Pmp Mechanics

Mechanics

Step 1: PMI membership

PMI membership is ~$120, and entitles you to a $150 discount on the exam. So this is a no-brainer.

PMI members get the PMBoK (PM Body of Knowledge) for free. This is the main reference guide for the exam.

At time of writing, PTC reimburses this expense. So even more of a no-brainer.

Step 2: 35 hours of formal Project Management training.

PMI does not provide a clear definition of what counts and what doesn't. Chances are, you might have course work or PTC training classes that qualify, but no guarantees.

The guaranteed way is to get a certificate from a R. E. P. (Registered Education Provider). There are several options for this.

Instructor led training options vary between $800 and $2500! Some courses offer evening classes, some offer weekend courses. Some offer it over a course of a few weeks, others offer a concentrated 4-5 day course.

There are also some online options. I ended up going with a Podcast-based $99 version - http://www.project-management-prepcast.com/

• This gives you a series of courses, which align to the PMBOK.
• 2 weeks after signing up, you are eligible to take an exam. If you pass the exam, you get the official 35-hour certificate.
• You can take the exams as many times as you want.
• You don't even have to listen/view all the courses in order to take exam. I only heard 2-3 of the 100 episodes.

This is easily the cheapest way to get the 35-hour certificate

PTC does not reimburse this. PTC is investigating a 35-hour ESI course for this, but not sure how far along that is.

Step 3: Documenting hours of Project Management experience

You need to document 4500 hours of Project Management experience if you have a Bachelor's degree (7500 if you don't).

Not all of this needs to be work done when you held a 'Project Manager' title. If you helped plan a project, or monitor a project, or close a project, those hours all count.

So this is fairly simple to put together for most people. I did it just a few weeks before I scheduled the exam. So not a big rush.

Step 4: Submitting your application

Once you have the 35 hours of formal education and the 4500 hours of PM experience documented, you can submit your application to apply for the exam.

They take ~5 days to confirm your application. Apparently, 1 in 9 candidates get audited. Don't know how long that takes.

Step 5: Scheduling the exam

Once your application is approved, you have ~1 year to apply for the exam.

Online exam, lots of centers, so these are minor details.

Step 6: Taking the exam

I showed up 15 minutes early for my 9AM appointment, and had to wait for ~45 minutes because there were a lot of people ahead of me. So try to show up early.