The Benefits of Continuing Education

“Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.”

― Brian Tracy

There are many benefits to pursuing your PMP certification. From higher salary demands to increased career opportunities, achieving a formal project management certification can open up innumerable doors in your career future. But an added benefit of achieving and maintaining the PMP distinction is to formally and purposefully continue your post secondary education. This practice allows you to develop and refine skills that can increase your effectiveness as a leader and that can help you better lead your team.

Let’s face it. After completing the required courses needed to achieve our career goals, it can be difficult to find time to incorporate learning into our lives. With the demands of daily work on top of our family and/or social lives, it can be hard to fit in time for personal development- especially if that requires more of our precious personal time. However, the benefits of purposeful continuing education can be innumerable. If intentional, continuing education can actually help you save time in the long run, by developing skills that help you achieve bigger results with less effort. From time management to leadership development, there are many ways to increase our effectiveness IF we know how. Continuing to learn and grow can help us achieve these goals.

Project Management continuing education standards were designed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to foster the development of current PMPs and help them grow within their field. PMI developed the the Talent Triangle - a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise- to reflect the ideal skillset needed by PMPs. While technical skills are core to project and program management, leadership and business management are critical for effectively leading a team. Requiring 60 (combined) hours of counting education within these fields every three years can seem daunting- but it also gives you the opportunity to develop and foster skills that can make a meaningful difference in your daily life.

So, how is continuing education beneficial to you? Outside of meeting your PMP recertification requirements, CE can have a real and meaningful impact on your life, including:

• Improved skills: With our busy lives, it is well advised to select continuing education credits that can have a positive impact on our lives. For instance, if you find yourself overwhelmed, courses on time management can have a very positive impact on how you schedule your day. For those in a management position, leadership development courses can be essential for growth.
• Career opportunities: While being a certified PMP can certainly open the doors to new opportunities, mastering the skills needed for success can give you a leg up. Not only can these skills improve your performance at your current job- but they can give you the edge you need for that big promotion or to improve your future employers.
• Improve your life: Being good at our job gives us a sense of accomplishment. It reduces conflict, improves morale and can lead to great things. A happy work environment with little stress can have a positive impact on all facets of your life.
• Keeping current: In today’s job market, competition can be fierce. Things are changing daily with constant technological advances and increased awareness. Education can keep you current, keep you active and keep you competitive!

So, how we find and access continuing education credits that can have a meaningful difference in our lives? After all, while PMI does have requirements to follow, it’s not always easy to slog through all the resources available. And with our limited time, we want to make sure to select courses that will help us achieve our long term goals of success. PDUs2Go can help.

PDUs2Go was developed by longtime Project Management influencer, Jennifer Bridges. All programs were hand-selected by Jennifer to help PMPs maximize their effectiveness within their profession. In fact, PDUs2Go’s 60 PDU course packages were crafted to help Project Managers easily earn their needed CE credits while developing the skills needed to thrive. Select from one of three needed areas of focus- time management, leadership, or communication- to reveal courses with a focus on making you your best self.

While continuing education is a requirement for earning and maintaining your PMP certification, it can also be an excellent avenue toward greater personal and professional success. Finding courses that meet these expectations can be easy, when using specialized course programs such as PDUs2Go.com. Take advantage of the time you spend learning to develop skills that have a positive impact on your career and lead to continued success!