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Has anyone been able to effectively translate Military Experience/Education to PMP?

Veteran

Nicholas Copare Spring Lake, NC

I am interested in getting a program management certification from PMI. I have read some articles/material on translating military experience and education to the PMP application but I am running into some problems. I am a retired Army Major and have read that the Officer Basic Course and Career Course qualify as education, however, as far as hours are concerned, how many hours can be realistically attributed? This is a gray area for me and trying to find a concrete guide is struggle.

5 March 2017 5 replies Military to Civilian Transition

Answers

Advisor

Victor Ramos Mc Lean, VA

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Advisor

John Morgan Southport, NC

Nick, the answers you have received are all good ones. I am also a retired Army officer who made a successful second career as a project manager. I joined PMI in 1995 and successfully achieved my PMP certification a few years later.
If you think about your experience in terms of the PMBOK (i.e, a project has a defined beginning and a defined end and is constrained by time, budget and scope) you can probably find numerous examples where you were a project manager. Think in terms of maneuver exercises, ARTEPs, EDREs, etc. In those instances where you were the commander or the OIC, you were the de facto project manager. You may not have employed the vocabulary of project management, but I would argue that you had an Initiating Phase, a Planning Phase, an Execution Phase, that you spent time and effort Monitoring and Controlling the work being performed by your unit, and that there was some type of close out of the project (hot wash, lessons learned, after action report). It is up to you to translate your experience into terms understandable by PMI in your application to sit for the PMP exam.
I recommend that you join your local PMI Chapter and learn the PMBOK, and take the chapter's PMP Prep course to prepare you to sit for the exam. In my experience, there is no substitute for knowing the PMBOK - it is the basis for the PMP Exam. Once you have achieved your PMP, then you might want to consider the PgMP.
Let me know if you want to talk further about this.

Advisor

Deborah Carter Owens Cross Roads, AL

Hi Nicholas,

I feel like we may be using PMI terms and certifications interchangeably here because in the title your entry says “PMP” but inside the post you reference “program management” – so I’d like to back up and clarify. PMI offers a PMP – which is a Project Management Professional and a PgMP – which is a Program Management Professional. Each one has different qualifications and requirements. In order to take the exam for either, you have to submit an application which contains the documentation supporting your qualifications. Education AND experience. The PgMP is $1000 for a non-PMI member to take the exam (and also requires a panel review) and the PMP is $555. I would advise that you research the certifications, be sure which one you believe will help to establish your level of competency in your desired civilian career (i.e., do the jobs that you are pursuing require these certifications, or would they give you a leg-up on other applicants?) and then work on your application, ensure that you can accurately quantify your experience in terms of the common body of knowledge and hours, months etc. There are some very good week-long boot camps that help you study for the exams as well. I’m a very good project manager, but in order to pass the exam, I need to be able to answer the exam questions in terms of the PMBOK.

I hope this helps!
Deb

Advisor

Damin Kirk North Charleston, SC

Hi Nicholas -

If the course was a day long, it'd count as 8 hours. You can probably use it as long as you can explain it if you were to be audited. My advice would be to apply for your PMP if you are ready to sit for the exam. Just make sure you can accurately depict your Project Management experience on the application.

I agree with John that the PMP is just the credential, however, having it shows you have the experience and knowledge to be a Project or Program Manager. You Military experience is more than enough for you to apply. Send me a message if you want to discuss further. Good Luck!

Damin

Advisor

John Green Cary, NC

http://www.4pmti.com/PMP-Certification-Requirements.aspx

The guidance is pretty self-explanatory. The first hurdle is the exam anyway. Tackle that, then figure out how to apply hours. You can always back fill any gaps on-the-fly.

To be clear, the PMP is not a turn-key skill, meaning that just acquiring that credential is not a shoe-in for a job. You need to combine that credential with specialization in a particular skill area, such as Cyber-security or Artificial Intelligence.

http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/cyber-security/index.cfm

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