Prince 2 qualification

Schizophonic · 14 May 2009 at 22:08

Thinking i need a boost in my career, i'm doing this self teaching course which is fairly straight forward. My boss advise me to take it if i want to climb up the career ladder quickly.

Has anyone else done it and found themselves to be in a much more adventagerous position?

Btw, i'll be doing ITIL after that. Good choice? Yay or nay?

EDIT: Sorry - Can a Mod change the subject title to Prince2??

Thank you.

blackapache · 14 May 2009 at 22:13

I assume you mean prince2? I did it at uni but unfortunately I did not go into that field (I hated my degree) however I can tell you its the most boring thing in the world but fairly simple to do by yourself.
Sorry I know this is not that constructive

randal · 14 May 2009 at 22:14

Yeah it's a doddle, I've heard ITIL is a bit tougher. As much as companies look for it, the jargon and office BS bingo attached to it is infuriating. I contemplated ritual murder several times in my training course.

Heofz · 14 May 2009 at 22:15

afaik, ITIL is well respected so I say go for it. I worked in an ITIL environment when I was at Atkins IT Dept, very professional and there are procedures for everything.

pedrochop · 14 May 2009 at 22:17

It depends what line of work you are in and what experience you have. From personal experience Prince2 is just a bonus, its not going to secure you a job but it will help.

clv101 · 14 May 2009 at 22:19

I did it some 6 or 7 years ago - it was deadly dull and ultimately one of the more pointless weeks of my life. I wouldn't suggest doing it unless you have a specific requirement to be a Prince2 practitioner.

pedrochop · 14 May 2009 at 22:19

Oh, and Prince2 is what you would do if you want to go into project management. ITIL is if you want to go into service management.

Django x2 · 14 May 2009 at 22:20

If you do ITIL you will have a job for life. Unfortunately, that can mean working on the same customer site for years if you're good at it and this is recognised

Prince2 is a nice to have, personally I wouldn't waste my time.

GSXRMovistar · 14 May 2009 at 23:30

Yes ITIL is nice to have but doesn't guarantee you a job for life (same for any qualification), by the time I heard about ITIL and took the course/qualification I had been working to the same model for years so I found it all very easy to pass, it’s basically common sense. Out of all the courses etc that I’ve taken this one made the most sense (but not necessary the most valuable).

As for Prince2 it really depends on what area you work in, it’s a much respected qualification but when 90% of companies seem to be cutting their costs at the moment projects are out the window with focus on keeping the lights on and avoiding problems.

Prince2 is also a fairly heavy course to follow if you haven’t done much training/studying recently, but on the upside its last update has made it a little easier.

Skeeter · 14 May 2009 at 23:47

The benifits of doing Prince 2 will be that you have "Prince 2" written on your CV...

While employees may think its the best thing ever and having Prince 2 makes you the best candidate, in reality, its common sence and basic techniques that everyone has.

So if you want a job in Project management, go for it, it will help. But put it this way, I dont have Prince 2, and neither do a few of my collegues, and we arent project managers, yet we actually end up manageing projects and do a dam site better than the actual employed project managers who do very little, but are aparently better suited for the job because they have Prince 2...

I will do Prince 2 when someone else pays for it though, it aint cheap.

GSXRMovistar · 14 May 2009 at 23:51

Skeeter said:
But put it this way, I dont have Prince 2, and neither do a few of my collegues, and we arent project managers, yet we actually end up manageing projects and do a dam site better than the actual employed project managers who do very little, but are aparently better suited for the job because they have Prince 2...

I will do Prince 2 when someone else pays for it though, it aint cheap.

Wise words. Prince2 is a foot in the door when working/interviewing with people that don't know you, But once you have a job its performance and delivery that counts.

djmc0 · 14 May 2009 at 23:57

Although it is a good qualification to have, BUT, do we really need more Project managers arranging countless conference calls, and making step by step plans that are ridiculously meticulous?

