CAPM or PMP – Which Certification is Better?

Project management is growing rapidly over the years. Almost every industry across the country are searching for candidates who have the skills suitable for project manager roles. The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® and Project Management Professionals (PMP®) are both provided by the Project Management Institute (PMI). It offers opportunities to enhance skills, lead larger projects, and to improve their career scopes. 

CAPM is also known as a Certified Associate in Project Management. It validates your skills and knowledge in project management and in the usage of best practices in your business, which is recommended by the PMI Institute. The Project Management Institute is one of the most important institutes of Project Management. It is a very popular certification that helps organizations and recruiters to find professionals and skilled individual for a suitable job available in their organization. It proves the reliability of the candidate’s skills, knowledge, and experience in managing, developing, and handling critical situations.

Eligibility criteria for the CAPM exam:

• You must have a secondary diploma or a high school diploma. 
• You must have 23 hours of education on project management. 

Anybody can begin their careers with the CAPM certification exam, although the candidates require to have at least 23 hours of project management education before appearing for the exam. Project management education can be done and completed online. The candidates won’t have to put their professional careers on hold. Some of the universities provide project management as a part of the degree program. 

Project Management Professional (PMP) is a professional certification that has been accepted globally. It is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), it is a non-profit organization located in the US. PMP is considered important for project managers. Especially for the people aiming for a better career path. 

Eligibility criteria of PMP® exam: 

• It requires a secondary degree or high school diploma or global equivalent 
• It also requires 7500 hours in leading and directing projects 
• It requires at least 35 hours of education on project management 

Or

• It requires a four-year degree
• It also requires 4500 hours in leading and directing projects 
• It is a must to have 35 hours of education on project management 

PMP does not need a bachelor’s degree. The candidates who have a four-year degree have a bigger advantage. The CAPM® Examination requires at least 1500 hours of experience in project management, whereas PMP candidates require at least 7500 hours of experience in leading and directing projects, while the candidates with four years degree require only 4,500 hours of experience. 

PMP certification exam also requires 35 hours of project management education, whereas CAPM requires at least 23 hours. 

CAPM certification examination costs around $225 for PMI members, and for non-PMI members, it costs $300. Whereas the PMP certification exam costs $400 for PMI members, and for non-members, it costs $555. 

The difficulty level of CAPM and PMP certification exam:

CAPM is an entry-level certification that provides opportunities for both beginners and professionals to enhance their skills and knowledge. So, it is considered less difficult than the PMP certification exam. The questions for CAPM come from the PMBOK® Guide. The percentage of questions related to each chapter are listed in the CAPM Handbook. The candidates wanting to acquire the CAPM Certification have adequate resources and information for their preparation. 

Whereas the PMP exam is suitable for early-career to professionals who already acquire experience in project management, which makes it more difficult and challenging. PMBOK® also completes the information and questions on PMP, but the PMP exam also contains questions to test whether the candidates can handle a real-world project or not. 

 Benefits of PMP certification 

1. Improves resume – Amongst all other Certifications, PMP Certification carries the most importance. Recruiters looking for a project manager are aware of this fact, which is why they prioritize the candidates with a PMP Certificate over the others who do not have PMP Certification. 
2. Gathers acknowledgment – PMP Certification is globally accepted and popularised. PMP Certification can work with any industry and in any location. It has been proved by data that with an increased number of certified project managers in a company, the project’s success rate also increases considerably. 

Benefits of CAPM Certification 

1. Boosts Confidence level – It enhances leadership skills, which allows them to lead from the front in both personal life and workplace. 
2. Credibility – It validates your skills and knowledge and proves your reliability to the recruiters.