Does the PMP help if you have an MBA?

I've heard the saying management, is management is management. I wasn't sure how I stood on this for a while, but after working in a bunch of different environments, it seems the PMP (PMBOK) is nothing more than a conglomerate (bits and pieces) of management courses. Risk management, operational management, financial management (okay this is a HUGE stretch

) but you get more point hopefully.

I work with all different types of managers in my last 4 - 5 roles and almost all of them understood all the terminology that the PMBOK brought.

While they all didn't have their MBA, most if not all had at least some business / finance bachelors degree. With that said, the ones with their MBA usually were right on point with project managers etc. They understood the PMBOK terminology without hesitation or pause.

The awareness just hit me yesterday in a large event planning session. We had all sorts of levels of management in this very large meeting and they all held themselves together well (of course some better than others).

PMP reminds me of Network + while an MBA would be more on par with the CCNA. While they have similiarities the body of knowledge you learn from an MBA is more in depth and dives deeper.

JMHO

Thoughts?

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

Mide

That's an interesting analogy...I'm sure it could be valid depending on the classes one took to get their MBA.

Just my $.02 but I think most positions are all about their spheres of responsibility. If you're already a manager and have an MBA then it will look better to have a PMP since many PM ideas and methodologies are useful in any management position.

But if you're not a manager, and let's say technical, but you have an MBA and/or a PMP, it doesn't really help you much since it's not directly in your field.

If you're looking for any PM job then yes having a PMP will help. If you have no experience in the field, having a PMP shows interest and it may give you a foot in the door for a PM job. If you've had a PM job in the past, then yes the PMP would be the de facto cert to have.

I personally wouldn't like being a PM. Having the responsibility to look at the big picture of various projects, hassle workers to reach deadlines, try to clear out bottlenecks, and use Project to whip out Gantt charts to show mgmt...not my thing.

Danielm7

Mide wrote: »

If you're looking for any PM job then yes having a PMP will help. If you have no experience in the field, having a PMP shows interest and it may give you a foot in the door for a PM job. If you've had a PM job in the past, then yes the PMP would be the de facto cert to have.

Straight from pmi.org

To apply for the PMP, you need to have either:
A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience, with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

OR

A four-year degree (bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

Unless I'm not understanding something it doesn't seem like you can get a PMP just so you can get your first PM job.

Either way, I look at the MBA more for managing people and processes, the PMP for managing projects. That's how it works at my company anyway, the people with PMPs manage projects, some have their MBA but in the same way that some people here are pure technical and get their MBA just because they are planning for the future.

As for terms and such, I was familiar with a lot of them from just doing the project+ @ WGU. It was helpful to not have to be furiously googling terms during meetings.

Mide

Danielm7 wrote: »

Straight from pmi.org
[/LIST]Unless I'm not understanding something it doesn't seem like you can get a PMP just so you can get your first PM job.

There are multiple people in my company who have their PMP but were never titled as a PM in any past jobs. I'm not sure if it's officially the proper way to submit experience but these people listed all of the projects they have ever done and/or directed as experience. They all had their bachelors and/or master's degrees so a lot of the requirements were already covered.