June PMP Certification Numbers Are In

Every month I get a copy of PMI Today and I annotate 3 data points: New PMP® for the month, new PMPs year-to-date (YTD), and total number of active PMPs. For the second month in a row, PMI did not include New PMP monthly numbers and the YTD total, opting to report just the overall number of active credential holders. This is not a problem since I have been tracking the PMP data for over a year.

With an impressive 645 more certifications than last month, the trend continues with the new number of PMPs in June totaling *4,630. Year-To-Date total is *28,211. There are a total of 389,726 active PMPs.

* Numbers based on YTD totals reported by PMI and historical data.

The current trend predicts PMI will hit 400,000 active PMP credential holders this year.

	January	February	March	April	May	June
New PMPs (Monthly)	3,714	3,713	5,344	4,718	3,985	4,630
New PMPs (YTD)	3,714	7,429	12,779	19,596	23,581	28,211
Total Active PMPs	367,619	371,014	375,959	381,111	385,096	389,726

I want to congratulate those 4,630 out there who passed the exam in June. It's no cakewalk and I recognize your efforts and achievement.

What do you think of the current certification velocity?  Are there too many PMPs being certified on a monthly basis; too few; just right?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

May PMP Certification Numbers Are In

Every month I get a copy of PMI Today and I annotate 3 data points: New PMP® for the month, new PMPs year-to-date (YTD), and total number of active PMPs. This month was a little interesting because PMI stopped reporting the New PMP monthly numbers and the YTD total, opting to report just the overall number of active credential holders. This is not a problem since I have been tracking the PMP data for over a year.

The trend continues, with the new number of PMPs in May totaling 3,985. Year-To-Date total is 23,581. There are a total of 385,096 active PMPs.

The current trend predicts PMI will hit 400,000 active PMP credential holders this year.

	December (2009)	January	February	March	April	May
New PMPs (Monthly)	5,403	3,714	3,713	5,344	4,718	3,985
New PMPs (YTD)		3,714	7,429	12,779	19,596	23,581
Total Active PMPs	361,238	367,619	371,014	375,959	381,111	385,096

Though I'm still worried we're rapidly reaching a tipping point, I want to congratulate those 3,985 out there who passed the exam. It's no cakewalk and I recognize your efforts and achievement.

Of those 3,985, I've been in contact with several who passed the exam with the aid of my new product PMPrepFlashcards.com. Yes, I know, gratuitous plug.

The new data PMI did include in this months PMI Today was very enlightening.  It's about the other credentials.  As of May 2010, there were 385,096 active PMP credential holders.  In comparison, there were only 11,458 Certified Associates in Project Management (CAPMs)®, 421 Program Management Professionals (PgMPs)®, 357 PMI Risk Management Professionals (PMI-RMPs)®, and 320 PMI Scheduling Professionals (PMI-SPs)®.

With the industry dominance of the PMP® credential, it makes me question if these other certifications have the staying power.  Is there a demand for them or are they just a possible revenue stream for PMI?  Will there other certifications for the other knowledge areas?  Is Certified Scope Professional and Certified Communications Professional not far behind?  If I would PMI, I would go for it.  You don't know what the market will find valuable unless you try it.

April PMP Certification Numbers Are In

Every month I get a copy of PMI Today and I annotate 3 data points: New PMP® for the month, new PMPs year-to-date (YTD), and total number of active PMPs. The trend continues, with the new number of PMPs in April totaling 4,718. Year-To-Date total is 19,596. There are a total of 381,111 active PMPs. The current trend predicts PMI will hit 400,000 active PMP credential holders this year.

Though I'm still worried we're rapidly reaching a tipping point, I want to congratulate those 4,718 out there who passed the exam.  It's no cakewalk and I recognize your efforts and achievement.

Of those 4,718, I've been in contact with several who passed the exam with the aid of my new product PMPrepFlashcards.com.  Yes, I know, gratuitous plug.

	December (2009)	January	February	March	April
New PMPs (Monthly)	5,403	3,714	3,713	5,344	4,718
New PMPs (YTD)		3,714	7,429	12,779	19,596
Total Active PMPs	361,238	367,619	371,014	375,959	381,111

March PMP Certification Numbers Are In

Every month I get a copy of PMI Today and I annotate 3 data points: New PMP® for the month, new PMPs year-to-date (YTD), and total number of active PMPs. The trend continues, with the new number of PMPs in March totaling 5,344. Year-To-Date total is 12,779. There are a total of 375,959 active PMPs. The current trend predicts PMI will hit 400,000 active PMP credential holders this year.

Though I congratulate those who just got their certifications, I'm still worried we're rapidly reaching a tipping point.  I have two hopes.  [1] These new PMPs continue to look for new ways to provide value to their customers.  [2] That I am wrong about the prediction that so many PMPs in the mix will create a devaluation of the certification.

Personally, I would like to know how many of the PMPs certified in March prepared for the exam via boot camps and how many organically prepared.  Does it matter if someone went to a PMP bootcamp?

What do you think? Let me know.

	December (2009)	January	February	March
New PMPs (Monthly)	5,403	3,714	3,713	5,344
New PMPs (YTD)		3,714	7,429	12,779
Total Active PMPs	361,238	367,619	371,014	375,959

February PMP Certification Numbers Are In

Every month I get a copy of PMI Today and I annotate 3 data points: New PMP® for the month, new PMPs year-to-date (YTD), and total number of active PMPs.  The trend continues, with the new number of PMPs down by just 1 to 3,713.  Since we only have January to include, YTD total is 7,429.  There are a total of 371,014 active PMPs. I did a quick compare to Febrary of last year.  The overall total of PMPs is up by 43,764 in 12 months.  Average that out and you’re looking at 3,647 a month.

I still predict PMI will hit 400,000 active PMP credential holders this year.  But, I'm not as bullish on them reaching 450,000 by year end.

Any questions?  Let me know.

	December (2009)	January	February
New PMPs (Monthly)	5,403	3,714	3,713
New PMPs (YTD)		3,714	7,429
Total Active PMPs	361,238	367,619	371,014

The December Numbers Are In For PMPs

Yes, the December numbers are in.  This morning, I received my copy of PMI Today.  In it, the December 2009 numbers for Project Management Professional (PMP®) certifications were published.  So you don't have to go searching for it, here are the numbers:

	December Totals
New PMPs (December 2009)	5,403
New PMPs (YTD)	75,107
Total Active PMPs	361,238



If you asked me if PMI was headed in the right direction, my response would be

I don't know if PMI is going in the right direction, philosophically, but Project Managers certainly see the value in the certification.

If you are a vendor targeting project managers, you can see which direction the data is going.  If you are in a project management field and have been sitting on the fence about pursuing the certification, you can see which direction the data is going.  No, I’m not being paid by PMI to write this post nor am I a PMI fanboy.  If I had data supporting how many Certified Scrum Masters there were on a monthly basis, I would probably publish that here as well.  Until then, I’ll focus on the PMP.

I also think I will begin making this a recurring monthly post.  You have to be a member of PMI to get a copy of PMI Today.  I believe they are shooting themselves in the foot by not showing the growing trend of PMP certification holders.  I’m also going to go back as far as I can to show more historical data.

What do you think?   I welcome your comments or feedback.

Regards,

Derek

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