So you’re already a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®? Congratulations!
Now you might be thinking of moving on in your career to earn the Project Management Professional (PMP)® designation.
The good news is that your CAPM studies and exam experience will help you get there faster. If you’re ready to take the next step, let me explain how to use your
But before we get started, let me address a common question: is it possible to convert your
Is it possible to convert CAPM to PMP ?
No, you can’t convert your
There’s no shortcut that lets you save time and only do a shorter version of the exam, for example. There are routes to ‘upgrade’ other certificates – for example, PRINCE2 Practitioner holders can take an accelerated route to earn the APM PMQ certification – but currently, there is nothing like that for
But don’t worry, there are still advantages to being a
Want to get your
Use your CAPM training hours towards PMP
PMP applicants have to evidence 35 hours of project management education, but you don’t. Even if you only did 23 hours of project management training to get your
PMI already knows that you have the basics down.
You might still want to take a PMP prep course, but you don’t have to, and that means you can more process your application more quickly.
Use your study schedule again
Did you make a study schedule? You can use the basics of that as a template to help you refresh and revise the key topics that will be tested in the
Update the template or calendar with your new revision plans.
Read next: Make time to study for your PMP Exam.
Use your study notes
It might be a couple of years since you last read the PMBOK Guide, so pull out your study notes and use them to remind yourself of the basics.
Remember, the
You’ll need to work on situational knowledge and other contextual elements to round out your project management learning to make it through the
Use your work experience
You probably chose to take the
Even if you don’t have a project management job title, you may still have enough experience leading projects in your day job to qualify for the 36 months of non-overlapping professional project management experience (which is further reduced if your degree was accredited by PMI’s global accreditation center).
Work experience is the thing that holds back a lot of
Use your exam experience
You’re an exam pro now! You’ve already successfully made it through the shorter, slightly less stressful
Remember: stay positive. You’ve already done a PMI exam. You know what to expect from the exam situation, the proctoring, the technology. You’ve got insider knowledge that students who go straight to the
If you want an extra dose of confidence, an exam simulator is a great way to prepare for the exam.
Keep your CAPM certificate active!
The recommendations above only apply if you are an active certification holder, in other words, your certificate is renewed and up-to-date. If you took the
That’s why I think it’s important to keep your
