So what's my beef with PMI?

Well, where to begin.

1. It's a shill for itself.
Project Management as a profession came and went last decade. It's like the tired old car salesman with a new coat of polish on the old clunker in the car lot. Even with the new offerings of Program Management and Portfolio Management, it's a limited growth field in the economy of the early 21st Century.

In other words, PMI is selling something that many organizations figured out they wanted long ago and implemented. Today, most Project Managers wouldn't bother with certification because over time, the credential has been watered down to the point where PMI is now considered a certification mill, give me the money and I'll give you the PMP, and buy my classes, and you're renewed. Pretty much worthless, like accreditation (y'know, pay me and I'll say you're in good standing with us).


2. Certification isn't worth anything.
Face it. If you have a good methodology in place, and you follow it, you're half way there.

Spend your time on really important things, like oh, Microsoft certification. (just kidding)


3. Their day has past.
As with most proprietary things, in private hands, they bleed it dry and run it in the ground. Which is why many organizations say "preferred" not "required".

Besides, now colleges offer degrees in PM.


4. What do they do with all the money they collect?
Well everyone knows they offer more seminars and classes. Anything to get another buck out of you.

But my guess is that their upper management is paid well. Really well.


5. Their job board isn't.
Ever take a look at their job board? Between 50%-60% of their postings are with one company, CH2M Hill. Other than that, it's pretty sparse.


There's more, but the fact that no one ever criticizes them offers a hint.

Besides, PRINCE2 is a better certification. And better recognized around the world.

Project Managers have a bright future....

NOT!

One of the two great lies of corporatedom is that there will always be a need for Project Managers.

The other is that you need to be certified by PMI as a PMP.

It's true that projects should always have a Project Manager to lead the damn thing. Otherwise, management will put the Account Rep in charge and he'll put the developers in the PM slot while they develop.

And then wackiness ensues.

A 3-month estimate for $50K will turn into a 4-month for $65K (um, sorry, we misunderestimated the amount of work you told us you wanted). Then when the money runs out and nothing is delivered, the developers and Account Rep move onto other things and will work on that project in their spare time using other bench resources as they become available (those clients are bastards, don't they know we're working for free now).

And the customer waits....

And then the Titanic becomes a 10-person project over budget by $550K, going on a year in development (testing will cost them extra, heh! Eh, we'll let the customer test it when we give them the code). With none of the usual checks in place.

And the Director with the mid-life crisis hides the loss off the book from the corporate overlords in the Eastern time zone.

And the customer waits....

But.

Back to my original premise (I may come back to this particular disaster later), which is that Project Management as a profession has dropped off the map. And now the market is saturated with ... you guessed it ... Project Managers! And too few opportunities.

And PMI still wants their $119 annual renewal fee for ... who knows.

Anywayz.