Every project manager knows how important it is to get a PMP® certification. The truth remains that PMP® has financial and non-financial advantages. In this article, we will breakdown the PMP® project manager salary.
That said, getting PMP®-certified isn’t an easy task. If you’ve taken the exam yourself, or you know someone who took it, you probably already know an awful lot of hardship one goes through. Hence, it’s only fair for those people to find something worthy at the end of the tunnel.
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What Difference Does it Make?
As you may already know, if a manager has a PMP® certification, they’ll be paid more than other managers who haven’t had it. The difference depends on the country you live in. For instance, in the U.S, a PMP®-certified manager gets 20% more money than non-certified managers.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, the difference is about 47%. This doesn’t imply that a PMP® manager who works in South Africa gets paid more than those who work in the U.S. It only indicates that the certification is worth much more for managers in South Africa.
What Factors Affect PMP® Manager Salary?
It’s crystal clear that project managers’ salaries vary from one country to the other, but how different can it be? And what are the other factors that affect a PMP® project manager’s salary? Let’s answer all the questions you might have in mind.
What Do You Do?
In the U.S, pharmaceutical managers were paid the most up until a couple of years ago. The average annual salary was $125,000 and reached about $133,246 last year.
Currently, the most paying job in the U.S is Resource management rising from $120,000 to $134,578 per year.
Which Country Pays the Most?
According to the 11th Edition of Earning Power Project Management Salary Survey, Switzerland PMP® managers are paid the most with a median salary exchange rate of $132,086. The U.S comes next with an average of $116,000, Australia and Germany follow, respectively.
On the other hand, PMP®-certified managers are paid around $62,455. Although there’s a vast difference between the salary in Switzerland and America, and that in South Africa, as mentioned earlier, it’s more about the value of the money.
In other words, life is much more expensive in the former countries. India, Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Egypt are at the bottom of the list, with the latter’s average salary being around $13,933 only.
How Long Have you Been a Manager and What’s Your Position?
As it goes without saying, the more experience you have, the easier it is to get promoted. Accordingly, you’ll have more responsibilities, but you’ll make more money.
What’s your managerial level? In Australia, a project management specialist is paid around $89,611, which increases to 95,210 when they become consultants.
The most dramatic change in salary is noticed in the Philippines, where manager I earns about $17,247 a year, whereas their fellow project manager II is paid around $36,597.
In the U.S, project manager I makes $87,360, project manager II makes around $100,000, and a project manager III makes $115,000 annually.
Number of Team Members
Surprisingly, the number of members you have in your team affects your salary. According to the salary survey we mentioned earlier, managers who deal with more team members are paid more.
For example, in Colombia, PMs, who reported managing a team of fewer than five members, are paid around $22,176. Meanwhile, those who reported having a team of more than twenty members earn about $36,960 annually.
This pattern is seen across all countries, and you can, more or less, relate it to the previous study. In other words, with more members, you’ll have more duties and issues to deal with, and there’s a big chance you’re in a higher position, which all indicate that you should be paid more.
Is Being PMP®-Certified Worth It?
In my humble opinion, it’s a step that every manager who wants to get more value and have better opportunities should take. As I was saying at the beginning of the article, it’s not just about financial rewards.
It’s pretty understandable that in a practical world, salaries are the top priority whenever one’s seeking a career. However, large corporations are looking for qualifications. If you want to work for a big company like Jacobs or Microsoft, you’ll have to go the extra mile and exert more effort because the competition is high.