In this world of modern skills, Project Management Professional (PMP) Certificate is becoming the most demanding certification world-wide. PMP stands for Project Management Professional, a certificate awarded by PMI, Project Management Institute. The applicants who successfully fulfill the PMP certification requirements first and then pass the PMP certification exam get the PMP certification.
PMP certification holders are earning 14% higher income than their uncertified counterparts. Therefore, the importance of the PMP certification has grown rapidly in recent years. However, PMP certification has strict requirements to fulfill in order to sit for the PMP certification exam. It is considered to be the token to enter the field of Project Management. Let’s see How to get a PMP® Certification (Step by Step).
First Step: Download PMP Credentials Handbook
The Project Management Institute (PMI)® has published a Credentials Handbook (the Handbook), which is available on the web. This Credentials Handbook has easy explanation about everything that you want to know about the process of taking the PMP Exam and becoming a PMI® certified project manager.
Second Step: PMP Credentials Book
The Project Management Institute has devised a certain admission criteria for the people who wish to take the PMP exam possess project management-related experience and have received formal project management training or instruction too. The organization outlines its criteria for taking the PMP exam in detail in the PMP Credential Handbook. Following are the basic requirements for taking the exam:
- A four-year degree (bachelor’s or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience is required. And in those three years of project management experience, 4,500 hours should have been spent leading and directing projects. 35 hours of project management education are also a prerequisite.
- If a candidate does not have a four-year degree, a secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) is required, along with at least five years of project management experience. And in those five years of project management experience, 7,500 hours should have been spent leading and directing projects. 35 hours of project management education are also a prerequisite.
How to gather 35 contact hours of project management training
If you have not got the required 35 contact hours. Don’t worry. First get back to your previous professional record, and see what’s there. All project management related training from your entire life counts towards your total and makes you eligible.
Add up the hours of your previous experience and see what the total is. If you have business experience of several years, you may already have 35 hours. If not, you can sign up for a training course that will give you the additional hours that you need.
If you meet these eligibility requirements then you are eligible to take the exam. Now move on to the next step.
Third Step: Make A Study Plan
A perfect PMP study plan should include overall objective including your study schedule, and weekly goals. Make a proper plan about how many hours you will study each day, the number of chapters you will read or review, and how many sample questions you will be able to answer.
Another question that is often asked is whether one has to be a PMI member to take the PMP exam. The answer is simply no, It is not compulsory to be a member, but you can get at least two financial benefits in becoming a member:
- PMI members enjoy a significant discount on their PMP exam application fee. This discount is far greater than what it costs to become a PMI member.
- PMI members get a free PDF copy of the PMBOK Guide, which is very helpful to prepare for and pass the exam.
- Another advantage of becoming a PMI member is that many chapters have study groups. These give you a good opportunity to meet other people on the same journey of becoming a PMP like you. Studying together is always more fun and increases your chance of passing.
Fifth Step: Sign up for the PMP Exam.
The next step is to visit the official website of PMI for registration. Fill in your online PMP Credential Application and submit it to PMI for approval. They will issue a confirmation number to you. Now you can schedule to take the exam on the Prometric Website. This scheduling is necessary because PMI doesn’t perform the test themselves — instead they use Thomson Prometric, a testing company with testing centers around the world. It totally depends on where you live you may have to travel quite far to take the exam. So it is wise to schedule this well in advance.
Sixth Step: Download the PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition PDF
The PMBOK® Guide is the main reference used to understand the questions on the PMP exam. Actually, you really need to know the material in the PMBOK® Guide because you’ll be tested accordingly during the exam. Most trainers assert that the correct answer for roughly 75 percent of the questions on the PMP Exam can be found in the PMBOK® Guide.
Seventh Step: Get Your PMP Exam Prep Training
Having the PMBOK® Guide and a study plan in place is not enough. The PMBOK® Guide isn’t written in a simple and easy to understand format. There are many students who tell us that the book is difficult to understand. There are training guides in other formats to help you understand the material in the PMBOK® Guide and how you can apply it in your day job to be a better project manager.
Lots of different ways available that you can help you boost your learning through training including:
- Classroom courses
- Bootcamps
- Virtual instructor-led courses
- Virtual self-paced courses.
Eighth Step: Getting a Simulator
The PMP exam is a complex exam. The exam takes multiple hours and it’s not often possible that we need to concentrate in an exam setting for that long. That is the reason a simulator comes in. It gives you access to PMP exam questions – lots of them. Typically, a simulator offers an access to a number of PMP practice exams. These are tests that exactly copy the questions and formatting you’re going to attempt in the real exam.
With the PMP exam is getting increasingly more complex a simulator is practically a must in order to get fully prepared as possible on exam day.
Place your study plan and the study materials you need. Now it is the time to start the process of studying hard for your PMP exam success. Do practice of sample PMP exam questions in a few different ways. It’s a good thing to master PMP questions in as many ways as possible. It’s all good practice!
After all that hard work and exam preparation taking the exam almost sounds like the easy part.
Before the exam starts there is a short tutorial which explains how to use the computer and software. Don’t skip it and pay attention. There is important information in the tutorial. If you take the tutorial, this would help you understand everything regarding exam attempt.
KnowledgeHut PMP Training has designed courses to equip you with the skills needed for today’s diverse and demanding requirements in modern project management. In this certification, project managers study online project management knowledge areas, project management lifecycles and processes in varying project management industry.
