PMP certification has become one of the most desired certifications in project management. With over 2.9 million members, it has gained worldwide recognition. If you hold a PMP certification, it will play a significant role for you to advance in your career and secure high salary jobs. Hence that’s why in this article, we are going to talk about how to choose the best PMP virtual training option for you.
5 Steps For Choosing the Best PMP Virtual Training
- Make sure that the training fulfills the 35 contact hours of the PMP exam requirements
- Check sample training materials of the provider to be sure about their quality
- Examine the students’ testimonials of the PMP virtual training provider
- Make sure if their customer service satisfy your expectations
- Look at the pricing options. What type of subscriptions they have, do they provide a moneyback guarantee?
Read now and explore these steps one-by-one.
What are the advantages of PMP certification?
One of the many advantages of obtaining PMP certification is that no matter which industry you belong to, whether it is IT, Civil, Mechanical, Telecom, or Oil & Gas, you can do this certification. The questions in the PMP exam certification are also not industry-specific. So, if you are interested in PMP certification, you can do it without worrying about learning something very technical or specific to one industry.
PMP certification training providers conduct physical training in the classroom and many offer PMP virtual training also. There are many benefits of PMP virtual training over physical classroom training. For example, you can decide with your PMP training provider the suitable dates and timing for you. You also get more opportunities to interact with your PMP training instructor. Or if it self-paced online training, you can go through the training videos as many times as you want and until you get the full understanding of what is being taught.
Attend our 100% Online & Self-Paced One-Hour Free PMP Training.
With PMP virtual training, you also get a geographic benefit. So, if you speak French but live in the USA and want to take the PMP course, you may not find a training provider in your area. In contrast, on the Internet, you can find many PMP virtual training providers who teach in the language of your preference. Virtual training saves you from traveling to the training institute and it is lighter on your pocket too.
Important Points When Choosing PMP Virtual Training
Preparing for the PMP certification requires a good deal of effort as well as investment. Therefore, once you have decided to take PMP virtual training, you must consider some important points when choosing your training provider.
It is true that a fancy website of a service provider may attract you more. It can quickly lead you into a belief that the services that they are offering must be of high quality. But in reality, it may not be true. Sometimes, it is not the website design but the appealing text written on the website that leads you to higher satisfaction with the company.
Don’t fall for those traps! Consider the following important points when choosing your PMP virtual training provider. They will help you finalize a good and reliable PMP training provider.
1- Make Sure The Training Counts for 35 Hours PM Education Requirement
There are now numerous PMP certification training providers worldwide. Some offer classroom training, some have online self-paced learning options and many offer PMP virtual training too. When considering a PMP training provider, you must make sure that the training provider is authorized to impart PMI courses. Because if not, their training will not count towards the PMI’s 35 contact hour requirement. If you happen to be one of those who have obtained PMP training from an unauthorized training provider, you won’t be able to fulfill the PMP requirement.
The PMI authorized training providers fulfill the PMI’s authorized trainer eligibility. So one can take PMP training from them if they are one of these types:
PMI Chapters
PMI has established a local chapter in hundreds of cities worldwide where they conduct PMP courses and other PMI courses. However, not all PMI chapters conduct virtual PMP training. But if you obtain PMP training from PMI itself, it will of course fulfill the 35 contact hour requirement.
College or University Academic / Continuing Education (CE) Programs
Not many colleges and universities conduct PMP courses. There may be a few colleges and universities in your city that offer PMP courses. If they do, the courses may be scheduled very infrequently. However, the PMP courses they offer are acceptable by PMI.
Company or Employer
Your employer may sponsor your PMP training or even the PMP certification exam. You may even be sponsored by a company to which you are offering your services, maybe as a contractor, consultant, or freelancer. The training you obtain through them is also acceptable by PMI.
Distance learning organizations
Distance learning organizations are authorized to conduct PMP training. You will find many distance learning organizations that conduct PMP virtual training. They may offer you the PMP training through video conferencing or through the self-paced online learning material. A hybrid of these two is also possible.
Attend our 100% Online & Self-Paced One-Hour Free PMP Training.
Distance learning options also include fixed time courses and open schedule courses. So, if you have a tight schedule, you may want to find an open schedule course that suits your availability. Training providers often give you a large date bracket during which you can complete your training, as suitable for you. Fixed time courses are for those who have plenty of time available and can take the course on the scheduled dates and timing.
Consultants or Training Companies
This category is the most common when it comes to PMP training. You will find many training companies in your area that conduct regular PMP classroom training or virtual PMP training. Some consultants also conduct PMP training from time to time. The training obtained from either is acceptable by PMI.
You may take your PMP virtual training from any type of training provider mentioned above. Your 35 contact hour training requirement for the PMP certification exam will be fulfilled. Master of Project is a PMP training provider that has a self-paced PMP course, live class PMP virtual trainings, and also one-to-one PMP trainings.
However, remember also that reading a book or watching instructional videos (does not include complete PMP training videos) or listening to podcasts or having sessions with mentors or coaches will not satisfy the education requirement, even if you obtain these from the authorized training providers.
2- Check Sample PMP Training Materials
Once you have shortlisted PMP virtual training providers, you must now assess the quality of the PMP training that they offer. This is important so as to make sure that the training will be worth your money and effort. It will guarantee that you pass the PMP exam easily.
You may find some freelance PMP training providers on the Internet or in your city. But remember that conducting PMP training may not be their regular business. If a freelance PMP trainer is not into regular training, there is a chance that he is not competent in teaching PMP certification training, or perhaps they not updated with the latest PMBOK content.
