Paul,
Congratulations for persevering and passing the PMP exam! Thanks for sharing your lessons learned.
Cheers,
Mark

I took the pmp exam on 5th January 2017. Although I have completed my 35hrs last September it took me two months to finally apply for the pmp exam.

My route for PMP was quite difficult as I was working in a contracting company where fitting in some time to study was limited to doing quizzes during lunch breaks and dinner breaks. The whole process tested my will to manage time - a practical application of the management concepts.

The PM simulator and this forum was of great help. I had tons of references downloaded on the web but I mainly focused on the PMBok and Rita's. But they key was the simulators as it made me used to the situational questions and to identify key words. My first time simulator exam results were not quite impressive averaging only 70% - the highest being a 79% only. But I refused to be discouraged and carried on and reorganized my study plan in the final weeks to the exam. I focused to keep solid understanding of the ITTOs - no memorization just pure understanding of the logic and the sequences.

Thank you so much prepcast team and everybody in this forum!