Which Certification Is The Hardest: CAPM And PMP?
Planning the task, organizing, and managing it from start to finish all these activities are called project management.
Project Managers are responsible for executing and taking care of these activities, especially ensuring projects stay on timely delivery, budgets are utilized as per allocation, resources effectively and communication between team members and stakeholders throughout the project life cycle.
Generally, certified bodies issue certifications to prove professionals are experts in particular knowledge and standardized practice that is accepted globally by professionals in all sectors.
History of PMI & Project Management Certifications:
The Project Management Institute (PMI) was created in 1969 as a non-profit firm that offers certifications, resources, and standards for project management practices and approaches for project managers.
This PMI introduced the eminent Project Management Professional PMP® certification. PMI co-founder Eric Jenett was the first to be certified. By the end of 1989, PMI had 6,199 members and had issued 264 PMP certifications. For people with little to no project management experience, PMIs offered another credential called CAPM certification.
An Overview of CAPM and PMP:
First, let’s understand these certifications and what it is:
Project Management Professional (PMP)®:
When it comes to project management, there are a lot of methods available, such as traditional, agile, predictive and hybrid; PMP Certification enables all these ways of working. This certification proves that a project manager has the ability to lead projects in any industry and tests their ability to manage people, processes, and business priorities. That is why this certification is accepted globally by various organizations.
This certification is created for experienced project managers who plan to do some courses or certifications to prove their skill sets. By mandate, PMP certification has specific eligibility criteria of 3-5 years of experience and some education requirements. These prerequisites make this PMP certification not for all audiences, especially those fresher or newbie or less experienced people who want to explore these standardized practices; for that audience, PMI created CAPM certification.
CAPM:
CAPM, known as Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, is specially designed for persons who want to expose their foundational knowledge of project management practices to their project teams as it has no experience requirement and suits all types of audiences from college fresh pass-outs to persons working in project coordination. As per Entrepreneur Media, Inc., CAPM is the No.1 certification out of the 9 Most In-Demand Professional Certifications obtained by people.
Being a CAPM-certified professional opens opportunities for a lot of roles, such as:
- Project Coordinator
- Project Analyst
- Assistant Project Manager
- Project Administrator
Comparison Table:
Let’s Compare these Two certifications to understand their difficulties and other aspects.
| Aspect | CAPM | PMP |
| Certification Body | Project Management Institute | Project Management Institute |
| Recognition | Widely recognized | Considered the gold standard in project management certification, highly valued by employers |
| foundational project management credential | ||
| Target Audience | Associate Project managers | Aspiring Project Managers |
| Project Executive | Project Team Members Seeking PMP® | |
| Project Leaders | Experienced/Senior Project Managers | |
| Project Analyst | Project Coordinators | |
| Project Coordinators | IT Project Managers | |
| Project management job seekers | Project Leaders | |
| Project management experience holders | Project Analysts | |
| Want to apply for PMP certification in the future | Team Leaders | |
| Program Managers | ||
| Product Manager | ||
| Educational Requirement | Secondary degree, such as a high school diploma, GED (general educational development), or global equivalent. | High school or secondary school diploma, Bachelor’s degree and Bachelor’s degree from a GAC accredited program. |
| Experience Requirement | No experience required | 3 to 5 years of experience leading and managing projects within the past eight years. Experience Years Various based on educational qualification. |
| Training Requirements | Before attempting an exam, a minimum of 23 hours of project management education training is mandatory. | Before taking an exam, a minimum of 35 hours of training is mandatory. If holding CAPM Certification has an exemption for this training. |
| Exam Format | No of Total Questions: 150 | No of Total Questions: 180 |
| No. of Scored Questions: 135 | No. of Scored Questions: 175 | |
| No. of Pretest (Unscored) | No. of Pretest (Unscored) | |
| Questions: 15 | Questions: 5 | |
| Exam Duration: 3 Hours | Exam Duration: 230 mins | |
| Question Type: multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop-style questions, and | No negative marks | |
| animations/comic strips. hot spot questions | ||
| No negative marks | ||
| What to expect | This tests the skills that entry- and associate-level individuals need in order to understand Project Management fundamentals as well as predictive, adaptive, and business analysis principles. | Half of the exam has covered predictive project management approaches, and the other half will cover agile or hybrid approaches. |
| Exam Syllabus and its Weightage | Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts 36% | People 42% |
| Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies 17% | Process 50% | |
| Agile Frameworks/Methodologies 20% | Business environment 8% | |
| Business Analysis Frameworks 27% | ||
| Exam Fees | Member price: $225 | Member price: $425 |
| Non-Member Price (Full price): $300 | Non-Member Price (Full price): $675 | |
| Retaking the Exam | Up to 3 attempts within 1 year, after that for further each attempt must have one year waiting period from the date of the last examination before you reapply for the certification | Same as CAPM exam retake policy. |
| Validity | 3 years from the date of passing certification. | 3 years from the date of passing certification. |
| Renewal Requirements | Earn 15 PDUs in a 3-year cycle. In that 15 PDUs, Minimum of 9 Education PDUs and Maximum of 6 Giving Back PDUs should be attained. | Earn 60 PDUs in a 3-year cycle. In that 15 PDUs, Minimum of 35 Education PDUs and Maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs |
| Training Duration | 3 to 6 Days | 4 to 8 Days |
| Salary Potential | Generally lower than PMP holders, According to Payscale, it’s 74,000 USD per annum. | Higher earning potential compared to CAPM holders. According to Payscale, it’s 1,18,000 USD per annum. |
Which is hard? Which certifications are for which professionals?
So now, let’s discuss the difficulty level of these certifications; While comparing these exam formats, eligibility requirements, training duration, fees, and renewal requirements, CAPM is a less rigorous certification to attain compared to PMP certification. CAPM seems to be for entry-level professionals, and PMP for experienced professionals.
Beyond difficulty based on career preference and current experience levels, choose one certification because any difficult things can break by your effective, planned preparation under the guidance of PMI Authorized training providers.
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