Therefore, whether you choose a training institute, a college, a freelancer, university, or a company offering PMP virtual training, make sure to ask them for sample PMP training material. You may find sample material on the training provider’s website. If it is a video training, see how thorough the lecture is, whether examples are provided, and how confident the trainer is while teaching the training material. And if the sample training material is in the form of text, see how detailed it is and whether additional learning documents are also provided with the course, such as sample questions and answers, cheat sheets, tricks to learn the PMP math questions or tips for the exam.
3- Preview PMP Virtual Training Students’ Testimonials
Past student testimonials are like the rubber-stamp approval of the training services being offered. The testimonials will help you understand your training provider and the training that they conduct. So, it can be very helpful to know about the training provider that you are considering by reading what the past students have said.
You will find the past student testimonials on the training provider’s website. Many training providers publish testimonials on their websites but many don’t. If you don’t find testimonials on the training provider’s website, then search on Google about the training provider. You will find at least one or two websites such as online forums, online discussion portals. This is where people would have talked about the training offered by the training provider that you are considering.
There are also review websites where customers write their feedback about the product or service that they have used. If you search on Google with the search terms like ‘Company XYZ PMP training review’, several websites will show up where you will find PMP student testimonials. Remember, that some reviews could also be fake reviews. But reading several reviews at multiple websites will give you an idea as to what the majority of people have to say about the training provider. Also whether you should choose it for your training or not.
4- Customer Service for PMP Virtual Training
You may wonder why customer service is important when choosing a PMP virtual training provider. Well, it is important. Because a course seller who has put a lot of effort into the creation and the continuous improvement of their course would never like to lose a potential customer. They would always try to provide good customer service to you by replying to your queries quickly and with sufficient information that would answer your questions. Their aim will be to convert all the leads into permanent customers. And they can only do that by ensuring their leads or the potential customers are satisfied with the customer service.
Watch the Top 3 Benefits of PMP Online Training
It is often experienced that a company, even though it sells good products or services, cannot get leads just because of their bad customer service. A customer who has sent an email inquiry will wait for a reply for a certain amount of time. But after that, they will turn their face away from them to someone else. Similarly, if someone needs some information about a PMP course, and that information is not correctly, timely, or completely provided to them, that person will find someone else who would better value their needs.
What to expect from PMP virtual training provider’s customer service?
So, what type of customer service from a prospective PMP virtual training provider should you expect? Well, you should expect the following from the training provider:
- Clear communication. They must provide authentic information related to their PMP course, the trainer’s experience, and past student success rate in the PMP exam.
- Effective technical support. It can be about the payment options through digital channels. Or the support could be about receiving complete and interrupted access to the online training material.
- Timely replies. It usually implies receiving a reply within 24 hours. Those sellers who give extra importance to their potential or current customers would reply even quicker, maybe in less than 6 hours.
- Various formats. The customer service should be provided in different formats. Such as telephone calls from the provider to answer your online inquiry. It could also include online chat on the website. You can even expect to be offered to contact them through WhatsApp or SMS.
All these customer service factors are important for a good relationship with the customer. You should expect to experience these from the PMP training provider who is reliable and who takes good care of their students’ needs.
5- Pricing Options
The price of the PMP training does matter. No matter how much money you have, you will always set a budget and try to stick to it. Though, it is important to keep yourself under the set budget, remember that choosing the costliest course, which is also under your budget may not be your best choice. A PMP course provider may have set the course price, for instance at $1000. While it is possible that a similar course provider may be selling the same course for $1500. Hence, the price of the course should not be the only criteria to judge the quality of the course. You must also consider all the features of the course and the course provider. You should examine the quality of the content, past student testimonials, course provider rating, time in the training business, and the instructor profile.
Having said that, the fact that an expensive PMP virtual training can be of good quality cannot be dismissed. Reputable PMP training providers, who have a name in the market often charge more money than the average PMP course available in the market. And if your pocket allows, investing in their PMP course is worth your money.
What makes the PMP virtual training prices differ from each other?
The price for the PMP virtual training is often different than the classroom-based PMP training. You will find that virtual training costs less and the reason for this is obvious – the training provider saves money on the training facility and on the administrative tasks needed to arrange physical classroom training.
Maybe you have decided to choose a training provider based on the high course price, considering that the high price course will deliver high-quality training. However, it is possible that for instance, you reside in the US but in the country where this virtual PMP training is being offered, this is the average PMP course price there. So, remember, that the price of the course also varies from country to country or even from city to city. Thus, you should carefully examine the quality of the training being offered at that price.
Summary
The demand for PMP certified professionals is growing globally day by day. PMP certification has become almost like a necessity to secure a higher role or a higher paying job. As the demand for PMPs is growing, the number of certified PMP professionals is also growing fast. So, this is the time to go for this certification and become one of the prominent resources and most useful in the job market.
In the era of technology and as people are so busy in their lives now than they were before, virtual training has made learning very easy, which was never like it before. This method of learning allows you to learn on your own schedule and without commuting to a training center. What else, you can do it from the comfort of your home! There are many more benefits of virtual training also such as more individualized attention by the instructor and cost-saving.
Attend our 100% Online & Self-Paced One-Hour Free PMP Training.
So, once you have decided to take the PMP virtual training, you must consider the five important points explained in this post for choosing a PMP virtual training provider for yourself. You should examine the credibility of the training provider and the PMP instructor. You should ask the questions: Is the PMP instructor up to date? How long will you get access to the training material? What do the past students of the training provider say about the training that they received? Once you have gone through these questions and the five important points explained above, you can finalize your PMP virtual training provider and proceed with your PMP training.