TOPIC: Am I Even Eligible for the PMP?

Aspiring Project Manager here. I’ve been meaning to take the PMP exam, but I'm worried if I even fit the requirements.

I have a bachelor’s degree and around 4 years of experience at an IT company but I’ve never officially had the “Project Manager” title in my position. Though part of my job responsibilities is being a lead in some projects and managing a team of software engineers before.

I found online and I took some university courses when I was still studying and I’m completing my 35-hour training from PrepCast Basic.

Seeing as I already have a degree and some experience, am I safe to apply for PMP? Or would I need to do CAPM certification first? Any help is appreciated!

I think you are eligible, and to be sure, check pages 11-12 in the PMP ECO.
Many people like you who are "accidental project managers" (without the title) and manage a team on a project have their applications approved and go on to get their PMP.

If you have friends or colleagues who are certified, I recommend you ask if they would share a copy of their application.
You should use the terms you see in the PMBOK Guide to describe your experience.

It doesn't cost anything to apply, so you should at least give it a try.

I'm in the same boat as you, I also want some clarity on eligibility.

Does anyone know if doing the Google Certification for project management qualify for the "35 hours of project management education/training"? For everyone, feel free to reply.

You don't need to have an official project manager title to qualify, but you do need to talk about how you used or implemented project management processes so you can use it. Also help from your manager/superior at that time would help back up those claims if you got audited.

@Marielle

Determining your eligibility can be challenging. As Jonathan mentioned, you most likely qualify because your experience leading projects (and that is regardless of your official title) does indeed count toward the required experience hours. However, it’s difficult for any instructor to confirm precisely without seeing all the details of your work history. I’ve been teaching PMP exam prep since 2008, and it’s one of the most frequent (and also hardest!) questions I get.

To help, I created a simple five-step process you can follow to gauge your eligibility on your own. You can find it here:

www.youtube.com/live/flAQnGNkYvg



This should walk you through how to break down your experience, align it with project management tasks, and see if you meet the criteria. If your experience fits, then applying for the PMP (instead of starting with the CAPM) may be the right path for you.

@Zandra

The Google course (on Coursera) has six modules with over 100 hours of training. Since PMI requires 35 hours, this means that the course qualifies numerically: You are getting the number of hours needed.

However... there’s a key distinction between a course that covers general project management concepts and a PMP exam prep course. The Google certificate teaches foundational principles and basic skills, making it a great entry-level program. By contrast, PMP exam prep specifically focuses on the knowledge areas and skill sets tested in the PMP exam. As a PMP instructor, I usually assume that learners already understand the basics, and so my role is to guide them in tackling the specific tasks, terminology, and approaches that the PMP exam will assess.

If you’ve completed the Google course, you can indeed count those training hours toward your PMP eligibility. Just remember that additional prep may be necessary to pass the exam itself.

Some excellent advice here.
I second the statement that your job title is not the deciding factor for whether your experience qualifies as "PM experience" or not. It is driven by the nature of the actual work you did.
I would suggest you try to write down your roles and the responsibilities you undertook and frame it in terms of PM actions.
Review them with your manager or senior colleague and get their input into whether they this this is an accurate reflection of what you have been managing.
If yes, then you should be good to go.

Marielle asked, "Would I need to do CAPM certification first? "

As stated by others here, if you are eligible to sit for the PMP and your goal is to be a project manager, then why not? Go for the PMP.

I wanted to say a bit more about the CAPM, as it is also a viable option in case you are not eligible for the PMP.
The CAPM is entry-level focused and demonstrates foundational knowledge of core PM concepts and framework.
The CAPM is not a prerequisite for the PMP exam, though many use it as a stepping stone. The CAPM certification meets the PMP exam requirement of 35 contact training hours.