Earn 30 PDUs in Your Car. For Free.

Below is an article by Cornelius Fichtner, PMP.  Not only can you claim PDU’s for listening to podcasts you can earn up to 5 additional PDU’s each year for managing projects.  Earning PDU’s is easy as long as you plan out our strategy for obtaining them.

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You worked hard to earn your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification. You studied relentlessly, you passed the exam, and you put in your hours. Surely you’ll do whatever it takes to keep that PMP behind your name once it’s there. But who has time to complete those recertification requirements--60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every three years? You’re probably not jumping to register for a night class on earned value management at the local college. Do you have time between your kids’ soccer practice and swim lessons to write a paper for the local Project Management Institute (PMI)® chapter? Is tonight the night you’ll sit down and author a book on project management? Do you really have the bandwidth to volunteer your service as the project manager for the new neighborhood park?

We get it. That’s why we’ve made it easy to earn those required PDUs when you’re on the go - or, just as likely - when you’re stuck in traffic. You can earn half of your PDU recertification requirements - 30 Category C PDUs - from the comfort of your car - or anywhere else. The best part is… it’s completely free and you won’t need to take an exam, make any presentations, write a novel, or deal with strong-willed neighbors.

Using your iPod, your tablet, your smart phone, or any MP3 player, you can listen to a Podcast anytime, anywhere - you literally can have your PDUs in the palm of your hand no matter where you go! A Podcast is an audio or video file (usually in mp3 format) that you download onto your portable media player - just like you’d download your favorite music from iTunes. Once it’s downloaded you can listen to or watch the Podcast whenever and wherever you like. You could listen in during the swim meet, or brush up on your PM skills on your way to the local chapter meeting. And actually, you don’t even have to have a portable media device to access a Podcast - just click “play” on the website from your computer, then listen and learn.

Don’t know where to start? Check out some of our three favorite project management-related Podcasts:

The Project Management Podcast (www.pm-podcast.com), hosted by Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, brings you weekly interviews with project managers on many aspects of the profession. It covers topics such as tips and tricks, PMO setup, soft skills, methodologies, risk management, leadership, virtual teams, best practices, book reviews, and much more. The PM Podcast started in August 2005 and was the first Podcast to focus on project management. It continues to publish one episode every week and it's completely free.

The PMO Podcast (www.thepmopodcast.com), hosted by Mark Price Perry, provides short, 10 to 15 minute episodes aimed at helping organizations of all shapes and sizes set up business-driven PMOs. It covers a wide variety of PMO topics and features interviews with PMO managers, PMO product and service providers, and thought leaders in both plan-driven project management approaches and complex adaptive systems. The PMO Podcast started in August 2006 and has more than 200 episodes to date. The PMO Podcast is also free and invites PMO enthusiasts to share their perspectives.  

The People and Projects Podcast (www.peopleandprojectspodcast.com), hosted by Andy Kaufman, PMP, provides interviews and insights to help you deliver projects and lead teams. Andy is a project management and leadership keynote speaker, author, and executive coach who works with companies around the world. His podcast puts a strong emphasis on the people and leadership side of a project manager’s role. Andy publishes two episodes a month, which are also available for free.

Aside from the personal/professional development benefits you’ll see from tuning in, Podcasts do help you fulfill your PMP PDU renewal requirements. But you’ll need to maintain a record of the Podcasts you listen to so that you can submit them when you’re ready to renew.

Tracking your Podcasts is easy. Use this free log file to record your Category C podcasts: http://traffic.libsyn.com/pmpodcast/Category_C_PDU_Log.pdf. Use it to keep track of the episode number, the title of the episode, the date you listened to the podcast, its duration, the interview guest, and the topic. When it comes time to submit your PDUs, your log file will simplify the process. You’ll already have the information you need to submit at your fingertips. Remember that all podcasts you submit for Category C PDUs must correspond to specific PMBOK® Guide Knowledge Areas. We suggest you listen to at least 30 hours of Podcasts before you submit your PDU claim, and your log file will provide a one-stop shop for all the information you need to submit.

The PM Podcast will get you half way to your 60 PDU requirement for recertification—all for free. But because these 30 PDUs are not enough to fulfill the recertification requirement, we also suggest you check out The PDU Podcast, www.pducast.com, which will allow you to earn PDUs in Category A. (It’s true. Insert your own silent gasp here.) Category A PDUs are courses or training events provided by PMI Registered Education Providers - and ONLY these providers. The PDU Podcast is currently the only PMI R.E.P. created podcast available through which you can earn unlimited Category A PDUs. Besides that…there’s just good stuff out there.

So even if you don’t have free time, you can make the most of your “busy” time with something free. Are you ready to get started? Go to www.pm-podcast.com/pdu (or any of the project management-related websites mentioned above) and start earning your free PDUs.

About the author: Cornelius Fichtner, PMP is a noted PMP expert. He has helped over 17,000 students prepare for the PMP exam with The Project Management PrepCast and offers one of the best PMP exam simulators on the market.