Month 1: (June)
Watch all Joseph Phillips Udemy Videos on 2x speed
Month 2: (July)
Submit Application (Mid-July)
Random Audit triggered
Passed Audit in 7 days
Scheduled Exam for 9/20/19
To account for life (family obligations, work, and already scheduled vacations)
Month 3: (August)
Average study time per day was around 90 minutes and took two days off a week.
Get into work and try to write out the 49 processes by memory each day
First half of the month was focused on getting it 100% accurate
Second half of the month was focused on completing it as fast as I could.
It takes me less than 3 minutes to write out the 49 processes.
Read Andy Crowe chapters (averaging 1-2 nights per chapter)
Took all quizzes at the end of each chapter scoring 55% - 70%
Did not take final exam of Andy Crowe
PM Prep Cast Exam Simulator
50-100 Questions on weekends
10-50 questions on weekdays
Study the answers I got correct and incorrect.
Scores ranged from 20% - 100%
Planning is my weakest domain
Initiating and Executing are my strongest domains
Stakeholder and Procurement are my strongest knowledge areas
Scope and Schedule are my weakest knowledge areas
August 24th - 1st Exam Simulator (83%) missed 35 out of 200 questions, completed in 3hrs 4mins
I used my public library to take the exam thinking it would be the right level of ambiance. Boy, was I wrong! Too noisy. There were kids running around and someone brought a pet kitty in for the kids to all pet which caused a lot of commotion.
Watched Prep Cast videos on Scope and Schedule Management
No studying during Labor Day weekend (Vacation)
Month 4: (September)
Average study time per day was around an hour and took two days off a week.
Little to no studying during weekend after Labor Day weekend (Friend's bachelor party)
Get into work and try to write out the 49 processes & EMV formulas by memory each day
First half of the month was focused on getting it 100% accurate
Second half of the month til the exam day was focused on completing it as fast as I could.
It takes me less than 4 minutes to write out the 49 processes and all EVM formulas .
PM Prep Cast Exam Simulator
50-100 Questions on weekends
10-50 questions on weekdays
Study the answers I got correct and incorrect.
Scores ranged from 70% - 100%
September 14th - 2nd Exam Simulator (79%) missed 42 out of 200, completed in 3 hrs 12 mins.
I used the same public library again because I figured that if I could pass the mock exam with all those distractions from the last time then this would be great to add to my ability to test when the real deal occurred. This time there was no kids, but this lady was talking on her cell phone at a normal voice for 5 minutes and then this man started giving English lessons to this Spanish lady for about 90 minutes of my exam from across the room. It was so hard to concentrate that I got 19 questions wrong that I should have gotten correct. My score should have been an 89%.
Read some of the PMBOK for questions that I answered incorrectly more than once on the quizzes and mock exams.
Watched the Ricardo Vargas video a couple times. I love this man's passion!
Day of the Exam - September 20th 8am
I got to the testing center at 7:30am and was seated within 10 minutes.
The testing room is quiet and it wasn't cold like I've read others say it is.
I didn't do a brain dump since I wrote out the processes and formulas everyday leading up to the exam. In hindsight maybe I should have given my performance in the Planning domain.
I had a lot of anxiety and just flagged what I felt was the first 30 questions.
The first 100 questions were tough for me. A lot of the questions were just what should the PM do? It wasn't what should the PM do first, next or least likely to which threw me off because the answers were always two very good and two completely bad. Obviously in the planning domain I failed to pick the best of the two good answers. I decided to do the full 200 questions without taking a break because I was a little off my times for the mock exams and wanted to make sure I finished. I ended up finishing with 40 minutes left and then I took a bathroom break. It took longer to sign me back into the exam then it took me to have a break so be prepared for that. I had 30 minutes to review the flagged questions and used up all of it. Hit Submit and saw the CONGRATULATIONS on the screen!!! I waved to the rep outside the glass to come get me and I got the hell out of there and went to meet my wife for lunch.
RESULT: PASSED AT/NI/AT/AT/BT so an average of T
LESSONS LEARNED:
I should have put more emphasis on studying this document:
www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public...nal-exam-outline.pdf
Not knowing the tasks the way it's laid out here by heart really hurt me in the Planning domain.
However, since I passed the first time around I really wouldn't change anything else about my process. I actually loved the whole process from when I decided to take this on to now being a certified PMP!
