When you get your PMP®, one of your first thoughts is "How will I ever get those 60 PDUs to maintain my certification?" Fear not my friend, you have come to the right place. Here are the best ways to earn your Professional Development Units (PDUs) based on experience I gained since I passed the PMP® exam, back in the dark ages.

Firstly, congratulations on passing the exam, and obtaining your PMP®. It is a tough exam. Now, lets get you going on earning those PDUs.

1. Attend your local PMI® Chapter meetings. Go as often as possible to earn PDUs and learn from the speakers. Don't stop there. Use this opportunity to network, learn about other people, tell them about yourself and enjoy the small talk with peers. (P.S. Some chapter meetings include a meal to feed your body and mind at the same time.) SNEC-PMI chapter meetings currently provide up to 1.5 PDUs for each monthly chapter meeting. Your PMI® chapter meetings may be different. 

2. Attend the one-day special events and workshops that your chapter presents. Remember that you can also attend workshops and chapter meetings at neighboring chapters. (I often travel to upstate New York and Boston to attend workshops.) You can earn in the region of 8 PDUs at a one-day event and you will learn more than at a chapter meeting. Sign up for the free newsletters that most PMI® chapters publish, so that you are aware of upcoming events. 

3. Continue learning - but change your focus from learning theory, to learning real-world project success skills. I recommend, whole heartedly, that you read Neal Whitten's Q&A books.  You will be a better project manager for having read them. You can claim PDUs (within the category limits) for self-study of relevant project management books. 

4. Seek out and find a project management mentor in your organization. I have formally interviewed dozens of project leaders for my next book (Beyond the Certification), and each one tells me that their career moved up a level when they started working with a mentor. I wish that I had known this years ago.  (Contact me off-line if you want help to seek out and select a mentor). You won't earn PDUs for being a mentee, but you will gain experience so that you can be a mentor one day, which does earn PDUs. 

5. Attend your local PMI® chapter annual conference. You can earn eight PDUs in a day, network with peers and listen to various points of view from the speakers. You can also travel to nearby chapters if you want to, and attend their conference.

6. Get involved in your chapter. It is OK to attend chapter meetings, but how many rubber chicken dinners can one person digest? The real fun and value comes from volunteering for your chapter. There are a range of opportunities available. For example, you can volunteer to be the project manager for an event and apply your project management skills while also developing those much needed leadership skills for future career growth. You can select activities that take as much or little time as you choose. You earn a range of PDUs each year for volunteering to the chapter, depending on your volunteer position.

7. Write an article. You can claim PDUs for published articles (see the PDU category guidelines for details.) You can also write a project management book, which is a tall order for most of us. (The rubber chicken dinners suddenly look more appealing.) 

8. Present a speech at your PMI® chapter meeting or workshop. For example, present a case study on a recent project that you completed at work and allow your peers to benefit from the lessons that you learned. 

9. Take online courses. Some organizations offer these through the company intranet, from the training department. Some Internet sites offer free PDU courses and some are nominal charge. (Use google to find courses that suit you). Out of the options listed in this article, I prefer that you don't take online courses to obtain PDUs, because you are missing out on the networking opportunities that come from working with peers on committees and learning from industry speakers at live events. 

10. Volunteer to manage a project in your community. (You can read my case study of project SPUD on my website.) Lead a fundraiser for your church or help to build a new playground for your neighborhood. Managing community projects will grow your professional skills and develop your leadership skills that you can then apply to your work environment (and enhance your resume).

Believe it or not, you may still have a lot that you can learn about project management after taking your PMP® exam. Your career training is not necessarily complete after open the envelope with your newly printed certificate. 

When you are ready to move beyond the certification, you can follow a manifold number of career paths. One career path for newly certified project managers is to focus on developing project leadership skills. These leadership skills are best learned on the job, by working with a coach or mentor to guide you, provide feedforward and feedback. Seek out a mentor and learn leadership skills by volunteering to lead initiatives in your PMI® chapter. 

In summary, now that you have your PMP®, don't let it lapse. There are many ways to earn PDUs. However, don't be fooled. Your real goal is to continue growing, further develop your project management skills and demonstrate the value of project management. If you take advantage of some of the above then you will soon rack up the 20 PDUs per year to maintain your PMP® certification. However, I request that you don't focus on accumulating the PDUs. It is better for you to focus on developing yourself beyond the certification.  

The final tip is this: Open a physical folder to store your certificates of participation in further project management training so that you have hard evidence if you are audited by PMI®.