CAPM: Certified Associate in Project Management

USA: $80,000 Per Year (Source)

India: 6,47,000 INR Per Year (Source)

This certification is open to all the job profiles and anyone willing to gain relevant project management experience can become CAPM certified. It provides exposure to larger projects and project management competence to the current role. This certification is designed with a view to providing basic knowledge about project management techniques and practices. Therefore, it accounts for minimal to no experience in the respective field at the time of applying for this credential.

1. Global Exposure
   This certification earns the praise of senior professionals globally and hence helps in providing the candidates with career opportunities to prove their worth. The trust built in this certification is exactly what permits the employers to give adequate international exposure to the CAPM certified practitioners.
   
2. CAPM Pay
   It is expected that this certification improves the pay of the professional by 25% bare minimum. The professionals can demand higher salaries as compared to non-certified professionals and they are also likely to receive better incentives.
   
3. Growth and Development
   This certification focuses not only on the corporate growth but also on the personal growth and development of the practitioner. It bags the expected job profiles for the certified such as Business Analyst Consultant, Communications Coordinator, etc.

The training cost applies only when a candidate does not have the required project management experience i.e. 1500 hours. It becomes mandatory to attend a 23 contact hours training program in such a case. The overall training cost varies from US$9.95 - US$199.

The overall cost for the certification depends upon the PMI membership status of the candidate. Moreover, it is also dependent upon whether it is a center-based test or an online-proctored test.

Examination Fee

Center-Based Testing (CBT)/ Online-Proctored Testing (OPT)

US$225.0 (Member) | US$300.0 (Non-member)

CAPM certification is valid for exactly five years from the date of the certification with no renewal process. For instance, Paul got his certification on 10 July 2018, then it will be valid until 10 July 2023.

Eligibility Criteria

1. It comprises 150 multiple-choice questions out of which 15 are pretest (unscored) questions.
2. There are two methods of conducting the test. It can either be a center-based test or an online-proctored test.
3. The allotted examination time is three hours with no scheduled breaks.

It can be detrimental to assume that since this test is basic to project management, it will involve less preparation time. A typical CAPM exam requires 45-60 hours of preparation time in total which is equivalent to 8-10 weeks, with 6 hours of studying each week.

For more details, log on to the official PMI Website.