3 years experience as project manager.
 
Bagwan Mehrat
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Originally posted by Kengkaj Sathianpantarit:

PMP requires at least 3 years experience as project manager.



Right. There seems to be a big difference between the two certifications (not that PMP is that great either, but at least PMI agrees in principle that the latter is relevant to a project manager's job), from how PMI describes them on their web site and materials. Notice how they carefully describe CAPM's limitation:

"Considered an essential step for project team members". Note, NOT project managers or aspiring project managers.

"Provide subject matter expertise (e.g. marketing, finance, customer care, processing, fulfillment)". Note how they are saying that CAPM certificants are people who are individual contributors in non-project management tasks, and how project management is excluded from the list of expertise. In other words, they are explicitly saying that CAPM certificants have no expertise in project management.

So due to PMI's own position on CAPM, I cannot recommend its use as an avenue of personal growth, or something to be considered when looking at a resume.
 
Hong Anderson
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Bagwon, I couldn't agree more.

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM�) Credential

Considered an essential step for project team members, the CAPM credential can benefit a wide range of individuals who want to demonstrate a comprehensive and consistent understanding of the application of their work. By gaining knowledge of project management processes and terminology, project team members can enhance their contributions to the team�s success.

The CAPM is designed for project team members who:

* � Provide subject matter expertise (e.g. marketing, finance, customer care, processing, fulfillment)
* � Serve as project team sponsors, facilitators, liaisons or coordinators


http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Our-Credentials.aspx#capm

From the quote, I'll say CAPM has expertise in project management. Why a project team member cannot have expertise in project management?

But it's correct that CAPM is not for a project manager, a project manager should take PMP .
 
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