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Is it nearing the end of your re-certification process for your PMI certificate Do you need to get your PDU total to the minimum to keep your certification?
You are in the right place! Continue reading to learn how to quickly earn PDUs.
1. Check what you can claim
2. Claim your day job
3. Get The PDU Podcast
4. Join the PMI
5. Watch webinars
6. Make use of your commute time or gym time
7. Learn online
Make a plan
Gather your evidence
Change your approach going forward!
Pin for later reading
PDUs are the Professional Learning Units that you must earn to prove that you are committed to continuous improvement and learning.
The PMI Continuing Certification Requirements Guidelines are laid out in CCR Handbook, which can be downloaded from the PMI website. This is a great starting point to learn what you need to earn. Each PMI certification has its own requirements.
But the clock is ticking… let’s move on to the 7 ways you can quickly earn PDUs.
1. Check what you can claim
Are you sure you have claimed all the benefits you are entitled to? You might already have some logged if you check your PDU totals using the PMI CCRS Tool.
Review your calendar for the last 12 months (or go back further), and then see if there are any events that you can claim. You should look for:
Training sessions or courses (internal and external)
Organization meetings like attending PMI Chapter events
Seminars
Webinars
Conferences (virtual and in-person).
You can count any information that was internal or external and related to project management topics.
2. Claim your day job
Did you know that you can get up to 8 PDUs under the Giving Back category for simply working in a project-related position? You can earn PDUs as a practitioner, and you’ll want to include them!
You can only claim 8 PDUs towards PMI credentials such as the Project Management Professional (PMP(r)).
For PDUs to earn for CAPM or other certifications please refer to the handbook. You won’t be able to claim as many credentials for your job if you don’t have the right credentials.
3. Get The PDU Podcast
The PDU Podcast is a video-based learning tool that I love. It gives you 60.5 PDUs over a 3-year cycle. You’ll get a new video each month to earn your PDUs. But don’t worry, you can bulk-buy the webinars and get a full year’s worth of them in one go.
This means that you will need to find 20 hours to view a year’s worth webinars. However, if you are willing to give up your evenings for a month, then you’ll soon have a large batch of additional PDUs.
Sometimes it is difficult to earn the required Leadership PDUs. The PDU Podcast can help. A Leadership PDU package is available that will provide you with the required requirements for this part of the PMI Talent Triangle.
Another great thing about The PDU Podcast? The PDUs have been approved by PMI. The spreadsheet allows you to quickly identify which episode is related to which Talent Triangle area. This will allow you to save time recording your efforts in CCRS.
4. Join the PMI
You’ll not only get lower certification renewal fees but also access to their PMI PDU online learning resources. More information on those will follow.
5. Watch webinars
If you are a PMI member, get yourself over to projectmanagement.com and start watching their free on-demand webinars. You could watch one every other day for 20 PDUs.
Each online video has a description that explains exactly what you can claim for each PDU category.
You don’t even need to update the CCRS. Any earnings you make by watching PMI webinars will automatically be credited to your PDU account. A confirmation email should be sent a few days later to confirm that your PDUs were added.