Scrum training towards PMP and its uses?

November 29, 2014 2:56 PM

I'm looking at 2 Scrum certification courses (Product Owner & Scrum Master) that will give me the number of classroom hours I need towards my PMP. And then what?

I own a small publishing company in the midwest. We're considering moving to Oregon in the next few years for my husband's IT career, and I may then need to get a job job. Though I've worked in software previously as a second level support person, all my current work experience is essentially project management, and it's a career I could see myself doing if I had to go work for someone else.

So, on one hand I'm trying to backfill my resume and translate what I do now into employable employerese, but I'm also curious how we can apply scrum methodology to publishing the kind of content we do. Are scrum certifications and PMPs actually resume-boosters these days? Are you using it outside the usual software context in your business, especially publishing? Is it worth the money spent for certification?

posted by bitter-girl.com to Work & Money (2 answers total)

Hey, so if you're interested in software, here in the Midwestern city where we both reside, Scrum Master would be useful if you're in an Agile shop and managing development. PMP definitely seems more broadly applicable. Lmk if you want to chat further about this stuff; it's a small town with a pretty specific tech culture.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:35 PM on November 29, 2014

So, I'm a Certified Scrum Master and it's applicable as a methodology in my web shop however, we are blending it with some other methods as our shop does not do software. It definitely has some interest in other industries as a method but I don't know that it is directly applicable to "softer" fields like marketing, identity or writing. For example, a key part of scrum is testing. Testing for acceptance can be verrry subjective for things like identity design or communication effectiveness. Focus groups are expensive. Poorly designed focus groups are a waste of resources. Etc.

Take the CSM course if you are interested in tech. Focus on the PMP if you are headed toward more established companies who are generally conservative. Though I don't really know much about the PMP so keep reaching out to that network of folks.
posted by amanda at 8:41 PM on November 29, 2014