Making the most of project management education and training means choosing a program that fits your needs and teaches the skills that can be used to manage projects and motivate team members. It's also important to get recognition for completed courses and achievements. Whether you're an individual seeking to get involved with project management or a manager planning to train employees, choosing the right project management training is important.

Project management is an organized effort to get a specific project completed within a specified time and budget. Processes of project management include developing and implementing a plan and coordinating staff and resources. Program management involves managing multiple projects that depend on each other. Some of the ways to make the most of project manager education are:

1. Choose courses in project management that are geared to your skills or industry.

2. Prove your credentials through certification or an advanced degree.

3. Find online and printed study guides to help with the certification process.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose the right classes in project management

Some project management training is designed for specific industries or levels of expertise. Look for training that's geared toward your skills and goals.

I recommend: The Hampton Group offers individual project management training programs for the fields of construction, health care, administration and information technology. The International Institute for Learning provides certificate programs at the associate, professional and master levels.

Find certification programs for project manager education

Certification demonstrates a solid knowledge of project management. Several professional organizations offer certification to qualified project managers. Requirements for certification vary among the organizations.

I recommend: The American Academy of Project Management issues the Master Project Manager certification. The Project Management Institute offers several levels of certification.

Get an advanced degree through online project management education

A masters degree is worth looking into for professionals who want a career in project management. Most programs offer flexible schedules for working adults.

I recommend: Penn State University and George Washington University offer project management masters degree programs that can be completed online. The programs are ideal for current managers who want to expand their project management skills.

Get assistance with free project management training courses and practice exams

Online tutorials and practice exams can provide free preparation for exams. They're also a good way to identify skills that need to be developed, which can help in choosing courses in project management.

I recommend: ProjectManagementCourse offers a free training program to refresh and enhance skills. GoCertify provides free quizzes and other resources to help prepare for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam offered by the Project Management Institute.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many project management and education programs give credit for professional experience. Check with the program to find out if your work experience is acceptable.

Project management training started in the construction and aerospace industries. Now, however, it’s needed in just about every industry, especially IT. Much of business today is project based. Project budgets trump departmental budgets anymore; employees are hired based on projects; and everything seems to have a beginning and an end.

What sort of project management training credentials does one need to become a project manager? You’d think someone with a business or engineering degree could jump right into a project management role; however, it requires a specific skill set and training that traditional education may not offer as part of the regular curriculum.

What you need to know:

1). Complete your project management education to become a certified project management professional (CPMP).

2). Many universities and some colleges offer separate project management training courses and/or certification programs in project management and for getting a CPMP.

3). Realize you’ll need to get specific education and training as well as pass rigorous testing before getting project management certified and being recognized as a project management professional.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a school or training program for project management training and certification

Many college business programs, such as program management training tracks, have a built-in project management certification specialization or emphasis. Also, many continuing education programs offer project management education. Opt to get certified online if you don't live near a college/university or can't attend traditional courses.

I recommend: Go with the course delivery format that best accommodates you, your schedule and your needs for project management education and certification. Check local higher education schools in your area, such as City University of Seattle, The University of Texas at Austin or NYU SCPS to register for a certified project management professional training program, but know you can also obtain project management education and training online through many of these same colleges/universities or through separate e-schools and online prep sites, such as Kaplan University, Project Management Training Online or in coordination with Towson University, The New York Times Knowledge Network.

Watch out for illegitimate training programs that are not accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI) while seeking project management education and training. Most states have their own PMI Chapters, such as PMI Southwest Ohio Chapter. Check on accreditation for brick–and–mortar schools as well as online schools offering a software project management class.

Study your project management training materials

Plan to study a lot to get the most out of your project manager education. You can study independently; however, it's best for most people to have some guidance, feedback and structure.

I recommend: Utilize free study sites, such as projectmanagementcourse.com, where you can not only obtain useful study information but also participate in a project management blog. Participate in other blogs related to business and project management like tompeters!

If you're taking an online project management training certification course, engage in discussions and communicate often with your instructor and/or course mates if possible. It's helpful to have peer input from study partners or course mates, especially with project management training.

Get certified in project management

Locate a testing site for project management certification. Register and pay for the exam ahead of time. Check the PMI site for testing facilities and fees.

