5 Things PRINCE2® can contribute to your career

Anyone who has worked in the project management discipline understands the need to have a certification to advance their career. If you are considering PRINCE2® then you already are a project manager with experience looking forward to establishing yourself in your field or you have just entered the industry and need to make your career path. Being one of the oldest project management methodologies that are still widely used, PRINCE2® has a number of features from which many other methodologies have been derived. Having this industry-standard certification early on in your career will set you up for growth in many public and private sector projects around the world.

Here are 5 ways a PRINCE2® certification can add value at any point in your career:

1. It helps you take your first steps towards a project management role

The one major advantage PRINCE2® has over other certifications such as Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) ® is that the qualification has no prerequisites for entry. While PMP® requires professionals to already have been in managerial roles with over 4,500 hours or more of experience to take up the certification, PRINCE2® can be taken up by anyone without prior experience. This means you have a credential to show your potential employers that you’re working towards future roles in project management and are committed to investing your resources in it. Although a PRINCE2® certification does not make up for a lack of experience, it lays down the foundations for building the skills and learn essentials such as making time estimates, effective communication, mobilizing and deploying resources, manage project scope, resolve issues and deal with catastrophes that are sometimes inevitable.   

2. Broadens your career prospects

Being a pioneering project management methodology, the framework of PRINCE2® foundation course can be applied to more than one type of industry. While there are methodologies that are best suited to a particular industry, PRINCE2® finds applications virtually everywhere, including planning parties and large events! Therefore the skills and techniques you pick up can be applied to any other field that you might want to switch to. For example, the skills you acquire working in the IT industry can be easily applied to processes in a manufacturing or service or marketing firm. This means the scope to build your career broadens or even make a complete shift to a different domain where your skills remain relevant.  

3. It solidifies your credibility

When you look through the listings for project manager positions, you will often come across PRINCE2® as a prerequisite and for many, this in itself is a good reason to take one up. But as mentioned earlier, a five-day training session won’t hone the skills needed to deal with a complex project, which comes only with experience. However, if you are already an experienced project manager without a credential, a PRINCE2® certification training can add significant weight to your credibility as a project manager. The certification courses are designed such that it is useful to both beginners and experienced project managers. Consider the three PRINCE2® qualifications you can take up:  

1. Foundation: This entry-level qualification will help you apply for roles such as a PMO coordinator or a project administrator.
2. Practitioner: Taken up after the foundation certificate, this level gets you into the details of how to run a project and its management. With this intermediate level qualification, you can apply for roles such as program coordinator or project manager.
3. Professional: The highest level in the certification which needs to be cracked with the case study and practical work. With this advanced level qualification, you can apply for roles such as Program manager

The bottom line is that your experience with a certification solidifies your credibility And greatly boosts your chances of landing the role you seek.

4. Your paycheck gets fatter

While a satisfying career is its own reward, your salary is the other half of the story. It is well-known that certifications significantly improve the pay packages of professionals. One reason is that qualified individuals transition smoothly into their roles and have a higher chance of delivering success. It is also economical for the company to hire a certified individual than to train one in its methodology. With that being said, the national average salary in London is £52k while the salary of a PRINCE2® practitioner in the city is £58k and going by PayScale, the average Project Manager in IT has a salary of £41.5K.

5. Expand your horizons at the global level

Being one of the world’s most-used methodologies, opportunities for PRINCE2® certified professionals are open in more than 150 countries including UK (majorly), East and West Europe, Netherlands, Australia, India, and China. Basically, with this certification, you can apply for a position globally along with the domestic opportunities

Now that you are aware of the benefits of a PRINCE2® certification, it’s time to bolster your experience as a project manager!