PMP Exam Prep #pmp 02

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A few weeks back, I passed my Project Management Professional exam and received my certification.  

In these PMP posts, I want to share some of my experience before it starts to fade.  In accordance with the PMI code of ethics (and the little waiver I agreed to before taking the test) I won’t be disclosing any proprietary details or any questions on the test.  I already shared my experience of taking the exam.  With this posts, I want to share everything that had to happen to be able to even take the exam.  


PMP Exam Requirements

PMI has some hefty requirements just to get accepted to take the exam.  I wasn’t initially aware of these, and so I’ll mention them here up-front.  For this, and everything else in this article, these were the stats at the time I took the test in March of 2023. You should check PMI.org to get the official word.  

You have to demonstrate three things:

  • 35 hours of PMI-accepted training
  • Prior project management experience
  • $$$$

BTW - if you can’t meet these requirements, PMI’s Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is the place to start.  

Here's a little more detail on each of these requirements.


Training

You have to demonstrate 35 PDUs (Professional Development Units) BEFORE you can apply to take the exam.  A PDU is a term that PMI made up that is a unit of measure that aims to define the value of a training course you've taken or a project management-related experience you've had.  Most courses will tell you up-front how many PDUs they're worth.  

I took Andrew Ramdayal’s PMP Certification Exam Prep course on Udemy.  It was 45 hours of training, and the completion certificate granted me the 35 PDUs I needed to apply for the exam.  There are other courses out there, but Udemy certainly had the best prices.  I caught the course during one of Udemy's frequent sales, and paid $25 for it.  


Experience

You have to demonstrate prior project management experience as part of your application to be accepted to take the exam.  You don’t have to have been a project manager in that experience, but you must be able to demonstrate that you were somehow involved in project management activities.  I recommend buying a course that will give you the needed hours for training AND walk you through how to submit your application.  

The amount of experience you need to demonstrate differs based on your education level.  

Here’s the experience you need to demonstrate:

  • With a college degree - 36 months
  • WithOUT a college degree - 60 months

There are two additional constraints for this prior experience:

  1. Your project management experience has to have taken place within the past five years.  I had a tremendous amount of project management experience when I worked for a Fortune 500 company 15 years ago, but NONE of that counted toward my experience requirement.  I was unable to locate where this requirement was explicitly stated, but any experience dated prior to five years ago was valued at 0 months.
  2. No overlap in project management experience is allowed. If you worked on two project teams at the same time in March 2023, you can only get credit for one of the projects for that month.  Again, I was unable to locate where this was explicitly stated, and figured it out through trial and error with the PMI application. 

Finally, the process for writing up your experience in the application is intensive.  I spent about 8 hours just filling out that portion of my application.  Again, I recommend making sure filling out the application is included in your 35 PDU training course.  


Money

The exam isn’t free.  The exam is $500+ as of March 2023.  If you join PMI.org - which I recommend you do - you’ll be able to apply for the test for $400+.  

I spent right at $1,000 for everything related to my PMP exam.  Half of that was the PMI.org membership and the price of the exam.  I made a couple mistake purchases, which I’ll mention in tools and studying post, but it still would’ve been over $800!


Schedule Your Exam

Once your exam is approved, which took several days for me, schedule your exam.  I recommend scheduling a couple months in the future, as long as you have time to study in between.  If you find you’re just not progressing that fast, you can reschedule your exam date without incurring any rescheduling fees.  

I studied for TEN WEEKS, about two to three hours every weekday.  That’s a lot - maybe more than was needed - but it had more to do with the scheduling of the exam.  

I originally scheduled the exam with Pearson-Vue for in-person testing two weeks out - the first week of January 2023, thinking I’d be able to cram for the test in a two-week window.  It took about two weeks for me to realize how deep is the well of knowledge PMI expects you to internalize to pass this test.  Once I fully understood how far I had to go, I rescheduled for TWO MONTHS later - the first week of March 2023.  Please note: this cost me $70 to reschedule less than 30 days from my test date, an unnecessary expenditure that I hope you can avoid.  


These are all the preparations you need to be able to take the PMI PMP exam.  All that's left is to study, which is the subject of the next post.  

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