Project management certification and other management certifications can positively lead to wage increases for project managers and those aspiring to be one. This finding is based on two industry survey reports. One is a US survey which has been cited in 2008 while another has been conducted globally for IT professionals this 2010.
For the global survey report, the rates have been derived through the computation of the average mean salaries of IT professionals with certification versus the average mean salaries of those without certification. The average mean salary for IT professionals without certification in the US is $82,689 while it's $75,641 for Canada. The pay increases have been computed from already processed data in the report. However, the information on the survey's methodology did not include data validation procedures for this industry organization.
For the US survey report, the cited rate is taken at face value since this came from a US university. Notably, many are left wondering what these certifications are and which provide the best bang for the buck.
Certificate in Project Management, PMI PMP Certification and Other Project Manager Certification
The industry-standard Project Management Institute PMP Project Management Professional certification can lead to salary increases of 26% in the US compared to those without based on the TechRepublic 2010 IT Skills and Salary Report. In Canada, the rate is around 37.8%.
Meanwhile, those with Project+ certifications have an income that's 15.5% higher than those without in the US. In Canada, income is 26.3% higher.
Those with CAPM or Certified Associate of Project Management certificate holders have 6.55% higher income in the US and 16.5% in Canada.
Project Management Software Skills Certifications
According to TechRepublic, Microsoft has the following certifications for its project management software products:
- MCTS – Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007;
- MCTS – Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007.
A Microsoft Project Server 2007 Enterprise Project Management certification increases pay by almost 28% assuming that the report's data did not pertain to information technology professionals with other certifications. Likewise, using the same assumption, the increase is almost 40% in Canada.
For the Microsoft Office Project 2007 certification, the job pay increase is 19.5% based on the US average mean and 30% based on the Canadian average mean.
Quality Management Systems Certifications for Quality Improvement Projects
Six Sigma certification increases US job pay by +35% according to the same TechRepublic report. Meanwhile, the job pay increase in Canada for this same certification is almost 48%.
Six Sigma certified professionals apply lean techniques developed by the manufacturing sector via operations improvement projects that reduce wastage and increase efficiency according to their website.
Six Sigma's focus is constant improvement via incremental innovations, modular innovations or component innovations as identified and classified by Rebecca M. Henderson and Kim B. Clark in the seminal work: "Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms," Administrative Science Quarterly, 1990.
Another quality management system certification for quality improvement projects is the Information Technology Infrastructure Library or ITIL v2 and v3 Foundation certificates. Based on the same TechRepublic report, an ITIL v2 Foundation certification leads to a 23.5% and 35% salary increase in the US and Canada respectively.
For the ITIL v3 Foundation certification, project managers have 22.4% bigger incomes in the US and 33.77% in Canada.
ITIL is well known in the information technology industry for its approach in managing information systems projects from transition to operation. ITIL is also synonymous with IT service or help desk improvement and other IT services components.
While Six Sigma is focused on reducing waste and increasing efficiency, ITIL Foundation is focused on improving service delivery to the customers of the project owner in IT projects.
Contract Management Certifications
Among other aims, project managers are also increasingly getting involved in contract management or contract administration to:
- better manage project risks;
- win supply rebates and discounts for economies of scale; and
- improve company cash flows.
Due to the highly technical and complex nature of contract administration, employers have responded with higher pay offers to recruit or retain this valuable skill in their organizations.
According to the 2008 brochure of the Villanova University, a Roman Catholic University in Pennsylvania and member of the University Alliance, the National Contract Management Association or NCMA Annual Salary Survey reports that a contract management certification can increase job pay by as much as 56%.
The three major industry standard contract management certifications are the following:
- CFCM or Certified Federal Contracts Manager
- CCCM or Certified Commercial Contracts Manager
- CPCM or Certified Professional Contracts Manager
Top Project Management and Related Management Certifications for the US & Wage Increase
- CPCM – 56%;
- Six Sigma – 35% plus;
- MS Project Server – 27% plus;
- PMP – 26%;
- ITIL v2 Foundation – 23% plus;
- ITIL v3 Foundation – 22% plus;
- MS Project –19% plus;
- Project+ – 15% plus; and
- CAPM – 6% plus.
Management Certification with the Best Bang for the Buck
Contract administration or contract management tops the list of US project manager certifications that gain the biggest increase in income. This appears to be due to corporate focus on cash flow and cash burn management through contracts as revenue payment flows can be better managed as well as procurement expenses can be properly timed and maximized. Moreover, rebates and discounts from vendors due to skillful contracts management can result to considerably increased profits.
Next is Six Sigma as the skill focus is on reducing waste and increasing operations efficiency. Again, these skill sets tend to have strong profit motives.
Third is enterprise management through the MS Project Server. Here, the skill focus is on enterprise management as organizations have become increasingly global or have deployments at a more dispersed geographic scale.
Project Management Certification and Other Management Certifications
These nine management certifications that are related to project management greatly affect project manager incomes upwards. Simply put, these project management certifications increase wages substantially.
Recommended Readings:
- Contract Administration in Project Management – Concepts
- Contract Management Basics of Operations in Project Management
- 5 Disruptive Innovation Myths Debunked
Melvin Tandoc - Melvin currently works for the project management software company that makes 2-plan Desktop and 2-plan Team.
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