Have you ever considered attaining a professional certification in Planning & Scheduling?
Do you know of internationally recognized Planning & Scheduling certifications?
Are you interested to know how you can become a certified Planner/Scheduler?
This article will answer your questions about the project planning & scheduling certifications. I’m going to introduce you to various certifications that you can pursue to showcase your skills and knowledge in planning/scheduling. You will also learn the eligibility requirements for each certification.
Planning & Scheduling Certifications
Beginner Level Certifications
Scheduling Technician (CST)
Are you a junior Planner/Scheduler who has recently started your career?
Are you interested in getting into the Planning & Scheduling field and intent to increase your understanding of the planning/scheduling knowledge, concepts, and terminologies?
Did you know that you could become a Certified Scheduling Technician (CST) with “zero experience” in project planning & scheduling?
Yes, it was not a typo!
The Certified Scheduling Technician (CST) certification, offered by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE International), is suitable for early-career Planner & Schedulers. The CST certification is established to give less experienced professionals the opportunity to advance their scheduling skills, knowledge, and professional development; and be distinguished as a Certified Scheduling Technician (CST).
The only eligibility requirement for this certification is a four-year college or bachelor’s degree. That’s it!
Having said that, it is a no-brainer that you also need to have the knowledge of project planning/scheduling to pass the CTS certification exam.
Don’t have a four-year college degree?
No problem. In this case, you need to have four years of experience as a planner/scheduler.
With this, are you eligible for taking the CST certification exam?
The CST exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, which usually takes three hours to complete.
After passing the exam and becoming a “Certified Scheduling Technician,” every three years you have to re-certify. Your certification will expire after three years unless you earn 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
To gain CEUs, you need to be on continuous learning and growth in the planning/scheduling field by reading books, going to seminars, and taking training.
Check out more details about the CST certification here.
Preparatory Level in Planning & Scheduling (PPS)
Another certification that is suitable for early-career Planner/Schedulers is the Guild Preparatory Level in Planning & Scheduling (PPS).
To be eligible for this certification, you need one-year (~2000 hours) planning/scheduling work experience. A relevant college or university degree will reduce the experience requirements you need for this certification. For example, if you have a 2-year degree, you need the proof of 1000 hours of relevant experience. With a 4-year degree, all you need is only 500 hours of experience in planning/scheduling.
So, are you eligible for the PPS certification?
If you are, you need to provide three 360 Degree References; one peer, one supervisor and one Client.
You also need to pass a 2-hour computer-based exam consisting of 100 questions. The questions are not only multiple choices, but also filling in the blanks, and matching and rank ordering type questions. The exam is designed to validate and assess your ability to remember and understand relevant facts, concepts, procedures & critical thinking knowledge.
For more information about the PPS certification, please check the Guild of Project Controls.
Intermediate Level Certifications
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
Do you have a couple of years of experience managing and maintaining project schedules?
Do you like to showcase your planning & scheduling skills and knowledge?
If your answer is YES, then the PMI-SP certification is an excellent choice for you.
Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading professional membership association for project management, offers the PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP) certification.
To be qualified for this certification, you need to have a four-year degree and 3,500 hours of project scheduling experience, which is around 2 years of experience. You also need to have 30 hours of formal education in the specialized area of project scheduling.
If you don’t have a four-year degree, you need to fulfill 5,000 hours of project scheduling experience (~2-3 years of experience) within the last five consecutive years, plus 40 hours of formal education in the specialized area of project scheduling.
How can you claim 30-40 hours of formal education in project scheduling?
The good news is that Project Control Academy has developed an excellent comprehensive online training called, “Project Scheduling Blueprint.” This online training not only qualifies you for your required hours of project scheduling education but also prepares you for your PMI-SP certification exam. Check out more details about the course here.
Once you satisfy the criteria for the PMI-SP certification, fill out the application, and are approved by PMI, you can schedule for the certification exam. The PMI-SP exam consists of 170 multiple-choice questions, which usually takes 3.5 hours to complete.
Once you pass the exam and become a PMI Certified Scheduling Professional, you need to maintain your certification. To do so, you must earn 30 professional development units (PDUs) every three years in the specialized topic of project scheduling.
I highly encourage you to consider this certification if you are an intermediate or senior planner/scheduler.
Don’t you want to showcase your skills in planning/scheduling? How about advancing your skills and knowledge in planning/scheduling?
Check out more details about the PMI-SP certification here.
Competent Level in Planning & Scheduling (CPS)
Do you have 3 to 5 years of experience in project planning & scheduling?
Did you know that Guild of Project Controls offers the Competent level certification in Planning & Scheduling (CPS)?
To be eligible for this certification, you need to have around 5 years (~10,000 hours) of related experience. However, if you hold a Master’s degree, the experience level reduces to 7000 hours (3.5 years). For a 4-year degree, it drops to 8000 hours (4 years) experience, and for a 2-year degree, 9000 hours (4.5 years) experience is required.
