Hi Everyone,
Sharing my lessons learned since I passed (!!!!!) my PMP exam yesterday on the first attempt at AT/AT/AT/T/AT. As background, I've worked in construction consulting for a number of years on many different engagements. I've handled many client engagements and worked on dozens of construction projects over the years but felt as though the PMP really helped tie the two together. Now I am better prepared to plan for and execute consulting engagements as well as understand some of the nuances of construction project management. I know that people have mixed feelings about the PMP as it is very PMBOK-specific but I think it is all about getting from it what you can find useful in your profession.
In any case, I applied in August and immediately set my exam date for 12/19/20. I used the prepcast videos as my 35 contact hours for the application and took notes on each lesson, completing the PM Prepcast Self-Assessment at the end of each knowledge area. Once my application was approved I did the following:
- Created a study schedule in excel and stuck to it! This is key. I read one chapter of the PMBOK and the corresponding chapter of Rita's Mulchay's PMP Exam Prep book per week. Reading and studying them back to back allowed the PMBOK to be translated into plain English with good real world exams. I probably studied 6-8 hours per week on average. I could've taken the exam in fewer than 16 weeks if I dedicated more time but I felt like this was a good pace (not feeling like I wanted to rip my hair out).
- Created notecards and studied them forwards (read the description and identify the proper term) and backwards (see the term and verbally say the description aloud). This helps ensure that you really know what the terms, process steps, etc. are and that you are not just used to seeing them on paper. The exam will not give you definitions so you must understand the concepts behind the definitions.
- Each week I would take the practice exam at the end of Rita's chapter and record my scores. I'd review the explanations for any questions that I got incorrect and any I "guessed" correctly.
- In October, I took my first full practice exam with the Prepcast Simulator and scored an 82% and AT in all domain areas. I also reviewed the explanations for any questions that I got incorrect and any I "guessed" correctly.
- In the last week of November (roughly 3-4 weeks before my exam), I took roughly 2 PM Prepcast Simulator Exams per week - scoring between 80-89% each time and target or above target in all domain areas.
- My last full exam was taken 2 days before my exam and I only did some light review the day before my exam. The link below contains a good outline to go over in your final week before the exam:
drive.google.com/file/d/1Ai9EVPtXQZUuCEFaRmzOXjKRGsqceQ5H/view
. I got this from reddit (SunshineMSN) so I can't take credit for it, but it was useful.
- Aside from Prepcast and Rita's book, I also took practice tests on pmppracticeexam.org, Whizlabs 50 question free practice, Udemy blog 25 question quiz, edwel.com 75 free practice exam, Lovepmp.com (loved this as you could do questions by knowledge area) and Oliver Lehmann's test. Oliver's test was difficult (more than the exam) but if you can do well on it then you are doing great in your studies. I also used the Cram app to review flashcards/questions while on the go (I'd recommend this).
- The week before my exam I did take the PMI PMP Practice Exam and scored a 69%. Passing is considered 80% so I was bummed, but not discouraged. I reviewed the questions I got wrong and made sure that I understood why. There's much debate out there about how closely that practice test resembles the actual exam but I felt that the questions were more similar to the Prepcast for sure.
- The one thing that I didn't spend too much time on was the formulas. I studied Finance and Accounting in college so maybe I'm slightly more inclined in that area but I didn't focus on them - which was good because questions on the exam were minimal and more focused on interpretation of results than actually performing the calculations.
Wishing everyone else success in their studies. If you have any questions or anything I'd be happy to help. Good luck!
- C