Sorry, i just have a bee in my bonnet with project managers at the moment, I know it counts for a lot. I was thinking of doing it for while, that and a CCNP would increase my wage double.

Skeeter · 15 May 2009 at 00:01

djmc0 said:
Although it is a good qualification to have, BUT, do we really need more Project managers arranging countless conference calls, and making step by step plans that are ridiculously meticulous?

Sorry, i just have a bee in my bonnet with project managers at the moment, I know it counts for a lot. I was thinking of doing it for while, that and a CCNP would increase my wage double.

Do you work in the same place as me

As Movistar said, Prince2 will get you into the job, but people who arent blinded by believing qualifications are all you are will know that actually, it has absolutely no reflection on your ability to project manage.

If you can get it cheap do it.

And yeah, if you then start making conference calls to discuss risk factors, benifits realiation and issues logs, while assessing and creating project flow diagrams, we will come and hunt you down and kill you

djmc0 · 15 May 2009 at 00:07

Skeeter said:
Do you work in the same place as me

As Movistar said, Prince2 will get you into the job, but people who arent blinded by believing qualifications are all you are will know that actually, it has absolutely no reflection on your ability to project manage.

If you can get it cheap do it.

And yeah, if you then start making conference calls to discuss risk factors, benifits realiation and issues logs, while assessing and creating project flow diagrams, we will come and hunt you down and kill you

Doubt it! But I suppose you never know, I work a large 'British' oil conglomerate, dealing with their servers. And the IT contract has recently been outsource to a certain IT support company that has recently been bought by HP, they love spreadsheets, and pointless meetings, and actual work seemes to take a lot long, especially with change request approval! Which makes my life miserable!

*edit*
Another thing with the Prince 2, it seems to count a lot on a CV, as I work along side people that have that, but no (well barely any) knowledge of what they are managing, they seem to try and learn it on the go, but unfortunately some employers regard that over actual job experience, YES! i am a little bitter. Which from my experience can mess up a project.

BUT, the ones that are good, are really goood, plans that they do circulate, work to a T. God I am rambling, Sorry.

Skeeter · 15 May 2009 at 00:36

I work in a Hospital. Our IT project managers are an ex nurse, and ex outpatient receptionist, and an ex path lab tech...

Yet having Prince 2 on their CV means they are aparently perfectly suited to manage big expensive IT projects...

dowie · 15 May 2009 at 01:25

At the end of the day anyone can forward mails, host meetings and generally talk BS to clients - having a structured framework to put all this BS into place might help you slightly & having a certification to say you understand it might also look OK on your CV.

The reality is that a lot of project managers are very mediocre - the minority of project managers who are considered 'good'/successful tend to fall into one of two categories IME - bullies and socialites

the bullies will use political clout to get R&D to prioritise their tasks while acting like yes men to the clients - the clients then like them as they get stuff done for them without any problem, management like them as they get things progressed quickly (albeit by brute force) & people below them tend to hate them as do various R&D product managers who give into them as they don't want the extra hassle of having to keep fobbing them off & keep on answering e-mails where the bully has CC'd as many execs as possible would probably try to get the pope involved if he thought it would add extra pressure on R&D.

The other 'good' type are the ones who have been around a bit, are instantly likeable, will socialise & network with other departments on a Friday night - know most people on a first name basis from the receptionist to the CEO. These guys will build up rapport with the clients, will tell them 'NO' when they need to & the client won't be upset as they have a good relationship. They will get stuff done quickly in R&D when they need to because R&D likes them & they can call in favours (like the other times when they've told the client 'NO' and when they've not kicked up a fuss because something minor got delayed). They'll put pressure on when they need to but won't be OTT with it - they will always remain calm and won't start flapping under pressure when deadlines approach or things go **** up.

Unfortunately the majority are just mediocre - anyone can learn prince2, anyone can work hard, anyone can forward e-mails - not everyone has the personalty not everyone has the experience or just general awareness of how stuff works/gets done in the business. A large enough portion of the job effectively boils down to what HR like to call 'soft skills'.