In addition to the experience level, you need to submit an article, have four 360 Degree References (one peer, two supervisors, and one Client), and develop a Career Path Development Plan. You also need to pass a 4-hour 200 questions exam.
Once you satisfy all of these criteria, you also need to participate in a video teleconference or face-to-face interview by two trained Guild Assessors (if Assessors deem necessary based on profile, references, and examination results).
The Competent level in Planning & Scheduling is designed to validate & assess your ability to apply and analyze relevant facts, concepts, procedures & critical thinking knowledge.
To get more information about the CPS certification, please click here.
Advanced Level Certifications
Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP)
Do you have several years of experience managing and maintaining project schedules?
If you have advanced knowledge and expertise in project planning/scheduling and you’d like to showcase your skills, then the PSP certification is a good choice for you.
AACE International offers the Planning and Scheduling Professional certification, or PSP.
To be qualified for this certification, you need four years of scheduling experience, plus a four-year degree.
If you don’t have a four-year degree, you need eight years of project planning/scheduling experience.
If you satisfy these qualification criteria, you can take the PSP exam. The exam consists of 119 multiple-choice questions, scenario questions, as well as memo writing. The exam usually takes five hours to complete.
Once you get the PSP certification, you need 12 CEUs every three years to renew your certification. Otherwise, you have to take the exam again.
To check more details about the PSP certification, visit the AACE website.
Advanced Level in Planning & Scheduling (APS)
Are you a senior planner/scheduler who has at least 8 years of experience?
If your answer is YES, you may consider this advanced-level certification in planning & scheduling, offered by the Guild of Project Controls.
To be eligible for this certification, you need to have 8 years of experience (~16,000 hours) in planning/scheduling. A relevant Ph.D. degree will reduce this requirement by 6,000 hours, Masters by 3,000 hours, 4 year Degree by 2,000 hours, or 2 years Degree by 1,000 hours.
You also need to submit 4 articles and have five 360 Degree References (one peer, two supervisors, and two Client). In addition, you need to pass a computer-based exam, consisting of case study questions, requiring short and long essay-type answers. Furthermore, you need to participate in a video teleconference or face-to-face interview by 2 trained Guild Assessors.
The Advanced level certification in Planning & Scheduling is designed to validate & assess your ability to analyze, evaluate & create in relation to relevant facts, concepts, procedures & critical thinking knowledge.
If you satisfy all the criteria above, you will be recognized as an advanced planning & scheduling practitioner (APS). Phew!
To learn more about the APS certification, please click here.
Expert Level in Planning & Scheduling (EPS)
This is the highest level of recognition; the EXPERT level.
If you have not yet been leading a team, don’t even consider this certification. The reason is that you need to have a minimum of 2 years (4000 hours) experience in a supervisory or managerial position in addition to having at least 8 years of experience for this certification. Furthermore, you need to submit 5 articles, 6 references, pass a computer-based exam, and participate in a video teleconference or face-to-face interview by 2 trained Guild Assessors.
Yes, it is not easy to be recognized as an “expert.”
The Expert level certification is designed to validate & assess your ability as a supervisor or manager and mentor while analyzing, evaluating the work of others and creating new processes, procedures, tools technique’s or methodologies by applying critical thinking and innovation.
The Guild of Project Controls also offers a higher-level certification, called “Fellow Level” in Planning & Scheduling (FPS). This is reserved for mentors, leaders, thought leaders, and role models in planning & scheduling.
You might be thinking… it’s not easy to get the advanced certifications offered by the Guild of Project Controls.
Yes, you are right.
Well, one of the primary differentiators in the certifications offered by the Guild is that the Guild and its independent Certification Board are in place to validate that you, as a practitioner, have demonstrated that can do the job as opposed to being able to show that you did well in an exam.
If you are interested in learning more about the Guild certifications in Planning/scheduling, please check the Guild of Project Controls/Planning Planet website for more information.
In summary
There are various types of certifications depending on your level of experience in planning & scheduling that you can consider:
- Beginner Level Certifications
- Certified Scheduling Technician (CST)
- Preparatory Level in Planning & Scheduling (PPS)
- Intermediate Level Certifications
- PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
- Competent Level in Planning & Scheduling (CPS)
- Advanced Level Certifications
- Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP)
- Advanced Level in Planning & Scheduling (APS)
- Expert Level in Planning & Scheduling (EPS)
- Fellow Level in Planning & Scheduling (FPS)
Share below which of these certifications you have already obtained or planning to get.
Interested in having formal training on project scheduling?
Interested in exploring how you can succeed as a project planner/scheduler?
Interested in learning more about how you can succeed as a Planner/Scheduler?
Make sure that you check the “Project Control Success Roadmap Training”, where you learn various roles that you can play in Project Controls and how to succeed in each role to step up the ladder of success in Project Controls.
About the Author, Shohreh Ghorbani
Shohreh is a licensed project management professional (PMP) recognized by Project Management Institute (PMI) and holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering.
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