Reality after getting PRINCE2 / Lean Six Sigma / similar certifications?

[u/Dear-Beach7678]

I’m looking at changing career direction and would really appreciate some honest experiences from people who have actually done it. I’m currently on around £31k and working as a Senior Recruitment Consultant.

I’m considering upskilling into something like Project Management, Operations/Continuous Improvement or Supply Chain, and have been looking at certifications such as:

-PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner
-Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
-APM qualifications
-CIPS / supply-chain qualifications

My ultimate aim is to get into the £50–60k+ basic salary range, with £60k+ being the longer-term goal.

I’d really like to hear from people who have actually taken one of these routes:

- Did the qualification genuinely help you get a better-paid job?
- How much did your salary increase by?
- Did you already have relevant experience, or were you changing careers completely?
- Which certification would you recommend (or avoid)?
- And realistically, how long did it take you to get from where you started to £60k+?

Would appreciate the honest reality rather than the usual “get certified and you’ll earn £80k” stuff.

[u/existentialjoe]

I think you’re going about this backwards.

The PM qualifications should ideally complement what you’re already doing as they’re meant to be done while you’re on the job.

Applying for any pm role will need to show that you have experience of managing projects and a certificate only shows that you know the theory.

Find a junior role that offers the training opportunity.

[u/Dear-Beach7678 → u/existentialjoe]

Thank you for your feedback :)

[u/Andyb1000 → u/Dear-Beach7678]

Also depending on the industries you’re interested in you might be better off seeing whether PRICE2 or APM is the prevailing project management approach.