Hello Samantha,

First and foremost I want to wish you good luck on your Project Management journey. I also work in the IT world and find project management in the software implementation sphere to be super exciting. Through my personal experience I will let you know my path. I started in Business School pursuing my MBA. This was where I took my first Project Management class. This would have essentially qualified for my 35 in class hours but I did not fully commit to the PM career path until a couple of years later. Once I began to prepare for the PMP I decided to take a "crash course" for a week (7 hours a day for 5 days). This luckily was covered by my employer but would have cost me about $1000 out of pocket.

Some of my biggest tips would be:

1) Use the PMBOK 6th edition to prepare and study for the actual exam. Its a lot larger than the 7th edition but, it has so much more detailed information that will appear on the exam than the newer edition.
2) My recommendation is break up the reading into sizeable chunks (30-50 pages a day) and read the ENTIRE Book. Its about 550 Pages you'll have to get through and I recommend reading it more than once as you prepare.
3) look at you tube videos. There are a ton with useful test prep info
4) use an exam simulator (Prepcast was my go to but i feel any that give you detailed breakdown of your answer selection will prove beneficial)

GOOD LUCK!!

Hey! I’m in IT, too, and I completed the PMP journey, so I understand where you’re at.

You’re right that there are different eligibility paths based on your education. If you have a four-year degree, PMI requires 36 months of project experience; without it, they want 60 months.
Either way, 35 contact hours of project management education are required.

For that part, I highly recommend the PMPrepCast. That’s what I used, and it checked all the boxes—it was PMI-approved, super comprehensive, and self-paced, so it fit easily into my schedule.
It also prepares you well for the exam, not just the hours.
This month, there is a nice Discount Offer on the EILTE Version of the PRepCast, which means that the Exam Simulator (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED) is already included.
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Regarding the application, I found it helpful to use PMI’s terminology (taken from the PMP Exam Content Outline ) and keep descriptions short but focused. Their PMP handbook also clearly outlines what they’re looking for.

If you have any other questions as you go, I'm happy to help. Do not hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn.

You’ve got this!

"Hey! Great to hear you're exploring the PMP with your IT background.

Quick breakdown on the requirements:

> If you’ve got a 4-year degree, you’ll need 36 months of project experience and 35 hours of PM education.

> For the 35 hours, I’d recommend:
- Google’s PMP course on Coursera
- Udemy (Joseph Phillips’ course is a fave)
- Or an official PMI training partner if you want something more formal.

As for experience, IT projects like deployments, migrations, or system rollouts often count—just frame your role around planning, leading, and delivering.

Happy to help if you want to talk through what experience qualifies. You're closer than you think!"

Hi everyone! I'm an IT professional who's excited about the opportunities PMP could give me. I've done my homework, but I'm still scratching my head over the requirements to qualify for the exam.

From what I understand, there are different eligibility paths depending on your education and experience, but I'm not sure which one applies to me. I also read something about needing 35 hours of project management education or training—does anyone have recos for where to get this?

If you've gone through the process, I'd love to hear your advice on how to get started and navigate the application. Any tips, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!