“I took an ITPM course and all I got was this lousy certificate.”
Well, not really.
Let’s talk about the ITPM courses, exams and certification.
Advantages
ITPM has 4 main courses, each one ending in an optional exam. The exams serve the following purposes:
- They allow you to test your knowledge.
- The allow the Institute to see if you’ve learned anything.
- …in doing so, the Institute ensures a high level of knowledge in its community.
- The certification and becomes part of your record at the Institute, which can be independently verified if you apply for trading jobs down the line.
- The ITPM certification process also ensures a minimum knowledge level amongst members of the community who are invited to manage ITPM’s trading account (and are paid to do so).
So whichever way you look at it, there’s no downside in taking and successfully passing the exams, and getting the certificate.
Disadvantages
Here are some disadvantages of having an ITPM certificate:
- The ITPM certificate cannot make money for you.
- The ITPM certificate is not a licence to print money.
- The ITPM certificate will not magically give you god-like trader status.
Luckily, all of these things might be achieved if you put in the work and apply what you learned in the courses.
How To Get The ITPM Certificates
ITPM certification is given immediately after completing an exam, which is accessible in the content page of each course. You have to pass the exam successfully, which usually means scoring above 50-60%. Is this achievable? Absolutely. But it does require some work.
Each exam is timed, and each question in multiple choice, and you can’t go back. Once you answer a question, the next page loads, until you answer all questions. I have to admit, it’s a bit intimidating, because there is no option to re-take an exam. But this is good – it puts you under pressure to learn everything and skip nothing.
As Humans, we’re always looking for the easy way out, to do the minimum necessary. This is not always due to laziness: it’s part of a survival strategy, to conserve time and energy. I like how the ITPM exams don’t accommodate this tendency, instead forcing everyone to pay attention!
In my personal experience, the IPLT and POTM were both pretty easy exams. But the PTM is a big one, and I was really racing against the clock to complete it. In every case, your exam certificate is loads at the moment you complete the exam.
Summary
In conclusion, the ITPM Certificates are very real, and there’s no disadvantage to getting them. Just know that the real journey begins when you have a live trading account. Because the only mark that matters is the number in your bank account or crypto wallet. Good luck!
