Prince2 - worth it?

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Discussion

Ray Singh

Original Poster:

3,048 posts

230 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
I am due to complete a Prince2 course next week, with an exam on the Friday.

Is it worth doing? Does it really make you more employable?

More to the point any tips for how to pass the exam - other than the obvious - study?

Pulse

10,922 posts

218 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
It's really very easy to pass, so don't stress too much.

Foundation can be passed without learning any of the syllabus, and it's VERY common-sense. Practitioner is harder, but certainly not challenging.

I would suggest doing what I did, which is (unfortunately) reading the book from front to back, just once, but making sure it goes in. The book is quite well written, so easy enough to read through on your own without direction.

ETA - I would say it does make you more employable, if only as a tick box exercise.

Edited by Pulse on Thursday 18th August 11:14

jonah35

3,940 posts

157 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
can i jump in on this and ask if you pass this prince2 qualification which takes a week then what kind of IT contract rates could you get?

it's completely new to me and sorry if I get laughed out the door as I know nothing about this.

is it a case of you need another 10 other qualifications to get £300 per day or what?

thanks

thecopster

192 posts

166 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
can i jump in on this and ask if you pass this prince2 qualification which takes a week then what kind of IT contract rates could you get?

it's completely new to me and sorry if I get laughed out the door as I know nothing about this.

is it a case of you need another 10 other qualifications to get £300 per day or what?

thanks
IMO If you just have a Prince 2 qualification and no other relevant skills/experience you won't get any contract - let alone £300 a day.

As previously mentioned Prince is a 'nice to have' it may get you an interview and/or the role over a similar candidate if you have similar skills/experience..

ITIL Foundation level can also be put into this category.

Pulse

10,922 posts

218 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
thecopster said:
IMO If you just have a Prince 2 qualification and no other relevant skills/experience you won't get any contract - let alone £300 a day.

As previously mentioned Prince is a 'nice to have' it may get you an interview and/or the role over a similar candidate if you have similar skills/experience..

ITIL Foundation level can also be put into this category.
Agree with this. You've not a hope in hell with no experience behind you. You would however be able to get something like a Project Co-ordinator role. My friend did his Prince2 and went straight into that role on £25k.

-crookedtail-

1,563 posts

190 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
I passed my Prince2 Foundation & Practitioner in April. As above the foundation really is easy enough to pass as multiple choice questions which are basic common sense.

The practitioner I found bloody hard as it is scenario based but still multiple choice, it was sometimes tough picking the right 'prince' answer. I scraped a pass which I think is 75% smile

Good luck and download some practitioner exams to get yourself ready!

flyingjase

3,067 posts

231 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
I'm also on a PRINCE 2 course next week with the exam on Friday! If you are with Learning Tree in Euston, then see you there.

As has been said my view is that this is purely a tick in the box exercise and not really a value add. That said, every little helps and it might be that small thing that makes you stick out compared to someone else.

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
Yes, it's worth it. However, on it's own with no other learning and experience then not as much. It's interesting to see how learning is sometimes viewed as a chore, a one off and if not resulting in immediate gratification (new job/role/pay rise) then it can't be worth doing. I look at it like my car. Putting new boots on it will not make it faster or more reliable if it wasn't serviced last year, MOTd last week or booked in for a detail next March. It's a continuous process of maintenance and improvement. Careers and the training and development needed to reach one's potential needs a smlar outlook if you wish to improve and remain competitive in the workplace. Good luck with the course and the exam.

bigandclever

13,791 posts

238 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
-crookedtail- said:
I scraped a pass which I think is 75% smile
It's lower than that - 50% for Foundation and 55% for Practitioner. You only need 66% in Practitioner to qualify as a trainer (well, apply to be one) smile

Pulse

10,922 posts

218 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
bigandclever said:
It's lower than that - 50% for Foundation and 55% for Practitioner. You only need 66% in Practitioner to qualify as a trainer (well, apply to be one) smile
Correct! Very easy to pass. That said, I did only get something like 86%, so I should be quiet really!

jonah35

3,940 posts

157 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
cheers chaps, so in order to get into contracting on decent day rates £250 per day plus then what would you suggest?

Ray Singh

Original Poster:

3,048 posts

230 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
ITIL seems to pop up on job descriptions again and again. Also PMO features.
Im amazed by how many jobs want knowledge of C/C++.

HTH

bigandclever

13,791 posts

238 months

Friday 19th August 2011
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Personally I'd be looking at getting Agile in there as well as Prince. Cover your bases and all that.

Munter

31,319 posts

241 months

Friday 19th August 2011
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bigandclever said:
Personally I'd be looking at getting Agile in there as well as Prince. Cover your bases and all that.
As A: Job Seeker

I would like: To be valued for my experience over my paper qualifications

So that: You actually get someone who can do the sodding job

That's probably an epic. hehe

Snoggledog

7,037 posts

217 months

Podie

46,630 posts

275 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
P2 is another toolset, but it's the toolset that employers seem to think that they require. It has become a standard, so for this reason alone it's worth having if you want to get anywhere as a PM.

ITIL is not really a PM methodology, but is a useful thing to have if you work in IT Project Management.

I often read about how "easy" P2 is... and then people fail the exam. When I renewed mine two years ago, over half the class failed Practitioner - several were already on resit.

GeraldSmith

6,887 posts

217 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
cheers chaps, so in order to get into contracting on decent day rates £250 per day plus then what would you suggest?
You need a decent amount of experience, from an employer perspective the main thing you expect from a contractor is that they can do the job straight off, no need for training or helping them grow with experience. You are paying for them to come in and do the job so you expect to be able to see that they have done a similar job successfully for someone else.

NobleGuy

7,133 posts

215 months

Monday 22nd August 2011
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Ray Singh said:
I am due to complete a Prince2 course next week, with an exam on the Friday.

Is it worth doing? Does it really make you more employable?

More to the point any tips for how to pass the exam - other than the obvious - study?
No, not worth it. Been a contractor for 15 years and never ever worked on a project that utilises it. I think the fact that the govt. (and the big fat companies that rip the govt off on a regular basis) still use it says everything about its usefulness.

Sorry, that's a bit of a moany post isn't it...? Just being honest smile

Du1point8

21,608 posts

192 months

Monday 22nd August 2011
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Would have thought PMI is more worth it.

Ray Singh

Original Poster:

3,048 posts

230 months

Monday 22nd August 2011
quotequote all
I started this course today. Its run by core IS.
It was heavy going with lots of acronyms. Fundamentals test on Thursday and Practitioner on Friday.

It was a full 9 - 4 today with only an hour for lunch - 2 hours of homework tonight.

Its hard going.