Taking a project management certification course can give you a huge leg up in the workplace. Becoming certified in project management can increase your salary, help you to become better organized, help you to become a more effective team leader, and improve the quality of your work. Regardless of your industry, a project management certificate shows employers that you possess valuable management skills.
A certification in project management can give you an edge when you’re searching for a new job, looking to get promoted, or looking to take on more responsibility at the office. When negotiating salary, a project management certification can really work in your favor.
There are also, of course, many ways in which a class in project management can improve the quality of your work. Project management courses teach you how to take a project from idea to completion, by breaking the process down into clear steps: initiation, planning, execution, monitor, closure, and risk management. You’ll learn best practices for project management, leading to better performance and a boost in productivity.
Becoming certified in project management can build trust with your managers, so they could be willing to hand over more complicated projects for you to execute.
There are several approaches to project management that you will come across when researching the right course for you. It’s good to know what kind of approach your workplace or desired workplaces uses before signing up for a class. The most popular approaches are Agile, Scrum, and Six Sigma.
Agile is widely used in software development, while Scrum is typically used by technology companies use to increase teamwork, and Six Sigma is an approach to business that helps to improve work and product quality.
An online course is a great way to get your project management certification, especially if you’re working full time, have a family, or just want the flexibility. You’ll be able to work at your own pace, so if you’re an early bird or a night owl, you can use that time to get classwork done. It’s a timesaver, as you won’t have to spend time commuting to a campus, and you’ll be able to log onto classes from the comfort of your home, from the library, or from wherever your heart desires.
Read on to learn about some of the top online project management certification courses, and to find out which is right for you.
Project Management Institute (PMI) is one of the most widely-recognized organizations for project management. This Udemy course qualifies as a certified PMI provider, and you’ll earn all 35 Contact Hours toward the PMP® certification from PMI.
In this 31-hour class, which is suitable for beginners, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the official Project Management best practices and reach a point where you’re able to demonstrate proficiency in the PMP principles, techniques, and tools required to be a successful lead on a project. By taking part in downloadable classes, practicing in quick quizzes, and taking a practice PMP® Certification Exam, you’ll learn the details and practices involved with starting a project, delivering your goals, and closing a project successfully.
This class is ideal for both existing project managers and new managers interested in improving their skills and getting certified in the key project management concepts, as well as aspiring project managers.
With 40 lectures adding up to 4 hours and 31 minutes of instruction, this class is a great introduction to Scrum. You’ll have the option of further solidifying your knowledge by participating in a class project as well.
In this crash course, you’ll learn the Scrum Fundamentals, Scrum Principles, Scrum Tools or “Artifacts,” and the key Scrum concepts, including real-world examples and templates. It’s a beginner course, but it’s comprehensive.
You’ll learn how to deliver projects quickly and on budget focusing on results, collaboration, teamwork, and excellence.
Your lecturer will be available for questions and concerns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with quick response times, and promises students that they’ll leave the course Scrum-certified.
This is a Skillshare course, and Skillshare is a membership platform. You’ll pay $1 for your first two months as a Skillshare Premium member, giving you access to this class and thousands more, and $19 per month or $99 per year after that.
Earn your yellow belt in Six Sigma with this 13-hour course on LinkedIn Learning. The yellow belt certification is for project team members, and while there’s no need to follow the order of the four certification tiers, it’s the first step in getting acquainted with the Six Sigma approach.
You’ll learn the fundamentals of the Lean Six Sigma methodology and how to help your team navigate more complex process improvement projects. This class will aid you in identifying and practicing essential Lean Six Sigma techniques, applying operational excellence to processes and services, and developing skills from project management to statistics.
The lectures are taught by experts in their field. LinkedIn Learning offers more than 15,000 expert-led courses, and users will love that the modules and activities can be accessed anytime via computer or phone, making learning easy to do on your commute or even from the comfort of your bed. One of the most helpful aspects of LinkedIn Learning is that its algorithm will suggest the best classes for you to take next to help you further in your career development.
With 13 hours of lectures, you’ll get to know Scrum well in this course. You’ll learn to master all the different Scrum tools and concepts, as well as the Scrum Values, Scrum Principles, and Scrum Pillars. You’ll get a comprehensive knowledge of Scrum and be able to take what you learned and apply it to your business or team.
No previous Scrum knowledge is necessary to take this class. The practice test helps to solidify what you’ve learned, and you’ll also get full lifetime access for both mobile and TV and 81 downloadable resources, so you can refresh your memory throughout your career.
Run by the University of Maryland, this edX class will take you five months, but it will look great on your résumé.
This class covers Scrum mechanics and Agile frameworks such as SAFe, Disciplined, and LeSS. You’ll gain a deep understanding of Agile principles and how to apply them to any industry in which you end up working.
You’ll focus on reducing the risk of project failure using Agile’s results-based framework, increase your productivity and speed using Lean Kanban and Agile techniques, and more. The course even goes into the use of hybrid techniques such as Lean Startup, Scaled Agile For the Enterprise (SAFe), and Disciplined Agile Development.
The course employs experts to run its five-class program.
Become a pro at Six Sigma with a Black Belt. The Black Belt is the second highest tier in Six Sigma, only to be outranked by the Master Black Belt, which enables holders to train Green Belts and Black Belts. The Black Belt is for project managers.
Learn to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects in this course. Black Belt students will review foundational Six Sigma course work, explore and practice Six Sigma methodology, and demonstrate the principles, philosophies, and tool usage.
This 20-hour course will round out your Six Sigma knowledge and aid you in project management. You’ll even be directed to courses to take afterwards to aid in your professional development.
This five-month course (based on one hour per week of course work) will help you hit the ground running as a project manager after completion. This intensive and hands-on series of courses gives you the skills to complete superior projects on time and on budget.
Students will gain a strong working knowledge of the basics of project management and be able to immediately put that knowledge to practical use to effectively manage projects in the office. The course focuses on aiding students in identifying and managing the product scope, building a work breakdown structure, creating a project plan, creating the project budget, defining and allocating resources, managing the project development, identifying and managing risks, and understanding the project procurement process.
The hands-on approach allows students to see how their new knowledge can be applied in the real world.
