Project Management: Mrs. PMP Thi

I have learned several courses in Coursera, including the Google Project Management: Professional Course.

Last year, as part of my development goals, my boss suggested that I get a certification. I had the freedom to choose which certification to pursue, and because I found the project management course enjoyable and believed project management skills would benefit my current role, I decided to pursue the PMP certification.

PMP stands for Project Management Professional. It is globally recognized as a standard credential for project managers. I’ve heard from colleagues that PMP is highly valued in the USA and is often considered an official title, like Mrs. PMP A or Mr. PMP B. I am not sure if this is really the case, but good to know.

To apply for the PMP exam, candidates need to fulfill certain requirements, including 35 hours of project management education and 36 months of experience leading projects within the past eight years if the candidate has Colleague/ University Degree. Details of the requirements can be found in the link below.

Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification | PMI

I scheduled my PMP exam for October 2023. Like many other PMP exam takers, you may wonder how long it would take for me to prepare. I have wondered the same! I checked and saw some YouTube videos that people clear the exam within one week. Woah!!! If you are looking for a guide to clear the exam that fast, this post is not for you.

It took me five months of preparation time. I wanted to take the time to understand the concepts thoroughly and connect the dots. Below you will find the courses and materials I used for exam preparation:

Books:

• Must-read: PMP® Exam Prep, 11th Edition by Rita Mulcahy. I love this book for its easy-to-understand language. The book is around 500 pages, and I read it completely. I revisited a few chapters multiple times if the knowledge was new to me.

Training Courses:

• Should take: I took this course at a discounted price (around 900 EUR) PMP Certification (theknowledgeacademy.com), but I also think PMP Class Schedule | PMTraining is good.

PMP Questions:

• Must-have: I used PMP Practice Exams & Sample Questions | PMTraining, but Authorized Online PMP | Practice Exam also sounds good.

Videos:

• Should watch:
  • Ricardo Vargas PMBOK Flow
  • 150 PMBOK 7 Scenario-Based PMP Exam Questions and Answers – YouTube

I took the exam at the test center to avoid any internet/ connection issues. After some formalities, I entered the test room. There are 180 questions that need to be completed within 230 minutes. For the test, there will be a ‘review button’ so that you can mark questions which you are unsure about the answer and need to review again.

Below are my experiences reading first questions

• Read the first lengthy question, not sure about the answer – click the review button – a bit panic – next question 😂
• Second question, hm also not 100% sure – click the review button – a bit more panic – next question 😂😂
• Third question, this is difficult one, don’t know the answer – click the review button – really panic 😂😂😂

That process happened for a while before I get questions that I am really confident about the answer. I think this is some kind of trick that the exam provider wants to challenge the mentality of the exam takers. If you are the same situation, stay strong, take some deep breath and relax a bit before you continue. Thats what I did, and it helped.

There will be two breaks in the exam and I highly recommended to take these breaks, go for a short walk, refresh yourself or eat some small snack if you are hungry.

PMI (PMP exam provider) stated that receive the result one week after the exam, but I received the congratulations email two days after my exam. I am now a certified PMP with ‘Above Target’ in all three domains.

Now you can call me Mrs. PMP T-Rex 🤣😆😎