PMI’s Salary Survey Reveals that Project Management Practitioners with the PMP Certification Earn 23% More

Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Earning Power Report reveals a significant advantage in earning potential for PMP^® certified practitioners. Survey respondents holding the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® certification report higher median salaries than those without a PMP certification―23% higher on average across the 37 countries surveyed.

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The Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey is a comprehensive biennial salary survey that offers insight into the value of project management skills, experience and certifications. It is an industry-leading source of data, giving project management practitioners a greater awareness of their earning potential and helping employers, compensation committees, human resource departments and executive recruiters to better determine salary ranges.

The 10^th edition of the survey incorporates information from more than 33,000 project management practitioners in 37 countries across the globe. New in this edition is salary information from three countries not previously covered—Chile, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

“This data is critical for organizations seeking to fill project management roles, as well as for individuals competing to qualify for those roles,” said PMI President and Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Langley. “The report includes eight major position descriptions and levels in its data, offering important insights on roles ranging from entry-level project managers to senior executives.”

In virtually all countries included in this study, having a PMP appears to offer an advantage in terms of median salary; however, the percentage increase in salary varies extensively by country. Countries reporting the greatest percentage increase in median salary for PMP certified versus non-PMP certified survey respondents were: South Africa (58% earning advantage), Ecuador (53% earning advantage), Colombia (48% earning advantage), Chile (43% earning advantage) and Mexico (43% earning advantage).

Overall, the median salary among survey respondents in the U.S. was $112,000 with a median total compensation of $120,000. The median salary among survey respondents holding the PMP certification in the U.S. was 25% higher than the median salary of those without the PMP certification ($115,000 versus $92,000).

Earning Power reports salary increases over the past 12 months and lists expected salary increases over the next 12 months. Among its key findings:

• More than two-thirds of survey participants (70%) report that their total compensation (including salary, bonus, and other forms of compensation) increased over the 12 months prior to completing the salary survey. About one-quarter (26%) reported increases of at least 5% over that time period.
• The median salary for project managers varies widely from country to country, with the highest in Switzerland: US$130,866.
• Across all countries, salary increases with added responsibility. The most dramatic increase is seen in Nigeria where the median salary increases from US$13,079 for a Project Manager I to US$20,735 for a Project Manager II and US$30,305 for a Project Manager III.

The complete report is available at pmi.org/salarysurvey.

About the Survey

PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey 10th Edition, was sent to a stratified sampling of customers from 37 different countries. Countries included in the sampling were selected based on two factors: concentration of PMI members within a given country, and the desire to represent all regions of the globe. The survey invitation was sent via an email that included a link to the web-based survey. Using a web-based survey benefited the research in several ways, including the providing ability to survey a large number of respondents at a relatively low cost (as compared to other data-collection methods), a condensed data-collection time period, and a fairly high response rate. PMI contracted with a third-party market research vendor, PeriscopeIQ, for this project. PeriscopeIQ utilized its advanced web-survey technology platform (www.periscopeiq.com) to conduct this research. PeriscopeIQ is a global strategy consulting and market research firm with focus on scientific rigor and research-based methodologies. The salary survey was conducted according to PeriscopeIQ's best compensation survey practices, including confidentiality of individual responses. Email invitations to the web-based survey were sent to 296,113 professionals on 20 March 2017. Nonresponders were sent a total of three reminder emails throughout the field period, which ended on 29 April 2017.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading association for those who consider project, program or portfolio management their profession. Founded in 1969, PMI delivers value for more than three million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research. We advance careers, improve organizational success and further mature the project management profession through globally-recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities. As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com creates online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.projectmanagement.com, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute.

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Contact information

Project Management Institute
Rick Alcantara, 610-356-4600 X7030
Rick.alcantara@pmi.org