When I was looking for a role on the east coast, I found that there were a lot of "PM" opportunities, but it really was a mystery to me what credentials it would take for those roles, what the various PM roles are, and if they were the right fit for me.  I'm hoping my lessons learned in many hours of researching can be yours! 

Along the way I surveyed 25 Program/Project/Product managers through my LinkedIn connections, and incorporated their feedback into a presentation on transitioning from an engineer to a PM.  Their raw thoughts are available anonymously in the survey details below. 

This presentation was updated in 2024 with the help of my lovely friend Elizabeth Gurin who provided her insights as well as co-presented this topic at SWE's WE Local Baltimore conference.

PMP Certification

While I personally pursued a PMP certification through Program Management Institute, I have found that most bigger companies require you to get their own credentials anyway.  I would recommend taking a Udemy course like the one I took in lieu of a more expensive course through a formal institute.  I was unemployed at the time and was studying about 30 hours/week for a few weeks before taking my exam.  For those who have learned how to take engineering exams the PMP should be no sweat. 

Studying approaches vary widely, but I decided to pay for PMI Study Hall (currently $49). It is known to be much harder than PMI's formal exam, and if you don't let that psych you out I found it to be a useful study tool.  I took exams a few times until I was in the 60-85% passing range. 

Ultimately on the path to my PMP I paid:

• $30 for a Udemy monthly subscription

• $139 for PMI Membership

• $405 for the PMP exam

• $49 for PMI Study Hall Access

While I ultimately accepted a program management role before my PMP credentialing was complete, I believe it would have helped me in conversations with other employers. 

It's worth noting that in order to maintain these credentials, continued PMI membership and continuous learning is required (60 professional development hours every 3 years) - so this PMP title also represents a commitment to ongoing education or credentialing. 

Presentation Deck

The following presentation was most recently co-presented with Elizabeth Gurin on March 1st 2024 in conjunction with the Society of Women Engineers WELocal conference in Baltimore, MD.