Project Management Institute (PMI)

I am a 30 year construction worker who has moved up through the ranks from superintendent to project manager. In order to gain a top PM job you need college or professional training other than experience. So I joined the PMI, enrolled in and successfuly completed the course. During the application process since I had no college degree I had to record 7500 hours of management experience which was no problem. I completed and submitted my application and was immediately put into Audit. The audit process included having to send former employers or colleagues paperwork to fill out and sign for every hour I worked for them and to sign the sealed envelope flap. Two of my previous employers found this to be invasive and refused. I sent 2 emails to PMI but have not been responded to. I you have the similar situation be ready for it. I only gave a 1 star rating because the course instructor was good. I wasted 2,000 and 50 hours of my time.

Poor customer service, money is the first thing they have to consider not the struggling worker trying to belter themselves with a certification. Costs are high testing centers are old, test is archaic at best. No full refunds even if you cancel greater than 30 days. Did I say horrid customer service. close my application because I wanted a full refund...

The project management institute has the worst customer service I have ever experienced and their information is outdated.

I have been a member of PMI since 1998. When I retired, I spoke to PMI about what would happen if I wanted to work in the field again and reinstate my PMP and membership. They said no problem just let us know and then start getting PDU's. Today I was told I need to reapply and re-take the PMP exam. They lied to me blatantly. What a money grab! LIARS!

EVERYTHING this "organization" does is about getting more money out of your pocket. The certification test is a joke, with no real world value. They auto bill you an annual membership, then want another $60 to "renew your certificate". The membership is worthless. If you want to cancel your membership, there are no refunds or pro-rated fees returned. You're just SOL.

This is easily the worst customer care experience of my entire life. I cannot! I paid $257 for the CAPM and after weeks of studying, I can't seem to wrap my head around why it wouldn't let me finally schedule my exam. I have been on this for days now, back and forth trying to actually find a working link to schedule an exam. How hard should this be? Is this a plot to get people to request a refund and then register again? For an organization championing project management, y'all sure do one heck of a job living up to your name.

I have completed all of the required PDU's, I have met all of the prerequisites of a Bachelor's Degree, documented well over the 4,500 hours of actual project management, have paid all of the sign up and PMI test fees, have spent countless hours studying for the PMP Certification Test but I have failed 2 random audits performed by PMI and am in the process of submitting information for the 3rd time to convince PMI that I am for real. I have over 25 years of project management experience managing large scale telecommunications and construction projects. The audit details PMI provides are ambiguos and inconsistent and I really have no idea what they are asking for...shooting in the dark. I cannot speak directly or email directly with the person who is reviewing my audit material. You are limited to 550 characters or less to explain the 4 year project I am referencing in my audit to meet the 4,500 hour requirement. The auditor basically told me I was lying about the number hours I have worked on the project. I don't think very highly of PMI at all. In my opinion the program has very little merit and the testing is centered around tricking the applicant instead of teaching about project management or how projects work. PMI is absolute waste of time of money.

PMI kicked me out mid-test after I paid $300 to take the CAPM test and took a 65-hour prep course (30 hours is required). They have not offered to reimburse me nor responded to customer service requests in two weeks. I was kicked out of the test for technical malfunctions with their program. The test uses security theater to being with, ie fake security measures to try to scare people into thinking its secure. They ask you to show the proctor a video of your room but don't have any check against some ******** as simple as taping a notecard to your screen.

If I could give a negative star I would. The test as a whole is unfair. Getting my Masters degree was easier. You can study forver and still not be ready for their tricky questions. Why can't they write questions that are easy to read, and I can answer that. The more people that fail the more money they get.

Terrible customer service. Try calling them or using their online chat--can't get through.

It costs $70 to cancel the exam plus $100 processing fee. Non-refundable for membership. I canceled the exam 30 days before the exam and it shows in their system as 2 days before the exam and refused the refund. Customer service is horrible. What a scam.

PMI has a monopoly on the Project Management certifications and such. Initial cost is fair, but then the costs get very high and very many. The biggest complaint I have is contacting and getting help with issues regarding my certification maintenance. I have paid and taken all the required classes to renew my certification yet PMI has not awarded the points, which will eventually make my certification lapse even though I have fulfilled the requirements. This is a very expensive and time consuming certification needed for my field and PMI is the worst. Very difficult to communicate with, no answer of phone calls, customer chat is always down. very disappointed.

They do a good job of encapsulating the project management field. They have good tools to help to get ready and pass the certification test. They also have good tools to help in different aspects of project management after certification

First, their certification is worthless, they've let complete frauds through their audits and then blocked valid professionals because the company seems to have little or no experience in actual PM. Second, their authorized classes are worthless. They authorized Grey Campus to do an ACP course that is a guy reading straight through what seemed to be copy pasted Google search results with no punctuation. A steady stream of words, a recitation, not a reading or lecture. When they authorize a program, they are endorsing it. Between those two things, and their pretentions of pretending to be a large organization, I gave up.

It is ironic that PMI teaches PM but when it came to using there system online for taking the CAPM they couldn't perform...they must have contracted out the proctoring online (http://www.pearsonvue.com). The system was painful and never worked. I didn't need the CAPM but I thought it might help in some way. I asked for a refund which was hard since I had spent many many hours studying for the exam. It was an aggravating and disappointing experience.