If you work in the technology field, you have likely come in contact with project managers who are certified Project Management Professionals. You can’t miss them, because they append the acronym “PMP” to their email signatures, LinkedIn name, and probably also have it embroidered on their shirts. What I don’t understand is why, of all the various IT certifications, PMP is accepted as a title, but anyone who put “CCIE” after their name would be mocked mercilessly.
Why do I care?
It’s going to sound petty and pedantic, but the main beef I have is with folks who put “PMP” in their name on LinkedIn. I sync my Outlook contacts with LinkedIn, and all my PMP friends now have Outlook thinking their last name is “PMP”. Granted this is more of the fault of the LinkedIn/Outlook integration, but it still annoys me. (Likewise, the one person I am connected with on LinkedIn who has “CPA” after their name causes the same issue).
Opinions from the Internets
I recently asked about this topic on Twitter:
I received various conflicting replies:
Like I said, it ain’t easy
Don’t get me wrong – the process of receiving the PMP certification is no walk in the park – it requires passing a 200 question exam, as well as having between 36-60 verifiable months of project management experience. So to be clear – I’m not saying that PMP’s have no right to be proud of their achievement, nor do I think that PMP is a “paper” certification with no value.
Having worked in technology for over 15 years, I fully understand and appreciate the value that a rockstar PM brings to the table. And I also believe that the PMP certification helps identify those folks. But comparing to other certifications, I still don’t understand why PMP’s blast their acronym all over everything, and (generally) other folks don’t.
If anyone deserves a title, it’s a CCIE
One of the most prestigious IT certifications around is CCIE – Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert. Often called “the doctorate of networking” this is the big Kahuna of IT certs. The prerequisite exam itself is 100 tough networking questions…but that only opens the door for the real test – a grueling 8 hour lab exam. There are only just over 25,000 CCIE’s in the world, and it’s regarded as the highest salaried IT certification.
Yet, none of the CCIE’s I know append their title to their name on LinkedIn, or in email signatures (this is a departure from about ten years ago, when CCIE’s often DID put not only their certification in their email signature, but their actually CCIE number – this meant something when there were only a couple thousand CCIE’s worldwide).
MCSE isn’t necessarily a Mickey Mouse certification
Perhaps I’m biased, since I’m Microsoft certified (I’m also Cisco certified, but not a CCIE), but I don’t think that Microsoft certifications don’t “mean something”. Can you get a MS cert without any real-world experience? Definitely, which is why the PMP’s requirement of real-world takes it up a step. But does that mean that an MCSE (or other MS certified professional) hasn’t demonstrated knowledge? Not at all.
That being said, I would laugh uproariously at anyone who stuck a Microsoft acronym after their name in an email signature (exception being MVP, but that’s a little different). And even the lower end Cisco certs (CCNA, CCNP) would raise a snigger from me – and if you put A+ after your name, you’re just a dork.
Any certification can be suspect
One argument commonly made is anecdotal – “Microsoft certs are a joke because I know tons of MCSE’s who don’t even know how to open Event Viewer” or “I know a CCNA who doesn’t understand subnetting.” These experiences are definitely valid, but the same argument can be made for just about any certification (CCIE may be somewhat excepted, as I have never heard of a “paper CCIE”). For example, I have encountered quite a few PMP’s who are NOT good PM’s. I’ve encountered PMP’s who don’t know how to run a meeting or manage requirements efficiently. Does that mean the PMP certification is useless? Not at all. But to put it as more relevant than other IT certs (including ITIL certification, CISSP, etc). About the only irrelevant IT cert out there would be CNA :)
If PMP, why not MBA?
People love to put acronyms after their name. I blame PhD’s for this. But if we follow the “PMP should be after your name because it is relevant”, why don’t we encourage folks to use the MBA suffix? Isn’t an MBA more of an achievement than PMP? This goes back to my main question – it’s not about the value of the certifications, but why have we, as an industry, created this standard that PMP should show up in LinkedIn and email sigs, but no other validation title? What do YOU think? Tell me in the comments!