As a trained chemical engineer, I was delighted to read this article and wished it was available when I asking these questions. I agree with the general premise that PMI certification, mainly PMP, is the most globally recognized project management (PM) certification, followed by Prince2. But there are value in learning and getting certified in multiple. PMBOK, currently on its 5th edition, is massive – over 600 pages in the English edition. It is presented as a reference or resource guide and its coverage is extensive. Prince 2 is process oriented and practitioner based. This means that it can be applied more readily. I suspect it will be somewhat easier for non-certified PM professionals to understand. If you want to add some international credibility, for those professionals working in the U.S., consider Prince 2 as well.
-Te Wu’s comments on the Christian Knutson article in Engineering.com titled, Easy Breakdown of Project Management Certifications for Engineers (see Below)
Christian Knutson for Engineering.com writes: Upfront, the $1,000 question is: do I want to simply learn about project management or do I want a signal that I’m a professional in project management. If the later describes you, then read onwards. If the former, then you’ll need to wait until my next posting where I’ll cover a number of web sites I tap into for project management information.
If you do want to bring a professional project manager mindset to your engineering work, then the next question is: what certification is right for me? I’ve been fielding this question quite a bit in the past year, so here’s an easy breakdown of project management certifications from an engineer, for engineers.
Project Management Certifying Bodies
There are three primary project management certifying bodies with their own project management methodologies and principles:
International Project Management Association
Of the three, PMI’s certifications are most widely recognized around the world. IPMA’s four levels of certification and PRINCE2, while known globally, are primarily founded in Europe. However, if you work in Europe, PMI is active and widely known. I happen to be based out of Germany and actively involved with the Munich Chapter that has a large presence of certified and practicing project managers. SNIP, the article continues @ Engineering.com, click here to continue reading....