Inexpensive or Free PDUs
This advice is a supplement to an article posted here recently by Chris McSpiritt.
Project Managers who earn their professional certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI) are required to complete ongoing training to retain the PMP credential. PMs are given three years to earn a required 60 PDUs. There are a lot of ways to complete the training, 12 of which are outlined at PMI.org, but many of these options are expensive. I’m hoping to get you started without breaking the bank.
Free Podcasts
The first thing you should do is start listening to Project Management-related podcasts. Every hour of content is worth one PDU. You can earn up to 15 PDUs this way, in category 2 SDL (self-directed learning). I recommend the Project Management Podcast which is hosted by Cornelius Fichtner, PMP. He provides great content that is worth your time. And there are plenty of free episodes. Listen to the PM Podcast here. And here are the instructions for submitting your PDUs to PMI.
Free Course Downloads
Another method for earning free PDUs is through self-paced online courses. IBM offers a full suite of courses that you can download for free. All together, you can earn 19 PDUs by completing the available e-kits. It’s a great option from a trusted company. You can download the e-kits directly from IBM.
Free Webinars
Certain trainers offer free webinars as an introduction to their service. For example, you can earn up to 8 free PDUs by watching the courses available from IAG Consulting.
Inexpensive Online Training
There are a lot of trainers who offer inexpensive training courses for those looking to earn PDUs in a pinch. PM Educate offers a package that would award you the full 60 required PDUs for $500 – or even less if they are having a sale. PDUs2Go also has a training suite that can earn you the full 60 PDUs for as little as $600.
Training Directly Through PMI
And of course PMI offers online training courses as well. For example, the course titled Project Movie: A Practical Application of the PMBOK will earn you 15 PDUs at a total cost of $500 for PMI members.
So there are a lot of free or inexpensive options out there if you shop around a little. Please feel free to add any suggestions by submitting comments to this article.
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