The Project Management Institute (PMI)® has defined two ways to be certified in terms of educational level and experience:
1 – The candidate has a university degree (or higher) at the time of application. The candidate has gained experience in projects over a period of 8 years from the date of application. Activities in projects: at least 36 months, at least 4,500 hours.
OR
2 – At the time of the application, the candidate has a (Fach-)Abitur or a completed apprenticeship. The candidate has gained experience in projects over a period of 8 years from the date of the application. Activities in projects: at least 60 months, at least 7,500 hours.
At the time of application, each candidate must be able to demonstrate at least 35 contact hours of project management training or theoretical training in all process groups and knowledge areas of the PMBOK® Guide.
The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certificate is not a prerequisite for the PMP® exam.
The CAPM® certificate of the PMI® is aimed at project managers who still have little practical experience. The basis of CAPM® and PMP® is identical and is also the PMBOK® Guide. In contrast to the PMP®, the exam lasts only 3 (instead of 4) hours and comprises 150 (instead of 200) exam questions. The required “Contact Hours” for the CAPM® certificate are completely covered by the PMP® preparation course.