2022 PMI Project Management Salary Survey (PMP®) Results

by Shiv Shenoy

PMI Project Management Salary Survey (PMP^®) 2022

PMI conducts Salary Survey, called Earning Power, of project managers across industries and geographies – with PMP^® and without PMP^®.

The idea here is to see how PMP certification is enabling (or not) project managers to earn more.

So far, PMI found that project managers with PMP certification earned, on an average, 20+% more than those without PMP.

Consistently.

Then COVID hit everyone.

The impact neither excluded projects, nor project managers.

Then in Nov 2021, PMI conducted Project Management Salary Survey. [1]

They published the results in March 2022 (few days before this writing).

What do you think would have been the impact of pandemic on Project Manager’s salaries?

PMI Project Management Salary Survey 2022 - Know if PMPs are earning more than non-PMPs. Some results may surprise you! Click to Tweet

You may be in for a surprise or two!

By the end of this article, you’ll not just know how things are stacked up for a PMP aspirant, but also find out easier ways to pass the exam.

That’s my promise.

Let’s get started!

What do you think would have happened to the salaries of project managers during the pandemic?

This was the 12th edition of PMI’s salary survey.

In the 11th edition, the survey indicated that project managers with PMP, on an average, earned 22% more than those without PMP certification under their belt.

Before we get there, let us look at some numbers of the survey itself (by the way, you can download this 300-page report for free as a PMI member).

Total number of participants : 30,000+

Participated #of countries: 40

Key demographics –

Country of employment
Position description
Years of work experience
Years worked in project management
Highest formal education level obtained
Degree in project management
PMP^® status
Gender
Department/function
Industry
Number of employees in entire organization
Average project team size
Typical project budget

Also, click to read the previous survey results (11th edition)

The main takeaway

The survey respondents with a PMP certification report higher median salaries than those without a PMP certification—16% higher on average.

Which means, that even through the pandemic, the project management skills are in demand.

Here is an interesting observation. And this comes in the context that the impact of the pandemic has been spanning multiple years now.

Half of the respondents reported that their total compensation (including salary, bonus, and other cash incentives) increased over the 12 months prior to completing the salary survey (that is, Nov-2021).

If you want to know even more specifically – about 22% of these project managers reported an increase of at least 5% in this time period.

This probably is a bit of a (pleasant) surprise, considering the negative impact we’ve seen in pretty much all the employment categories.

Some details that matter

As I was analyzing the numbers, few very interesting insights begin to surface.

Let us look at top 5 results across a few categories, so you get a sense of how the numbers are stacked in relation to your position.

Top 5 countries with the highest Median salary

[table id=15 /]

The 6th place onwards, the median salary gets to 4-figure number.

Interestingly, a few countries you’d expect to see in the top-5 aren’t there.

You’d notice that the total number of respondents in some of these are quite low. Thus, what would have been good to know is the total number of project mangers in those countries, so we get to know what percentage of that took part in the survey.

Knowing the population size AND the sample size is important to draw the conclusion, as we’ve studied for PMP (Statistical Sampling).

Top 5 countries with the highest respondents, over past 5 years

[table id=16 /]

Top 5 Countries That Pay Highest On Experience

Check the column representing your experience range to see which country pays the least and most.

[table id=17 /]

For India, the salaries stack up this way –

<3 yrs: $18,528
3-<5 yrs: $18,634
5-<10 yrs: $22,840
10-<15 yrs: $29,282
15-<20 yrs: $37,268
20+ yrs: $47,916

Also read:

Top 5 countries by PMP certification status

Now, here’s an important insight.

As many as 79% of the respondents were PMP certified.

Take your time to understand this table.

Top 5 countries with the HIGHEST increase of PMP-salary compared to non-PMP project managers

[table id=18 /]

Again, don’t just go with the percentage figure here. Percentages do not tell you the complete story. They only tell that these countries possibly give a LOT of importance to PMP certification.

Top 5 countries with the LOWEST increase of PMP-salary compared to non-PMP project managers

[table id=19 /]

Don’t let this make you think that it is actually disadvantageous to have PMP certification in countries like Qatar and UAE. It probably means that the companies there do not give any specific importance to PMP credential.

Now,

Would you think that increased responsibilities would mean more salary?

This is true in general. But you’d be surprised that in some countries the increase is substantial!

[table id=20 /]

You must be thinking, “how does salary play out with the projects of different sizes?“

Coming up next.

These are sorted based on projects with 20+ team members.

[table id=21 /]

Interestingly, for majority of the rest of the countries, the difference isn’t that much.

Alright!

Would you think that bigger the project budget, more salary to the project manager?

Top 5 countries (based on projects > $10M budget) show this trend –

[table id=22 /]

Summary of PMI Project Management Salary Survey

In Summary, the impact of Covid on the need for skilled project manager hasn’t been much.

In the previous edition of PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey, project managers with PMP, on an average, earned 23% more, and in the current version, they are ahead by 16%.

What does this mean for me, if I’m already been PMP certified?

The result has been sliced and diced in various ways in the tables shown in this article, and that should give you some kind of inclination about the gaps, if any.

The only way to stake claim for that raise or promotion is to show results.

And to show results, the applying the knowledge you have gained from PMP and the skills honed by applying them should help.

If you have any questions for me, please feel free to reach me on LinkedIn.

What does this mean for me, if I’m not yet PMP certified?

Now is the best time ever to get PMP certified.

And I can help you in any way I can.

Here are few ways –

You can also reach me on LinkedIn.

By the way, which aspect of this survey results was not as per your expectations? Let me know in comments!

All the best!

Shiv Shenoy, PMP

PS: Click on the bell icon on my LinkedIn profile to get PMP preparation strategies and study tips into your feed.

References –

Earning Power: PMI Project Management Salary Survey—Twelfth Edition (2021)

PMP is the registered trademark of Project Management Institute.

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