PMI membership renewal time...

Someone, remind me, why do I need to pay 119$ to these folks again? Actually, that's not the issue - I know what I get for the money - a cheaper exam (for, shockingly enough, 119$), the magazine, some e-mail news and a good website as a resource.
But the local chapters (I'm in the Hungarian and the Slovenian ones) confuse me. Really, what's the point? The Hungarian one sends me mails in Hungarian (asking for a mail in English got me a packaged response in Hungarian), and I've never heard a peep out of the Slovenian one. Frankly, I was surprised that Slovenia even had a chapter - last I checked, PMing as a profession wasn't really on the map yet. Not that anyone has a map.

Ah well. Seeing as this year I really will get around to passing the PMP (no, really, it's in my development objectives at work, so I have to pass it if I want my bonus), I'll at least use it. If anyone wants to get in touch with me, I'm 893543. Look for me on the "PMP list" in a couple of months.

(If I'm not in jail, because I shoot someone for the "PMI way of thinking", which is, in my insignificant, humble opinion, in certain cases about as much in touch with reality as the good folks over at [io9].)

[Project Management Institute]

2 comments:

Dr. PDG said...

Hi David,
Why bother renewing your membership with a "not-for-profit" organization with well over 100 million dollars in the bank? And why bother getting the PMP, which is, based on my first hand observations, fast losing credibility in the marketplace? I mean, would you really want someone to be entrusted with your multi-million dollar project who took a 200 question, multiple choice exam, which only required you to score ~61% on it? Gimme a break!!!

IMPO, there are many other organizations who are far less commercialized who offer far more credible certifications, than the PMP.

As you are based in Europe, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is one of them, and another organization which offers a FAR more technically demanding certifications program is the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International, http://www.aacei.org/certification/certExplained.shtml. AACE has been around longer than PMI, and while not even close to being as effective a marketing machine, their credentials are well respected around the world.

I would urge you to give some serious thought to not bothering to renew, and to challenge yourself with something more than what I believe is a "has been" credential.

BR,
Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, CCE, MScPM, former PMP #740, Jakarta, INDONESIA

D said...

Paul,

On a private note, I completely and utterly agree - however, on a corporate one...

PMP is the "Certification of Choice" at my employer, in addition to our internal ones (and, in my opinion, the hilarious and applicable-only-in-public-service Prince2 - you listen to someone for a week, sit an exam, and you're a PM? Go away, please.).

So, while I have no choice but to pay our friends at PMI another hundred-odd dollars, sit down and re-"read" the PMBOK, and get into the "PMI way of thinking" (or, better yet, the PMI way of asking misleading questions with non-real-world answers that assume that you have the powers of God, the strength of Allah and the patience of Buddha) for about two weeks, I will definitely take a look into the IPMA, seeing as I fit into "Level B" like a glove.

As a matter of fact, I've sent a membership inquiry just now to the Slovenian organization - thank you very much for bringing my attention to this!

Regards,
David