What’s the best course to get into project management?

Before choosing a course to help you get into project management, consider this. Employers are seeking candidates who can demonstrate 3 main things:

1. Experience
2. Soft-skills (e.g. communication skills)
3. Project management knowledge and skills. You can show this by holding one or more of the project management certificates below.

Project management certificate types

Project management certificates are divided into 2 types:

Entry-level certificates

These teach students about project management concepts and terminology.

Higher-level certificates

These teach students to apply project management concepts and methods.

Accreditation bodies

This table shows the 4 main accreditation bodies and their project management certificates.

Factors to consider

Which one is best for you depends upon 3 factors:

1. Your work location – choose a certification which is popular in the area you seek work.
2. The popularity of the certification amongst employers – choose the most popular.
3. The nature of the certificates. Higher-level is better if you want to manage projects. Lower is better if you want to take part in projects.

Work location

*Note: PMI®-based qualifications are popular amongst US companies in the UK.

Certification popularity (global)

It's difficult to find information about the number of exams taken. We have made some educated guesses about them. We based these upon information in the public domain. As a project management training company since 2005 we've also gained knowledge about exam numbers.

Nature of the certification

Certifications broadly focus on one of these 2 areas:

1. Knowledge – e.g. teaches students concepts and terminology
2. Application - e.g. teaches students to apply techniques or methods.

Follow-on certifications