Embark on a rewarding career in project management with CAPM certification. This globally recognized entry-level certification opens up lucrative job opportunities and significantly enhances your salary prospects.
Key Insights
- CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) is a valuable certification for aspiring Project Managers, helping them stand out in job applications and boosting their salary prospects.
- The Project Management Institute predicts a 33% increase in project management jobs over the next five years, creating 22 million new roles by 2027.
- CAPM certification provides a strong foundation for a career in various industries including construction, manufacturing, information services, management, and professional services.
- Project Managers earn above-average salaries with a median annual figure around $116,000, significantly higher than the average U.S. salary for all occupations.
- CAPM-certified Project Managers enjoy a salary increase of around 25% compared to their non-certified peers.
- While free resources are available to learn the basics of project management, PMI requires completion of 23 project management education hours from a recognized institute, such as Noble Desktop, to become CAPM certified.
There are plenty of professionals who are eager to become CAPM certified but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. You will need to pay to take the CAPM certification exam, and you will also need to pay for project management education hours. That doesn’t mean you can’t start learning the basics. There is a surprising amount of free resources available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program.
Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn CAPM certification.
What is CAPM Certification?
CAPM stands for Certified Associate in Project Management. CAPM is a professional certification for Project Managers with little to no experience or for aspiring Project Managers interested in launching a new career in project management.
CAPM is the most entry-level professional certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). CAPM certification is highly recommended for new and aspiring Project Managers with less than three years of experience. Gaining CAPM certification will make you stand out on job applications, increase your salary and opportunities, and ensure you have the necessary training and credentials to launch a new career as a Project Manager.
Project management is a very hot career path. A Project Manager is responsible for managing a project, including planning, organizing, monitoring, directing, and completing various elements of that project. PMI estimates that project management jobs will see a 33% increase over the next five years, with 22 million new project management jobs created by 2027. The exploding demand for Project Managers will lead to around 90 million jobs in the U.S. that require project management skills.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a global education, networking, and professional association for Project Managers. They have been largely responsible for defining the field of project management for the past few decades through the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). PMI offers certification programs, has local chapters in more than 80 countries, organizes academic and market research programs, and offers professional development for project management professionals. PMI’s more advanced Project Management Professional (PMP) is the gold standard in project management certification.
Read more about CAPM Certification and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with CAPM Certification?
CNBC calls project management “a great way for people with non-tech backgrounds to earn lucrative tech salaries.” The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is the world's leading entry-level project management certification. Earning a CAPM certification will make you stand out on the job market, open the door to more opportunities, and increase your salary.
We are in the golden age of project management: some of the industries with the largest growth in project management jobs include construction and manufacturing, information services, management and professional services, utilities, and oil and gas. Across industries, Project Managers make above-average salaries. According to PMI, the median annual salary for a Project Manager is around $116,000. The average U.S. salary for all occupations is around $50,000, which means that becoming a Project Manager would most likely nearly double your salary. For example, in an interview with CNBC, a Project Manager reports that switching from higher education to project management more than tripled her salary.
CAPM-certified Project Managers earn even more than their non-certified colleagues: PMI reports that CAPM certification results in around a 25% salary increase.
Using Free Resources to Learn the Basics
The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is an entry-level professional certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). It is highly recommended that new and aspiring Project Managers become CAPM-certified.
To become CAPM certified, PMI requires you to complete 23 hours of project management education before taking the exam. PMI does not count any self-directed study, such as watching online videos or reading books, toward certification. You can use these free resources to learn the basics, but you’ll need to enroll in a more structured course once you begin working toward certification.
For example, you can use Noble Desktop’s blog to learn more about project management and becoming a Project Manager. However, once you’ve decided to work toward becoming CAPM certified, you’ll need to enroll in a live, instructor-led course such as the Project Management Bootcamp offered by Noble Desktop.
Key Insights
- While the CAPM certification exam comes with a fee and a training requirement, there are a number of free resources available to help you prepare.
- These free resources won’t count towards your proficiency requirements, but watching videos and reviewing materials can ease the process of passing the exam.
- Professionals interested in more professional skills training in preparation for the CAPM exam should consider enrolling in a comprehensive in-person or online project management course through Noble Desktop.
Learn CAPM Certification Skills with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is the top professional certification for new and aspiring Project Managers. Earning a CAPM certification is highly recommended for anyone serious about pursuing a new career in project management. Being CAPM-certified will create more job opportunities and lead to a higher salary: reports show that CAPM-certified Project Managers earn around $101,000, 25% more than non-certified entry-level Project Managers.
There are prerequisites to taking the CAPM exam. Before you can apply to take the CAPM-certification exam, you will need to have 0 to 3 years of project management job experience, a high school diploma, and 23 hours of project management education. Enrolling in a bootcamp like Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp is a great way to accrue the required education hours to take the exam.
Noble Desktop is a coding, business, and design school that offers project management courses live online and at its state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. All of Noble Desktop’s project management courses are taught by PMP-certified Project Managers using Noble Desktop’s highly-rated, unique approach to learning: expert instructors teach a “micro-lecture” and then immediately guide students through applying what they just learned. This unique approach to training ensures that students learn the skills they need to get hired.
Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp is highly recommended for aspiring Project Managers and those seeking CAPM certification. Students are guided hands-on through managing real-world projects to develop skills in the five phases of project management, foundational project management concepts and terminology, project scope, resource management, project costs and budgeting, and risk management. Students also get an overview of several Agile Project Management Frameworks: Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), and Kansan. Graduates earn a Certificate of Completion to demonstrate their credentials.