Early in my PMP® journey, I have the following questions in mind:

Do you find it is hard to find the time for bootcamps while you are having a full-time demanding job as a project management professional?

Preparing for the PMP® Exam is very expensive?

People say that the certification is very difficult and the passing rate is low?

Taking a 4 hour exam would be impossible?

After spending hundreds of hours searching the internet and reading numerous documentations…… fortunately I have found the answers to the above questions to be NO.

Getting PMP® Certified is Much Easier Than You Think!

Read here for the summary of my PMP® Exam process with a view to easing the path to getting certified — as the information provided by PMI nor on the internet is clear enough. My time and cost saving tips may also be able to help you out.

Overview: How to Get PMP® Certified?

The following is the detailed account of my PMP® Exam process , including how to meet the requirements of the exam (please refer to PMP® Certification Process Overview for an annotated discussion of the requirements, application process and more):

Free and Recommended Prep Resources

I got my PMP® for around US$700 (including all the courses & study materials). Not expensive? Yes, here is the PMP® Cost details. For your easy reference, below is a list of useful study resources (good quality but free/cheap) to help me and other Aspirants pass the exam:

In the sections below, I will include all the exam prep study resources & tips that helped me to pass the PMP® Exam in first attempt. Hope you will find them useful.

PMP® Training & Application

Perhaps the most obscure part for the PMP® Certification require is the “35 Contact Hours”. I spent tens of hours to search for the best exam prep course and discovered that the best is NOT the most expensive. With online training courses, I got both the 35 Contact Hours as well as the preparation to pass the PMP® Exam in the first attempt!

Below are some useful articles to help you get started:

Study Notes, Sample Questions & Formula Guide

That’s how I passed the PMP® Exam after getting a go for my exam application:

Took the PM PrepCast™ online course Read PMP® Study Guide by Andy Crowe Practised hundreds of mock exam questions

I wrote down everything I learned during my exam prep in the following study notes in the style of “Cliff notes” — i.e. brief and to the point. I have also included many FREE PMP® sample questions which are similar to the difficulty of the real PMP® Exam.

My exam preparation tips can be found here.

Taking the Exam

I confess I was quite nervous while taking the exam despite I had spent over a hundred hours on exam prep and I got around 80% in my mock exam questions. Luckily, I passed with 4P and 1MP. Below are my exam taking experience and tips:

Earning PDUs for Recertification

Every PMP® need to earn 60 PDUs every 3 years in order to be able to renew the PMP® Certificate. Earning PDU is not expensive (can even be free) if you know the following tips:

Step-by-step PMP® Certification & Study Guide

If you are still at a loss of what to do. I have created a step-by-step guide to help Aspirants like you. Just follow the steps outlined in the Guide and you are ready to get certified. This Guide is created with a view to answer thousands of queries I have got from Aspirants around the world over the past few years. Again, getting PMP® is easier than you think if you know the ins and outs!