I have been a PM for about 4 years now and I am thinking about obtaining my PMP Certification. I would like to know how some of you went about obtaining your certification. Is taking a review course the best route and did those who took a review course, take the exam soon after taking the course. Are there any PM's out there who did not take a review course and passed the exam? Do you have any courses or books you recommend? Any insight on the paths taken to obtain your PMP would be appreciated. Sorry for all of the questions, but I need a little guidance.
Hi there, I passed the exam on the first try without going through a review class. I wanted to do the review class, but none were offered when I wanted it.
I studied using the ESI materials and the Rita Mulcahy book. I thought the ESI materials were EXCELLENT. They are well organized and precise. I was a bit disappointed with the Mulcahy text. It was hard to follow and vague. Not the best for the detailed person that I am.
I studied for about 8 weeks during lunch. That's about 40 hours of preparation. I took the test two weeks later. I used to ESI sample questions to guage my ability. All during my studies, I averaged 89.5% on them. My percentage on the exam was exactly the same! My (rather unscientific) conclusion is that the ESI sample test results are a good indicator of success on the exam.
Even though I had success in self-study, I don't recommend that approach. I think that the review courses can be very valuable in providing different view points on the materials. Most people learn better when they can bounce ideas and opinions off others. It helps to clarify the material and makes it easier to recall. In the end, you have to do what works best for you.
I hope this helps!
Roger Reinsmith, PMP Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I study best on my own, and wanted to do it as inexpensively as possible so I used IIL's "Project Management IQ" PMP preparation program (www.iil.com). It has a source book by Harold Kerzner, the latest PMBOK, a great small book on quantitive methods, and most important- a CD with over 1,000 questions that help you drill on various areas of questions to help you clear the PMP.
If you have the time (I took 4 months of 10 hours a week of study) and can spend around $600 for the materials (or piece it together through ebay like I did for about $200), I found that it worked fine for me.
I also searched the web pretty intensely for free help and found many people with good tips, study notes, and formulas to memorize that I found valuable too. Cheetah Learning also has a free prep guide that gave me some great tips too.
I got a copy of the PMBOK on CD that and I found that was really convenient for studying and prepping prior to the test instead of thumbing through the PMBOK.
If you've got the cash, the workshop programs would be great and are probably effective. I could afford the $3,500 or so for a seminar, but it was kind of a fun challenge to see how inexpensively I could do it for. If you want to do it cheaply on your own, I'm proof that it can be done. I passed the test the first time around in February. Saving Changes...
I also bought Rita's book, studied the material by myself, and passed the 1st time. A lot depends on the knowledge and experience you bring to this effort.
