That's right, strange as that may seem, that was the timeline I afforded myself in my attempt at PMP certification.
After a quick check I decided on going with the PM Prepcast as my study aid. I purchased the Prepcast on the 4th of Jan and started going through the lessons immediately on my iPad. I would listen to the applied concepts lessons via my iphone on my drive to and from work.
I took the contact hours exam as soon as I was eligible, which was the 18th. After this I immediately applied via the PMP website and after 4 days of processing time was able to book myself at the Prometric centre on the 19th of Feb (this was the only date which was available around the time I was looking at, although a week later would have been ideal).
My study plan was to go through the prepcast first, then memorize the process groups/knowledge areas table and then going through the PMBOK guide. I then embarked on the Exam simulators.
I was able to attempt all but 1 exam, and each exam was attempted just once.
I managed to score in the 70s on all attempts. I was a little tense since I wasn't scoring 80+, but I tried to be calm about it.
I must mention that I have 11 years experience working in projects and juggled my preparation with a full time job.
I also indulged in a few breaks like dining out with friends and family, hoping that this would help me relax a little. And it did work.
During the exam I did not feel like it started off very well. However, I told myself to focus on 1 question at a time.
I was slower on the real exam than I was on the simulations. With 40 minutes remaining I started reviewing the marked questions.
With 25 minutes remaining I went back to question 1 and started reviewing all questions. This is when I realized that my initial attempts were not too bad, and I could not disagree with/second guess the answers I had marked.
By the time the clock ran out I had reviewed the first 100 questions only.
My score was MP for initiating and closing, P for planning, M&C and execution.......not a very bad score if I may say so.
My main learnings from this experience are
1. afford yourself more time......not a month and a half like I did. I believe 2 and a half months would be ideal, ensuring that you are on your toes when it comes to intensity of exam preparation
2. take 1 question at a time and do not bother too much about how well or poorly you have answered the previous few questions
I will be happy to answer any questions you all have.
Good luck to all of you!
Joy Iyer, PMP, FS Eng (TÜV Rheinland, SIS, PH&RA) & Community Moderator