I recommend: Study and know the project manager education material. Take practice tests via websites, such as GoCertify. Get plenty of R & R before your CPMP exam.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  On-the-job experience (and any other involvement with project management) is often counted toward training credits equivalent to classes in project management. Verify what can be counted with PMI.
• •  Find some program management training programs that normally offer business management courses may also include project management topics in their curriculum; however, program management training is typically different from specific project management training.

If you or your employees are new to running projects, you could all benefit from some project management education and training for beginners. Project management education involves teaching people the correct way to plan and track project progress. Most courses also touch on resource planning and cost reduction. After completing a beginner course, many people go on to higher levels of project manager education.

Before selecting how to get project management education and training for all of your employees, examine any time constraints. If you need this training completed quickly, then an on-site or off-site training might be best. If there is no specific deadline for the training, consider an online course with supplemental materials that employees can complete at their leisure.

1. Look for self paced project management training online

2. Find on-site, instructor led classes in project management

3. Get enrolled in off-site project management training classes

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use online project management education for the basics

If you have a lot of newbies to the world of project management on your payroll and time is not of the essence, let your employees, or yourself for that matter, take online project management training. Most online training comes with supplementary material that can be referred to or reviewed during the course, which is a plus for beginners.

I recommend: EClasses.Org has an introductory level project management class that will cover the basic fundamentals of project management and give a good foundation for further study. Cuesta College also has a six week project management fundamentals course that focuses on project planning.

Have the project management training come to your office

If having employees off site for a few days will hamper customer needs or deadlines, have an instructor come on site to facilitate the project management education. On-site classes can benefit new learners, because as they apply the new information to their daily work, they can bring questions to the instructor the next day.

I recommend: You can get basic project management training with a focus on time management and theory methodology from New Horizons Worldwide. The trainers at Schedule Associates International offer on-site, customizable training with free access to their project management online library.

Venture off-site for project management and education

If your production schedule allows, why not travel to an off-site location for your beginning courses in project management. You can get the same basic program management training in a location that offers up a fun filled nightlife!

I recommend: Attend a three day boot camp style class that is team based in learning project deliverables, producing schedules and project risks in locations all over the US from Project Management Leadership Group. Management Concepts also has various US locations for their three day class sessions that focus on basic principles of fulfilling goals while balancing time and quality.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If your training budget is limited, you can always purchase a copy of project management training courses software for a few computers in your office and let employees schedule time to use the software.

Project management expertise has become one of the most sought after sets of knowledge, skills and abilities organizations look for when hiring employees. To get just about anything done in an organization one must be able to plan and coordinate staff and resources while completing all the necessary tasks of a project within a specified time and budget. As you research the various organizations on the market that offer training and certification it would be helpful to understand some of the terms you might find as you do so.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Project management professional

Project management professional (PMP) is the credential for project management professionals. It can be obtained from the Project Management Institute by completing coursework, acquiring experience and passing an exam.

I recommend: Go to the Project Management Institute for more information on this credential and others.

Certified international project manager

A certified international project manager (CIPM) must have 3 or more years experience and pass an exam that tests knowledge and skills. Project management education and training institutes offer courses that can lead to a CIPM.

I recommend: American Academy of Project Management offers a CIPM and you can get more information on the courses at this website.

Applied learning

Applied learning refers to the process of taking what is learned in a classroom and applying immediately to on-the-job activities on a day-to-day basis. Some project management education and training courses offer applied learning opportunities to enrollees.

I recommend: Penn State offers applied learning opportunities in project management.

Virtual classroom

Virtual classroom refers to learning that can take place on the Internet. Attendees can follow along in real time or access learning modules that have been recorded at an earlier time. Virtual learning allows attendees to take the courses when it is convenient and complete course work when it is convenient. Some project management education and training institutes offer virtual classroom learning.

I recommend: International Institute for Learning explains the benefits of learning project management in a virtual classroom.

Distance learning

Distance learning refers to courses that are offered to students that do not reside in the same city where the classroom is. Classes are videotaped and then made available to students to view at their convenience. Handouts and course assignments are handled via software programs. Some project management education and training institutes offer distance learning.

I recommend: The George Washington University offers distance learning courses in project management.

Business analysis

Business analysis is the study of business problems and identification of solutions for them. It requires a specific set of knowledge, skills, techniques and tasks that result in process improvement or organizational change. Some project management training and education institutes offer business analysis courses.

I recommend: Project Management Training Online has a business analysis course that you can complete online.