The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is normally offered by the Project Management Institute to applicants that the institute deems deserve the certification. In this article, you will get a breakdown on the PMP certification cost, and this should be of great assistance to your application process. For an applicant to receive this certification, they must prove to the institute that they have what it takes as far as management of projects is concerned. The PMP certification eligibility requirements include both academic and financial requirements.
When it comes to the cost part of the certification, before you can roll out with your application, it is necessary to first understand what is required of you financially.
PMP certification cost
One of the PMP certification cost to incur entails the classes for the 35 contact hours that the applicant has to obtain. This cost varies from one institution to the other. There are even some institutions that will offer this training for free, while others would charge you exorbitant rates (up to thousands of dollars). You will realize that many of the institutions do not reveal the exact cost of contact hour training. As such, it is better if you make an effort to contact the institution that you are dealing with personally. However, to reduce this cost, many people prefer to get the hours from their places-of-work courses.
PMP certification Cost Of Exams
The PMP certification cost in US for the exams is directly related to the PMI membership status of the applicant. Generally, if you are a PMI member, you get lower rates for taking the exams and vice versa. Having said that, let us examine the membership costs before moving on to the exam costs.
IMPORTANT: 35 PDUs are required BEFORE you take the exam
Learn more about PMP PDUs
For individual membership, the joining fee is $129. For student membership, it will cost you $40 to join, plus a $10 application fee while for retiree membership, you will part with $60. Renewal fees for first two of the above three categories are $119 and $30 respectively. There are also different rates for chapter membership under all the three categories and you can visit the PMI website to get the details.
PMP certification cost
Coming to the part of exam fees, these are further categorized into Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and the Paper Based Training. PMI members pay $405 for the CBT while nonmembers pay $555. On the other hand, PMI members pay $250 for the PBT while nonmembers part with $400.
PMI has room for applicants to retake the exams should they fail. In such cases, the CBT reexamination cost is $275 for PMI members and $375 for nonmembers while the PBT reexamination cost is $150 and $300 respectively. The PMP certification cost also includes the Continuing Credential PMP Requirements cost, and the renewal cost for this is $60 for members and $150 for nonmembers every 3 years.
If you obtain your certification, then you also have to incur the PDU (Professional Development Units) cost. A minimum of 60 PDUs are needed at a 3-year interval. The PDUs vary in cost, but generally, they have an impact on the overall PMP certification cost.
Prepare for the Exam: Have a look at recommended books for PMP.
Is the PMP Certification Cost too high?
The high PMP certification cost shouldn’t deter you from applying for the certification. If you weigh the cost against the PMP salary, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks by far. The average PMP salary is between $82,200 and $120,000, but some managers earn higher than this.
We hope that with this information you can make an informed decision about the cost of PMP certification.