Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to this video guys. Many of you who are starting your career in project management must be having these questions in mind. Which is the best project management certification in the industry that would be beneficial for me as an entry-level PM? I have like zero work experience in project management, but I still want to get into that domain. Is there a certification that can help me to get an entry-level job in project management? Or I want to do the PMP certification, but I don't meet the eligibility criteria which asks for a three year or a five years of project management experience. Is there a way out? You can be a fresh graduate out of college or an experienced professional willing to get into project management. In this video today, we'll be talking about five most important and most relevant certifications that you can do that will help you to get into the domain of project management for the first time. In this video, I'll be talking about every detail for each of these five entry-level project management certifications that will include cost, eligibility criteria, which industries they are relevant to, countries they are most recognized and long-term fit to your career path. So make sure you do not skip any part of this video because at the end of this video, I'll be giving you two very important tips that you need to keep in mind whenever you are going for any certification in your career. But before we start a quick shout out to the sponsors of today's video Tech Canvas, who are PMI authorized training providers for project management certifications. So more on Tech Canvas and their offerings later in the video. So the first certification that you need to keep in mind as an entry-level PM or as a working professional willing to get into project management for the first time is the CAPM certification. This is a certification offered by the Project Management Institute, United States, and it's the world leading institute for the project management body of knowledge guys. You will find all the relevant details about the CAPM certification here on this slide. And I have also mentioned some of the important links related to this certification in the description section of this video. So make sure you take your time to read through this slide and study the links as well. However, I would like to highlight two most important points for these certification guys. Number one, CAPM is the most popular and most effective project management certification for entry-level PMs across the globe. So this can be of major advantage in your career guys. Not only if you want to move from one industry to the other, let's say from manufacturing to logistics, but also if you have to move from one geography to another, CAPM certification will be of great help. This we will see in more detail at the end of this video. Number two, if you want to do advanced PM certifications like the PMP or Prince to Practitioner and you don't have real life project management experience, CAPM is the best way to get you into those kind of jobs which will provide you that experience. Now if you are considering CAPM certification guys, I would recommend that you check out the CAPM training certification course offered by Tech Canvas. So this is the website of the CAPM training module for Tech Canvas guys. As you see here, they are an official PMI certified training organization. This training is suitable for all entry-level PMs across all industries. And as you see here, they use real life projects and case studies to build your understanding of real life project management principles, which I believe is very important for an entry-level PM. And this training guys also provides you the required 23 hours of formal project management education that you need as a part of the eligibility criteria for the CAPM exam. As you see here guys, this course also gives you hands on experience with project management tools such as MS Project and JIRA, which you would be using a lot in your real life day to day project management. So I think that's brilliant. On the other hand, you get flashcards, mind maps, basically all the aids you need for an effective exam preparation. It's also priced very decently guys, okay. And as a bonus, if you use the coupon code CAPMWITHRAY10, which you see on the screen now, you will get an additional 10% off on the listed price, okay. So make sure you consider registering before the offer expires in 30 days from now when the video is published. And you know what the best part is guys? Whenever you enroll for any training course with TechCanvas, be it CAPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, you get a 7% discount on PMI membership as well as the exam fee. Now I believe that's a great offer guys. If some PMI ATP was offering such kind of a discount when I was doing my PMP exam, it would be like a no brainer for me. So make sure you check out the other training courses offered by TechCanvas as well. Okay, next. The second most effective certification guys which will help you get an entry level PM job is the PRINCE2 Foundation Certification. It's a primarily UK based certification guys offered by this organization called Axelos. PRINCE2 stands for Projects in Controlled Environment and this methodology is used a lot in the UK and Europe to lead major IT and infrastructure development projects. You will find all the details about the PRINCE2 Foundation Certification here on this slide and I have also mentioned some of the important links related to this certification in the description section of this video. So make sure you take your time to read through this slide and study the links as well. I have linked a few training modules for PRINCE2 as well in case you are interested. However, a couple of points I would like to mention regarding this certification. Number one, PRINCE2 particularly has immense value in UK, Europe and Australia. So if you are based out of any of these geographies, consider doing PRINCE2 rather than CAPM. Okay. And secondly, the foundation module of PRINCE2 is very helpful if later in your career you wish to pursue the PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification. So keep this in mind as well. If you are liking this video guys, make sure you press that like button, subscribe to my channel and share this video within