PMP only works if you're building a "Building". It was made for PM's who were engineers that made structures like dams and roads. The tools supporting this like MS Project work great in that role but are terrible for tracking software projects.

The Project Management Institute created a path for IS PM's as a response to the market where 90% or more IS/IT project failed and management in large companies were screaming for some kind of control to the "out of control costs".

If you work in the corporate world It can work to advantage to become certified. That is only if you're interested in management. Just remember that you need 4yrs of PM experience with a bachelors or 10yrs without just to take the test. http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Obtaining-Credent...

I've found that most IT managers consistently push certifications such as PMP and lead employees toward the path of management, because that is the same choice they made for themselves in the past.

I actually started working on a Masters in Program Management with a goal of also becoming a PMP to compliment the degree. After 7 courses (about half way through), I came to the realization that this path was leading me right into IT management... Something I quickly realized I wanted no part of.

I then shortly after jumped from IT to Software Engineering at my company and have become much more satisfied with my work responsibilities. Not to mention the ability to follow a technical career path, which doesn't exist in IT at my company. To date this has been the best decision I've made when it comes to my career. For me... technical is the way to go.

I actually have a PMP cert, but concluded a long time ago that I would rather watch grass grow, than do the work of a PMP. Note that there is a difference between managing projects and working as a PMP.

What is that difference? In IT, I'd imagine that no person in his right mind would choose to implement s/w dev in the method defined in the PMP. There is scrum, agile, rup and dozens more processes.

I guess, does a PMP say that you have managed s/w projects and you know the process. In the same way that a graduate in IT can prove that he has studied the field.

It depends on who you're asking. Big corps and upper management love PMP's because it's like having an MBA to them, somehow, they can't imagine that anyone else could do the job.

If you as programmers, PMP's are useless and a clear signal to avoid the company at all costs.

If you ask me, as someone who's been to a few courses, the PMP cert isn't ideal for IT. It lags behind in more up to date PM methods, and focuses too much on process and not enough on results.

I had some back luck hiring a couple PMPs when I ran a consulting division. They're very much old-school in their methods. Big Gantt charts, PERT, waterfall, etc. Didn't match at all with my move towards a more agile approach and we had conflicts.

The best way I found to manage bigger projects was to get technical PMs who still coded, and break down the management into a few sub-teams, each of which could still work in an agile fashion.

If you're a startup founder -- RUN, don't walk, from PMPs or any other type of overly-complex project management process.

As a small team of 2-5, if you can't figure out how to ship code on your own, you're already in deep, deep trouble.

Maybe when your team is 10-20 strong, bring in the project management gurus.

What is a PMP?

After reading the other responses I'd have to say it's Pretty Much Pointless.

You know, he's that man on the street with a fur coat, feather in a wide-brimmed hat, fat pinky ring...

PMP stands for Project Management Professional