Are You Certifiable?

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Are You Certifiable?

Deborah Stadtler Francine Meidhof

August 21, 2000





You start your education with dreams of what your career will be like--something completely different from what "everyone else" is doing--but wind up with some degree under the umbrella of business, art or science, and a concentration in confusion.  You never really know where in the business world you are going to end up, until you actually land there.  And if you landed in IT project management, chances are all of those business or science classes didn't prepare you for what you are doing today. In fact, you probably didn't even know that the profession existed until you saw the title on your business card.  Of course, now you realize it's not just some title; it's not just some job that anyone right out of school could have; and it's not something that you could have taken a course on.  Project management, like professional sports and the philharmonic orchestra, is something you get to through experience, plain and simple.  Recently, though, training and certification has become a popular way to break into the PM field. We've explored some of the training and certification options. We've spoken to real people who have been through it and who have researched the topic.  And we've even peeked into the future of training--all to let you decide: What is more important, experience or education?

The Choice Is Yours
The programs highlighted in this article are geared for general Project Management issues.  Here are some more specific PM certification options to consider:  

Software Quality Institute
SQI has certification programs in Software Project Management and System Administration, Personal Software Process (PSP) Training and a Master of Science in Engineering for Executive Software Engineering.



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