PMP Qualification v APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)

[mrtangent2]

Background
I'm a project engineer and have been for 13 years now. And worked in projects for now for 20 years at the same company both in UK and in Asia and with over 80 hours of training. In the chemical industry

I may be leaving my current company in 1-2 years and looking opportunities elsewhere - So, i'm exploring what i need in the project management space to be employed elsewhere in the local area or around the UK .

Request Feedback on PMP / APM: so, Id like a read on feedback for do i go after a PMP or APM qualification - are they worth it ? , how hard are the exams? i've seen often its recommended to do a training first before the exam.. are the pretraining required.. etc.. all the courses are quite expensive.. and i'm likely to at least have to partially fund them..

For UK which is best PMP or APM?

Do i need to do prework course?

 

[CWB1]

Those are tough questions.

I took the PMP after a decade designing vehicles and industrial equipment with multiple PM certs in both Lean-Six and Agile Scrum.

Rather than simply taking the test, I signed up for what PMI billed as a 40-hour "refresher" bc the course+test was only slightly more expensive than the test alone. Most of the class had no PM experience or certs, many didnt even work in industries that used PM (medical docs and nurses, accountants, military, etc), and the course itself was a low-level intro to Agile Scrum with a tiny bit of Lean mixed in....definitely not a "refresher" for experienced professionals. After the course we had to submit our work/cert/PM experience and PMI decided whether/not we had enough to sit for the PMP, and ~30% of the class were deemed ineligible which made me question PMI's ethics bc those folks weren't told upfront to get other certs/training first. A few weeks later the rest of us took the test and I dont recall anybody failing tho a few were nervous. Personally I thought it was an easy cert, tho admittedly I spent a few hours going through flashcards online before the test. The hardest part IMHO is simply memorizing the jargon.

I have mixed feelings as to whether/not its worthwhile, and as an American I cant comment on UK concerns tho I did work for a German mega-corps previously. IME its a cert that impresses ignorant folks but is just resume padding for engineering roles, similar to a MBA. That said, if you're seeking a role as a dedicated PM then hiring managers may view it as a "must-have."

Good luck regardless.