How to Learn About Project Management (and Earn PDUs)

Looking for ways to learn more about project management? Maybe you’ve passed your PMP Exam and now need to earn PDUs in order to maintain your certification. Or maybe you’ve had your PMP certification for awhile and looking for new ways to earn PDUs. Here are five recommended ways with resources and links to make the most of earning PDUs, as you continue your project management journey. Even if you don’t know what PDUs are (don’t worry, I go over that too), below you’ll find soon-to-be-your-favourite ways to learn about project management.

What are PDUs?

If you hold a Project Management Professional (PMP) or other Project Management Institute (PMI) certification – Program Management Professional (PgMP), Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) or Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) – you’ll need to earn 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every three years. PDUs are one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others, or volunteering. By accumulating and tracking these over your certification cycle you can maintain your certification status with PMI (What are PDUs?).

1. Events

What better way to advance your project management knowledge and earn PDUs than to do it with others – IRL (in real life) or from the comfort of your own home. In-person and online events are a great way to learn and a great way to connect with others. At the end of the day, project management is about people and interacting with others is not only part of the job, but something project managers do regularly and should learn to enjoy. Luckily, there is no shortage of project management events, especially ones where you can earn PDUs.

PMI Events

As you would expect, the official global governing body of project management, PMI, holds events that offer learning and PDU-earning opportunities. PMI puts on high-profile and well organized events like Global Summit, PMXPO, and Virtual Experience Series. Check them all out at https://www.pmi.org/events. Some PMI events have costs associated or may require PMI membership.

PMI Local Chapter Events

Wherever you are, there’s a local chapter near you; I personally belong to the Canadian West Coast Chapter (CWCC) of PMI and they offer local events (e.g. PMWest). If you also belong to PMI CWCC, check out https://pmi.bc.ca/calendar (and maybe I’ll see you at the next event). Ask your local PMI chapter about events in your area.

Industry Events

Some industry events like construction, design, and manufacturing offer PDU-earning opportunities. For example, Buildex and Interior Design Show hold sessions in their event programs where attendees can earn PDUs. Many related tradeshows and conferences will offer similar opportunities.

2. Volunteer

Giving back is a great way to get involved in your community and earn PDUs at the same time. There are opportunities to volunteer with PMI directly or your local PMI chapter. You can also arrange a “self-directed” PDU-earning arrangement (e.g. offering your project management skills to a non-profit organization).

My local PMI chapter, CWCC, has been a long time supporter of PM Volunteers, an organization enabling non-profit and social profit organizations to be more successful through project services, workshops, and advisory services. Ask your local PMI chapter for more information on volunteer opportunities near you.

3. Be a Mentor

For those with some experience under their belt, you should consider being a mentor. I learn best from others and was lucky to have mentors and peers who took the time to help me on my professional journey. I am grateful for their tutelage.

There’s nothing more rewarding than helping others. Giving back, sharing your experience, developing others – we need more of this in the world and the project management industry is no different. Furthermore, we often learn something even better when we teach it to somebody else. Why not benefit from it too? You can earn PDUs while helping others by being a mentor. Personally, I participate in the CWCC Mentorship Program as a Mentor and it is a wonderful experience. The program is already well run and they always ask for feedback, which helps make it continue to get better every year. Ask your local PMI chapter if they have a mentorship program. If they don’t, consider starting one.

4. Connect with others

Share the value of project management with those around you. One way to do this is connecting with others where you currently work. It can be with people you work directly and indirectly with (also a great way to meet new people!). This can be through a group chat, a one-off meeting, recurring meetings, a presentation, etc. While mentorship often involves a formal arrangement between a mentor and mentee, simply sharing knowledge with others in a meeting (e.g. Lunch and Learn like “Intro to PM” or “PM Basics” or even “What is PMP?”) is more casual with less of a commitment. These meetings can be eligible for PDUs.

All organizations can benefit from more project management knowledge and training, regardless of how mature an organization’s project management office is (or if one even exists!). Both in depth and breadth – more people learning more about project management is always a good thing.

Being known as the “project management person” in your organization can be beneficial, as this positions you as an expert within your organization and shows that you care about learning together. Your leaders will see you in a positive light, caring for the development of others and contributing to company-wide optimization.

5. Webinars and Online Learning

There are so many great project management resources out there. Whether it’s the official PMI websites, project management-specific resources, or general learning platforms – there is no shortage of places to learn more about project management and earn PDUs.

Project Management Institute (PMI)

PMI offers comprehensive resources for earning PDUs. It’s important to point out that the Project Management Institute website PMI.org is different from ProjectManagement.com. While PMI.org is the official website of the Project Management Institute (PMI), ProjectManagement.com is PMI’s online community. For more information, check out PDUs on ProjectManagement.com. Your local PMI chapter will likely offer PDU-earning webinars too.

RMC Learning Solutions

“Rita Mulcahy started RMC with the modest idea of helping people pass the PMP® Exam. Her best-selling book, PMP® Exam Prep, set an industry standard for training material.” This book was highly recommended to me and I found it to be such a useful resource in preparing for the PMP exam (How I Passed the Exam). RMC also offers FREE webinars – quality sessions on relevant topics (along with paid classes and training, of course). In addition, it’s definitely worth subscribing to their newsletter.

https://rmcls.com/webinars/

PM Podcast

PM Podcast is just a simple, free, and easy way to earn PDUs. The FAQs will answer any questions you might have.

https://www.project-management-podcast.com/pdu

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn offers an online learning platform, previously Lynda.com before being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 and becoming LinkedIn Learning. Among the 16,000+ courses in the categories of Business, Creative, Technology, and Certifications, there are many project management ones that may be eligible for PDUs.

Other Online Learning Platforms

Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare – just to name a few of the many online learning platforms offering project management courses eligible for PDUs. There are a number of different options available. Be sure to check your preferred learning platform for project management knowledge and training.

Learn more about project management by attending events, volunteering, mentoring, connecting with others, and through webinars and online learning. Whether you’re just starting out on your project management journey, looking to obtain your PMP certification, a seasoned PMP, or other – it’s good to be a lifelong learner. There are many resources that exist and I encourage you to explore all of them.

Check out my other articles on project management here. I write about everything from what it is and why it’s important, to my experience getting certified.