- Free Certification Project Management Test - Artur of Ericeira Lisboa, Portugal
Practice examinations prior to that industry standard PMP project management certification can determine where a professional currently stands and thus help him or her work on the improvement of certain skill sets or knowledge areas.
Before anything else, is project management certification worth the effort?
What an Industry-Standard Project Management Certification is Worth
According to a global survey of +19,500 IT professionals where 92% of respondents came from the United States and Canada, those with certifications have earned $5,242 more than their counterparts without certification.
Moreover, 1,236 respondents with Project Management Professional or PMP Certification from the Project Management Institute have an average salary of $104,253.
In a related project management and/or operations management discipline, 549 survey respondents with ITIL v3 Foundation training have an average pay of $101,185. Those with ITIL v2 Foundation training, some 490 respondents have an average pay of $102,128.
Meanwhile, 236 Six Sigma black belts, master black belts and/or champions have an average salary of $111,908. It appears that the Six Sigma project management and/or operations management quality improvement system pays the highest.
On the other hand, information on project managers with Agile Project Management training is still absent from the report. This might be because agile project management techniques are relatively new compared with the PMP, ITIL and Six Sigma. Agile techniques have been reported to be effective in certain companies in the telecoms industry.
However, the same report does have an item described as "Other Project Management Certificate" with an average salary of $95,979 and 286 survey respondents. These include CAPM or Certified Associate of Project Management and Project+.
For more information on this global survey: TechRepublic 2010 IT Skills and Salary Report
Proctored Versus Non-Proctored Certification Tests
This featured free project management certification is a non-proctored examination. It is an online examination where the test taker, under time pressure, answers the questions. Of course, certain arguments exist that this non-proctored type of exam is subject to integrity issues as a test taker can have a professional with him or her assisting in answering the questions.
However, the integrity issues associated with non-proctored certification tests can be resolved as this is an online examination. Prospective employers, as long as this does not violate any laws, can require job applicants with this free non-proctored certification in their resumes to take the exam again under the employer's close supervision.
The exam algorithm relies on a questions bank from which the actual exam questions are extracted. Hence, every take on the examination always features a different set of questions. However, certain questions may be repeated as test takers take the exam several times. Questions have been purportedly made by certified project managers.
On the other hand, proctored examinations are the traditional way of taking tests where a tutor administers the exam to prevent cheating among the examinees. Industry standard certifications are proctored.
To prevent potential accusations of misrepresentation, professionals are advised that, should they wish to include this test certification in a resumé or curriculum vitae, they should include separate subheadings for Proctored Certifications and Non-Proctored Certifications.
Brainbench, the company providing this free certification, also offers other certifications.
Moreover, Brainbench's vice president for marketing, Mike Littman, claims via their generic welcome email that they have: "...over 6 million members" and work "...with Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, EDS, Ford Motor Company, H&R Block, IBM, Interwoven, JPMorgan, Kaiser Permanente, Manpower, Prometric, SAIC, Siemens, TAC Worldwide, U.S. Government Agencies, Verizon, and Wells Fargo..." among other companies.
Please note that the said claims are unverified.
Free Project Management Certification Test
If the above information and limitations of this free project management certification are sufficient facts for a decision to take the exam, then proceed to Project Management 2008 certification. Note that this certification is available for free for a limited time only. Brainbench can change the terms and conditions of its website without prior notice.
Note: As of February 11, 2011, this certification test is no longer free. The website offers new free IT-related tests though.
Recommended Readings:
- Technology Project Management Free Manual
- Project Management Certification – Wages Increase Substantially
- 10 Marketing Plan Tips for Project Management Marketing
Melvin Tandoc - Melvin currently works for the project management software company that makes 2-plan Desktop and 2-plan Team.
