So you want to be a Project manager?

So you want to be a project manager? Or maybe you have heard that Project managers can make a good living?

It could be that you simply you find this article by coincidence and you want to learn more about project management and PMP?

Let me take you step by step and elaborate further what is a project, project manager, and a PMP professional.
  
What is a project?
According to the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) 3rd edition, A project is defined as a “temporary endeavor with a beginning and an end and it must be used to create a unique product, service or result”.
In simple terms, a project is creating a unique service, product or experience. Hence a project by nature has a beginning and an end where the requirement has been created. 
A picnic in the weekend is a project where, on say March 15, the family decided to go to a nearby area to have a full day of fun. Hence, the required preparation, shopping, driving are the elements that will get you to the end result which is to reach the place and enjoy the day. Any project has risks, for instance, in this simple occasion, a project face difficulties or may be canceled altogether. In this case, rain could be a risk where the project may be canceled altogether.

When referring to actual projects that require formal training and/or experience, there are many examples. Think for a moment, building a house or building is a project. Building a bridge was initially a project. Building a new software like antivirus was a project. Even the Coke you drink had started at one point in time as a project to create a drink.
What do project managers do? They are the ones that lead and manage the projects. Project managers come from a variety of backgrounds and exist in almost all fields. You can find them in technology, construction, healthcare, marketing and many more. Depending on projects you can find one or few project managers for a certain project but could me many in case of other bigger projects.

Project managers are considered as top talent and usually highly paid as per industry standards.

So what does it take to become a project manager?

Many people acquire project management skills by experience. University education also plays a big role in becoming a project manager
However, there are various industry certifications that can prepare you to learn the necessary skills to become a project manager. And the good thing is that actual skill learning can take from one month to three months to learn. However, it is necessary that these skills are practiced and applied in real life
One major body that is globally recognized is PMI, and they deliver PMP Exam which stands for Project Management Professional. This exam is widely accepted globally and is a benchmark for entry into many companies

In my opinion, learning PMP first has many benefits. The first benefit is time, as it doesn’t require that significant time and by learning and taking the exam; you can make out if this profession is for you or not. When you join a university or college, you could be spending many years before realizing that you may not like this profession or you could have gotten faster within this profession if you’ve learned say another degree program within IT for instance and besides that, you’ve learned PMP

So how to start learning for PMP. There are many ways to start learning PMP. You can refer to the PMI website to learn more. There is a book that is referred to PMBOK body of knowledge and is the guideline of best practices in projects. However, starting with this book right away may not be user-friendly, hence here are my recommendations to start with
Udemy Online courses
There are many popular courses by Udemy like this one


And I also suggest reading this book from Amazon

Wish you best of luck and I hope I had provided a basic idea of this interesting profession.