What Is a PDU in Project Management? How to Earn More PDU

You can earn most of the PDUs online by doing various activities. Don’t worry. We are going to discuss PDU in project management in detail.

Benefits of PDU in project management

There are benefits of PDU in project management. So, let’s talk about them in detail now so you will get an answer to What Is a PDU in Project Management? Plus, how it will benefit your project management:

To keep track of success and development.

Without keeping track of how many hours you have spent on your education, you won’t be able to get any certification. So, you should know PDU is an important aspect of Project Management. PDU will help in keeping track of your progress and development. You will know how many PDUs you earned and how many more you need to work for.

PDU is all about keeping track of your progress towards PMP. Having a track online will let you know whether you are on the right track or if you need to start working hard. If you want to get your PMP, you will have to get 60 PDUs in 3 years. PDU will let you know that you are earning PDUs at the right speed or you need to spend more time on your educational engagements.

It will help you achieving your goal

You will have to set your goal for earning PDU for PMP. Without knowing whether you are in the right place to earn PDUs or not, you won’t be able to achieve your goals. Obviously, you will have to set your goals if you want to achieve any certification.

Therefore, PDU will help you to set a goal and to achieve it. It will be like an alarm that you need to start spending time on your education if you want to get your PDUs.

Save energy and time

PDUs are the online achievement of earning credit hours you spend in educational engagement. You will keep track of spending your time in the educational field, and it is possible through PDU. You will save time and energy because you don’t have to keep track manually. Your time and energy will get wasted if you will have to keep your PDUs noted manually.

Therefore, online PDUs will be an aid in saving time and energy. Everything will get noted online. You will know when to start spending time in education to earn PDU.

How many PDUs are required for PMP?

You will earn 60 professional development units every 3 years to get your Project Management Professional. Plus, you will require 30 PDUs to renew your PMP certificate.

Like any other degree, you will have to spend your time in the educational field. You get a time of 3 years to complete your PDUs. PDUs are also like credit hours. You earn PDUs like you earn credit hours.

Why is PDU needed for PMP?

To get a professional degree, you require PDU. Project Management Professional is like any other certification. You get this certification from higher educational institutes.

Almost all the highly reputed institutes offer PMP. PDU is a part of PMP. It would help if you counted your PDU to get PMP done. After that, a few PDU would be required to keep renewing your PMP certification.

How to earn PDUs?

As we have said above that 1 hour of educational engagement equals 1 PDU. Following are the ways through which you can earn PDU:

Be a part of informal discussions

You will find an online platform where you can participate in informal discussions. A committee schedules sessions daily where you will be allowed to sign-up. You will learn various things if you join that informal discussion. Being a part of those online portals, you will earn your PDU. Spending one hour there means you earn 1 PDU.

Study articles, whitepapers, or books

Most of the time, you get online articles and blogs created by reputed organizations, and you can become a part of them. Your presence there means you are a part of the whole discussion. You can sign-up for such blogs and articles to earn PDUs. It will be a source of learning newer things and earning PDUs for your PMP.

Be a part of organization meetings

The time you spend on networking opportunities is also connected to your education. You will learn about key aspects of your education if you start attending organization meetings.

 You should know the topic of discussion at the meeting before signing up. You can join those meetings within your organization if you want to earn PDU. PMI or any other third party can host those meetings, but they must be relevant to your PDU.

Go for a training course

There will be a variety of training courses available online that you can join to earn PDU. You can attend a formal PMI online course by any organization instructor. If not online, then you can go for in-person conferences.

 Most of the courses are free, but there might be some courses where you will have to pay to get your PDU. You can go for it if the course is relevant to PMP. It will be counted in your PDU.

Giving back PDUs

You get 3 years to earn 60 PDUs, but most of the time, people earn PDUs while working. You can save up to 25 education hours if you go for the giving back category. Where you will be teaching and others will get knowledge from you. You will be able to help them while earning PDUs. Here are a few very easy ways to do that:

·  Create E-learning and publish it online

You got your PDUs by learning online. You can do the same for others by uploading content online. You can write blogs and articles or create a platform where people will have healthy discussions. Therefore, creating an E-learning platform for people trying to earn their PDUs will help you maintain your PDUs. You can also co-author a book as it will be part of your resume and help you earn PDUs.

·  Become a project management practitioner

You can lead a team if you think that you have got that confidence in yourself. Become a project manager and start leading the team. You can let your team know about the beneficial facts of doing PMP. By leading a team, you will become a professional PMP. It will be counted in your PDUs. 

·  Prepare a presentation

You can speak at PMI (Project Management Institute) events about your in-depth research on the topics related to PMP. You can be a part of any professional conference where the plan is related to PMP. Talk about the work of your team in your presentation.

·  Coach your juniors

You can coach your juniors if you think that you can do that. Having enough information and sharing it with others will be counted in your PDU. The more time you spend coaching your juniors, your peers will help you earn PDU. Plus, teaching other people might help you to learn newer things.

·  Become a PMI volunteer

How about you start serving the PMI board of directors? Yes, it is surely possible that you will become part of the volunteering team of the PMI board of directors. You won’t be able to renew your PMP if you work on your job and earn PDUs. You will have to spend time in the field as well. At least 8 PDUs for working with a professional will be needed to renew your PMP certification.

Can you do PMP without PDU?

Would you be able to complete your degree without earning educational credit hours? The same goes for project management. How will you get your project management certification if you don’t earn PDUs? You will require 30 PDUs to renew your PMP certificate.

So, the answer to your question is whether you can do PMP without PDU, then the answer is simply no. So make sure that you focus on your PDU so you can earn as many as possible for completion of your PMP. It will surely help with your professional goals and help you achieve success. So, complete your PDU to maintain your PMP.

Final Words:

PDUs are an important aspect of getting your PMP done. Project management is also like any other certification. You require educational credit hours to get any degree or certificate. The same rule applies to Project management certification as well. You can still have a job and earn PDUs to get PMP certification.