Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification - How I Passed the Exam
My Experience
First off, if you’re interested in getting your PMP, go check out How to Get your PMP Certification and figure out the requirements from the Project Management Institute (PMI), “the leading professional association for project management.”
The whole process took me approximately 9 months (3 months reading Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep book, 3 months Exam Prep course, 3 months review), but it can likely be done in 6 months, or even 3.
I highly recommend taking this PMP Examination Prep course offered by the University of British Columbia (UBC) with instructor, Robert Goatham (I think he really is the GOAT). 35 hours of project management education is required to apply for PMP anyways — this course fulfills that requirement and was really helpful.
How I Studied
I read Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep book twice. Once before the UBC course and once after. Second time through, I made notes and mainly studied my notes. I only referred to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide when needed.
Doing practice questions and reviewing the answers helped me the most. Start looking at practice questions as soon as possible so that you get familiar with how questions are posed and study accordingly. In total, I did approximately 10 lite exams from UBC PMTraining (requires login), 1 from Oliver Lehmann, 1 from Simplilearn, and 1 from PrepCast. I averaged 80% in most except PrepCast, which I scored 65%. I found the questions on PrepCast to be the most similar to the real exam. I highly recommend reviewing the correct answers after.
I memorized the 49 processes and formulas. Recognizing patterns helped me to remember everything. For example, a few knowledge areas have similar number and types of processes, AC always goes with CV and PV always goes with SV.
I did not memorize ITTO, but had a decent understanding of what’s needed in each process — it’s kind of common sense if you’ve been paying attention.
My Exam Strategy
Once the time started, I wrote out the chart and formulas, which took about 15 mins. I kept checking the time and felt like I was consistently behind. This might have been because I read questions carefully — often numerous times — which took a lot of time.
I took the full 4 hours and only had 10 minutes at the end to review marked questions. I was not confident for about half my answers, but I answered every question (even if it was a guess) and only marked a few for review.
My initial thoughts about the exam was that it was tough and actually thought I might fail (during the exam, I was already contemplating how I would deal with failure), but to my surprise, I ended up getting Above Target in all areas.
About The Exam
Be prepared for mostly long, situational questions
Use process of elimination
Get oriented by asking yourself: where are you in the project?
Are they asking about past, present, or future?
PMI Chapter Orientation
My last bit of advice is to attend your PMI chapter orientation. You’ll learn about the application process, the exam, PDUs, and have the opportunity to network with practicing project managers and others who are interested in the field. Most people are happily willing to share their experiences — people like me!
Good luck and happy studying.
NOTE: the PMP Certification Exam has changed since I took it. Be sure to check the latest updates about exam preparation on the Project Management Institute website here.