Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey
Every two years the Project Management Institute (PMI)® publishes Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey®. In January 2018, PMI® published the 10th Edition of this valuable tool.
The survey provides statistical analysis of salary data for project managers from all over the world based on a variety of factors including project manager function, experience, size of organization, and whether or not the project manager holds a Project Management Professional (PMP)® designation. Over 33,000 people from 37 different countries participated in the current PM salary survey.
Some of the findings from the PM Salary survey include:
- Among survey respondents, project managers with a PMP® designation earn 23% more on average than project managers that do not have their PMP certification.
- Globally, the median annual salary for project managers is USD $81,000.
And how do Canadian Project Managers compare to the global findings?
2,932 project managers from Canada participated in the current survey. Here is a summary of the Canadian results (all figures are represented in US Dollars as per the report):
- The median salary for the project managers in Canada who participated in the survey (across all roles) is $73,495 (USD)
- Project managers from Canada with less than 3 years project management experience had a median annual salary of $48,747 (USD) while those with over 10 – 15 years experience earned a median annual salary of $83,432 (USD).
- The salary of project managers in Canada directly correlated to their level of responsibility, with a level 1 project manager having a median salary of $59,810 (USD) and Directors of a PMO having a median salary of $93,932 (USD)
- The median salary for project managers in Canada with a PMP designation is $74,995 (USD). This is an 18% advantage over the median salary of $63,746 (USD) for those without their PMP designation.
You may download the full version of the survey here.
PMI® credential holders
PMI-ACP® credential holders
The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® has the greatest number of PMI credential holders next to the PMP and CAPM® designations.
Project managers and team members who understand how and when to apply agile approaches to projects will be in even greater demand, making the PMI-ACP designation very worth while both a stand alone designation, as well as in conjunction with the PMP designation.
Another side effect of the growing awareness and popularity of the PMI-ACP designation, is that other agile designations that are focused on one agile method or framework (e.g. Scrum) are proving to be less relevant, especially given the general lack of rigor required to achieve them compared to what is required to earn a PMI-ACP designation.
Ready to roll-up your sleeves and learn more about agile? Check out our Agile Project Management Hands On workshop. In addition to using realistic scenarios to teach how agile benefits actual projects, this course covers the fundamentals you need to understand for the PMI-ACP exam!
Other PMI credentials
The PMP, CAPM and PMI-ACP designations are by far the most popular of PMI professional designations. As for the others, most have shown little growth in the last few years, and as a result, have very little recognition in the market place.
Should you consider obtaining one of these other credentials? That depends. If you are looking for a specific job that requires one of these other credentials, then perhaps. But, if that job does not ask for the credential, you will probably be better off spending your time and training dollars on courses that are more focused on real-world tools, techniques and application rather than on achieving one more credential.