your network. The likes and comments I get from you guys keeps me motivated to create more videos like this and also helps me understand that you find these kind of videos relevant and helpful for your career. So, if you want me to cover any other topics related to project management certifications, please let me know in the comment sections below. Moving on, the next certification which you should consider as an entry level PM is the CSM or the Certified Scrum Master Certification. CSM is particularly quite quick to achieve because you attend a two day training course and the exam happens on the third day. So you are done with the entire process in three days. However, I would like to mention a couple of important points for the CSM certification. Number one, if you see this category of entry level job guys, you will notice that the CSM is particularly very valued in the information technology domain. So if you are from manufacturing or retail banking or let's say logistics, probably this certification would not be very relevant for you. But if you are planning to get into IT project management, literally no second thoughts guys. You should definitely go for the CSM certification. Number two, long term if you want to grow in IT project management, you should definitely consider getting other IT based core certifications such as AWS, ITIL, Microsoft Azure, SQL or Cisco certifications on top of the CSM certification. Okay. And don't forget to check the links in the description box for this certification. Moving on, another version of the CSM certification is the Professional Scrum Master or the PSM level one certification. Most of the features for PSM are similar to CSM. So you can choose whichever works better for you. The only difference is the CSM certification is provided by Scrum Alliance and the PSM certification is provided by this organization called Scrum.org. Both of them are equally valued and helpful guys. Okay. I would suggest that you do a bit of benchmarking within your LinkedIn network and see which one between CSM or PSM is more relevant and choose that accordingly. Next one is a certification guys, which is very specific to the United States job market. And that is the CompTIA A plus certification. The CompTIA organization has many certifications under their kitty, just like PMI. But this A plus certification is the most basic and entry level if you want to build a career in IT, software or network architecture domain. You will find all the key details about the CompTIA A plus here on this slide. And I've also mentioned some of the important links related to this certification in the description section of this video. So make sure you take your time to read through this slide and study the links as well. I have linked a few training modules for CompTIA in case you are interested. However, a couple of points I would like to mention regarding this certification. Number one, it's a certification that's mostly valued in the United States guys, okay. So if you are planning an IT job there, this should be like a no brainer. Number two, it's very core to IT related domains such as cyber security and network architecture. So if you are from a totally different industry, let's say healthcare or nonprofit, don't consider this certification. Instead, think of a more generic certification like the CAPM certification, okay. Moving on, the next highly valued certification for professionals willing to get into project management, especially in the UK, is the Projects Fundamental Qualification provided by APM-UK. This certification is very specific to the UK job market guys, okay. So if you are planning to move to the UK for a job, this should be like a must have in your kitty. The best part is, all the entry level jobs in the UK government sector or public sector like the NHS value APM qualifications a lot. I have listed down all the important points related to APM certification here guys, okay. So make sure you pause the video and go through this slide. And that, for a long term career in the UK as a project manager, you should also consider taking up advanced level project management qualifications such as Prince II Practitioner or the NEC3. Now in this table, what I have done is guys, I have linked the relevant certifications to the industries where they are mostly valued. So use this table to make an informed decision on which certification should make the most sense for you. Keep this as a screenshot with you or pause the video here and do study this table in great detail. And this is the best part guys. In this chart, I have linked the certifications to the relevant geographies as well. So this should also be super useful for you when you are deciding on which entry level PM certification to take, okay. So use this table before and this chart here to make an informed choice about your project management certification. Now a very important disclaimer guys for certifications before we end today's video. Certifications in your career guys does two things, okay. Number one, they provide you the required knowledge because without that knowledge, you will not be able to apply those best practices in your actual real life scenarios, okay. And number two, certifications provide you maximum chances to be shortlisted for an interview, okay. So let's say if you have a CAPM or a PRINCE II or a PMP certification, the chances of your CV getting shortlisted for an interview increases dramatically, okay. But here is the word of caution guys, only having certifications doesn't help you to get a job, okay. You still have to earn it. You still have to prove your mettle in the interview to the interview panel that you are the right candidate for the job regardless of having the certifications. So I would highly recommend that you keep this in mind whenever you are pursuing any certification so that you understand the correct intent of having a certification as a professional in your CV. I hope this video was useful guys and now you are better positioned to take an informed decision on any of the entry level project management certifications that you are willing to do. Thank you for watching today's video guys. Let me know in the comment section below what other topics on general project management you would like me to cover in this channel. Till then stay safe, study well and I will see you again in the next video.