I passed the PMP Exam a week and a half ago in a First Attempt. Here is what I did:
• Had a consistent study schedule
• Read Head First PMP book and answered all the questions once
• Completed the online PM PrepCast™ training course.
• Read Rita’s book and answered all the questions at the end of each chapter once.
• Completed Six PM Prepcast test exams.
I started my PMP Certification journey back in March with a consistent, well thought out schedule that worked efficiently for me. I started out by reading the Head First PMP book. Once I finished answering all of the questions, I reviewed them and took notes on the ones I got wrong; in the end I came to the conclusion that it is a good book to start with. I liked it, because it is loaded with a lot of graphics and diagrams to help me understand important PMP concepts.
In April, I purchased the PrepCast Training Course bundle with the Exam Simulator. This is probably one of the best purchases I have ever made. The PrepCast training course comes with over 50 hours of high quality PMP training lectures, covering all the knowledge areas of the PMBOK Guide with additional lectures on examination skills and applied concepts. I like the fact that my video lessons simulated a classroom setting with a real teacher; this made it easier for me to take notes and not feel intimidated.
In addition, I also read Rita’s book. Rita’s book really helped fill any knowledge gap that I had. However, I found that it is much harder to read Rita’s book than the Head First PMP, because Rita’s book lacks diagrams and pictures. After finishing reading it once, I used it as a reference.
The Test Exam Simulator played a big role in the passing of my PMP exam. For each exam I finished, I went through each question that I got wrong thoroughly and found out why I didn’t get it right and discussed those questions with my PMP mentor. I did six simulator exams and when I started to get my average score above 70%, I knew that I was ready to take the real exam.
I did not wait till the last minute to schedule for my PMP Exam because having a specific goal in mind motivated me to study hard. It is very important to have a PMP mentor, it was my mentor who pushed me to schedule my exam the first week of July back in May; I am glad that someone was there to push me forward.
In conclusion, getting my certification and passing my exam were important experiences. Both taught me life lessons on how to be more organized and how to work hard and efficiently utilize my time.
Thank you PrepCast team for making a great product for us busy professionals who have both work and family obligations to juggle with.
