I passed the CAPM exam on the first try, scoring "Above Target" in all knowledge areas but one, last Monday. This was a magnificent moment for me after almost 5 months of prepping. The road getting to this point was very bumpy for me. When I originally decided to obtain a certification originally I was going for the PMP exam, about 2 weeks into my studies I decided that trying for the CAPM was a better option for me. It's been almost 2 decades since I've been in school and studying for exam of this magnitude was extremely challenging. I struggled to understand and retain information. But I continued working on it despite often being discouraged I got through it.
The materials I used to prep for the exam:
LinkedIn Learning PMP Prep, CAPM Prep and Project Management Foundations courses.
PMBOK Guide 6th edition. I tried to read one chapter/knowledge area a week.
Head First PMP book, to help me understand the PMBOK Guide.
PMI Project Management Basics E-learning Course, going through it weekly corresponding with reading the PMBOK & Head First
Brain Sensei for PMP online course
Rita Mulcahy CAPM Prep Book
Ricardo Vargas' YouTube video on approach to reading the PMBOK & printed out the ITTO Diagram
Pocket Prep app for iPhone
Finally the PrepCast for CAPM
I will state for the record, this was way too many sources to study from! I would not recommend anyone using this many things to prep for this exam! It was often overwhelming and frustrating. But I had to try things to figure out what worked best for me specifically.
What DIDN'T work for me:
Brain Sensei - It felt like I was just reading more material but on a screen. I was hoping the narrative would help, it didn't
Rita M's Book - I had difficulty with this because the font was too small. Everyone raved about this book being helpful, but for me it wasn't. I felt like I wasn't gaining an additional insight reading it. I was disappointed.
What DID work:
Everything else
My approach:
In the very beginning of my studies, I used the LinkedIn Learning to give me foundation information and exam tips
I read the PMBOK guide after finishing LinkedIn courses. Read it weekly and did one chapter/ knowledge area per week. Giving me time to absorb the info.
Along with the PMBOK I was also reading Head First to help me understand what I was reading in the PMBOK Originally tried to read each chapter after reading the PMBOK each week. Eventually stopped because reading 2 books at the same time while working full time was overwhelming. I stopped reading Head First after Quality Management.
After reading the PMBOK each week I would follow it up with the PMI Basics course each week.
I then started using the Pocket Prep app in between whenever I wasn't reading or watching an online course.
Then the last month of my studies I started on the PrepCast CAPM videos. I completely finished reading the PMBOK completely before I started this. Wishing the whole time I had found PrepCast a lot sooner than I had. The videos really helped with my understanding and helped me gained context.
The exams and sometimes the quizzes killed my confidence leading up to the exam. The questions were so challenging, but I had to read them multiple times to understand what it was asking. After taking and failing practice exams, I thought I had scheduled my exam prematurely. I thought I was going to fail on the first try. But it was too late to cancel the exam date. The day before the exam I took one last exam and passed it by one question. That gave me hope that there was still a possibility I could pass. The PrepCast best prepared me for the exam itself. I'm so grateful I found it.
I decided to go to a PearVue site rather than taking the exam online. Although I have a dedicated home office with a strong internet connection with a door that I can lock, after reading another fellow student's experience I felt like I couldn't deal with the extra anxiety of taking the exam online. I'm glad I did. Taking the exam in a mask wasn't pleasant but it doable.
Overall I'm very happy with my PrepCast experience. And when it comes time to take attempt the PMP, PrepCast will be the first go-to for my preparation.
Hopefully this lengthy post will help someone else preparing to take the exam. Wishing you the best of luck on your exams.
