Passed my PMP exam today on my first attempt today. My final score was 4MPs and 1P – nothing to crow about, but I’m happy with it. It took me approximately six weeks to prepare for the exam. I’m a freelancer working on a very small project, so I had a lot of time to study during the day.
I watched each of the PM Prepcast videos and then relied heavily on Rita Mulcahy’s book. Once I had read through Rita’s book twice, I started to spend most of my time on the exam simulator. I would typically take 50-100 question quizzes and then study up on the areas where I struggled. Once my scores on both the quizzes and full length exams scored consistently in low 80s, I formally registered for the test.
I probably spent two weeks taking tests, then reviewing materials to try and improve my understanding.
I found the questions on the PM Exam Simulator to be harder than those on the test, but I found that the official test questions were often poorly worded, which added a degree of difficulty I wasn’t expecting. Luckily I was able to draw off what I learned from Cornelius and Rita to work my through those questions.
I was surprised by the almost complete at total lack of ITTO questions on my exam, although they were obsessed with procurement questions.
As for a brain dump; I cannot recommend memorizing all the equations. Having them all written down as an easy reference, made navigating all the cost questions a breeze. I also memorized the formulas for float and activity durations on network diagrams. Happy I did too, as I got a number of questions where I used them.
If I could do one thing differently, it would have been to take more exams from different sources. I think this would have better prepared me for the slight different question format on the test.
I cannot recommend the PM PrepCast and Exam Simulator enough. Thanks to Cornelius and OSP for helping me achieve my PMP certification.
