While applying online for PMP Certification to record your experience of leading and directing the projects, use the experience verification section on the web page. The experience has to be in a professional setting and does not necessarily have to be paid work. Work done on school projects or personal events would not qualify as work experience. You must record all the project experience individually irrespective of number of projects you include. You can only count the time spent on one of the projects toward fulfilling your eligibility requirements for each month you worked on multiple, overlapping projects. Using the example below, the time spent working on Project One from Oct-Jan would count as four months toward the eligibility requirement, while the time spent working on Project Two during Feb-Mar would count as two months toward the eligibility requirement. However, you cannot count the time working on both projects during Nov-Jan twice. Therefore, Project One and Project Two equal six months (Oct–Mar) of project management experience toward your eligibility requirement.

The difficulty level of PMP Certification Exam has certainly increased with the introduction new Exam Content Outline (ECO). In addition to this new ECO, PMI also increased the syllabus of the exam. Before Jan/02/2021, the go-to reference book was PMBOK Guide 6th Edition. Now, the number of reference books has gone up to 10 (Refer Question # 12). The candidates now have to study more, refer a greater number of books and understand the three new domains of the exam. The exam has certainly become difficult; however, you will be able to pass the PMP exam with flying colours with right resources, study guides, study routine, mock tests and better ATP.

This is like comparing apples and oranges. MBA programs are at least 1 year long and cover major subjects like Sales, Marketing, Economics, Finance, etc. You receive a post graduate degree or diploma after completing the course from a University. PMP, on the other hand, is a certification course catering to the management of projects in an organization. I would say that PMP is rather a very small subset of MBA. There are many individuals who completed their MBA and also are PMP Certified. This could be because of organizations’ requirement for managing projects.

The PMP Certification is valid for 3 years e.g., the certification is valid until Feb/09/2024 if you pass your PMP Exam on Feb/10/2021. PMP Renewal process is simple. All the PMP Certification holders must maintain their certifications through participation in the PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program. Participating in professional development and learning activities allow certification holders to earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) which would help them to renew their certifications every 3 years. You are required to earn 60 PDUs in 3 years to renew your PMP Certification. You can refer to CCR Handbook from pmi.org for more details and instruction on how to earn and track PDUs in CCR.

A project manager, holding PMP Certification, demonstrates to employers, clients and colleagues that she/he possesses project management knowledge, experience, and skills to bring projects to successful completion. The practitioners who hold the PMP Certification are well positioned to provide the professional skills necessary to lead project teams and achieve project results as the demand for the skilled project manager is at a critically urgent level. The PMP Certification has garnered global recognition and commanded a higher salary for certified individuals over non-certified individuals. The PMP recognizes the competence of an individual to perform in the role of a project manager, specifically experience in leading and directing projects.

The holder of PMP Certification can learn a lot while preparing and after passing the PMP Certification. She can learn
1. Over 100 project management tools and techniques to better manage complex projects
2. 10 knowledge areas viz., Integration, Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Resource, Communication, Procurement, Risk, and Stakeholder
3. Project development life cycles, including predictive, agile, and hybrid.
4. Leadership styles, management styles, and interpersonal skills
5. External and internal factors impacting the outcome of the project
6. Different context in which projects are initiated

The PMP Examination pattern has changed with the release of the New Examination Content Outline (ECO). The new pattern has been active since January 2nd, 2021. The reason behind this change is the result of the research conducted through Role Delineation Study (RDS) or Job Task Analysis (JTA). The result shows that today’s project management practitioners work in a variety of project environments and utilize different project management approaches. The new ECO focuses on three domains. The details of the new ECO are available to download on the PMP Examination Content Outline.

You must meet certain educational and professional experience criteria to be eligible for the PMP Certification.. Before application submission, please ensure that you have accumulated all the project management experience within the last eight consecutive years. The details of eligibility criteria are mentioned in the table below.

PMP Certification cost depends on your membership status with PMI. The following table shows the fee structure as your membership status with PMI.

The above rates will apply only if you are a member of PMI in good standing and while making payment for the certification. The benefits of PMI Membership can be reviewed on www.pmi.org

Please refer question # 4 to know and understand the eligibility criteria for taking the PMP Examination. It clearly states the minimum work experience required to be eligible for taking the certification exam.

If you fail your PMP exam in the first attempt, you are eligible to appear for the exam 2 more times in one year from the date of approval of your application. e.g., You submit your PMP application and it is approved on Jan/10/2021. You are now eligible to appear for PMP exam 3 times until Jan/09/2022. You take the PMP exam on Mar/10/2021 as your first attempt and you fail it, you still have 2 more attempts to appear for the PMP exam until Jan/09/2022. Re-examination fees apply to the second and third attempts to pass the examination.

Apart from earning 20% more than Non PMPs (per PMI Salary Survey), there are multiple reasons which can make the PMP Certification worth. You as a certification holder become a better manager, better leader, understand the system from bird’s eye and worm’s eye view, better at managing conflicts, better at understanding the risk and so on & so forth. In my experience, PMP Certification is worth it.

The reference books for PMP other than PMBOK Guide are mentioned below.

• Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Hybrid | Author: Robert K. Wysocki | Publisher: Wiley
• Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process | Author: Kenneth S. Rubin | Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling | Author: Harold Kerzner | Publisher: Wiley
• Project Managers Portable Handbook, 3rd Edition | Author: David Cleland and Lewis Ireland | Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Project Management: The Managerial Process | Author: Erik Larson | Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Fundamentals of Technology Project Management, 2nd Edition | Author: Colleen Garton with Erika McCulloch | Publisher: MC Press
• Information Technology Project Management, 7th Edition | Author: Kathy Schwalbe | Publisher: Cengage Learning
• The Project Management Tool Kit: 100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the Job Done Right | Author: Tom Kendrick | Publisher: AMACOM
• Agile Practice Guide | Author: Project Management Institute | Publisher: Project Management Institute

PMI uses sound psychometric analysis to determine the passing score in the PMP Exam. Project professionals from around the world and many different disciplines are used by PMI as subject matter expert todetermine the number of questions a candidate must correctly answer to pass the Exam. Each correct answer scores one point on the exam and the final score is calculated by summing all the points. Depending on the number of questions answered correctly, you will be placed in one of the performance rating areas which you can see on the report.

PMP Exam Application Process:

Once the candidate meets the eligibility criteria and experience, she can proceed to fill the online application at PMP Certification. This application provides a section for recording experience of leading and directing the projects. The experience has to be in a professional setting and it does not matter if the experience has been paid work. Projects done in school or personal events would not qualify. It is a must to record all the project experience individually regardless of the number of projects.

Once the application is approved, the one-year eligibility period begins. However, if the candidate’s application is selected for audit, her eligibility period begins the day she successfully completes the audit. The candidate may take the examination three times within this one-year eligibility period. After payment of the certification fee is received, PMI will send the candidate an email notification with her PMI eligibility ID, which she will utilize for scheduling a test appointment. The candidate must retain this unique PMI Eligibility ID located on her scheduling notification as it is used to register for the examination. The candidate should also save all examination scheduling verifications and correspondence received for her records.

PMI cannot guarantee or reserve seating at the testing centers or an available time for an online proctored test appointment. PMI recommends that the candidate schedule the examination as soon as she determines the date on which she wants to take it and at least three months before the expiration of her eligibility period.

There is no concept of re-evaluation of exams conducted by PMI. So, if a candidate fails the PMP exam, she cannot apply for re-evaluation.

You are eligible to schedule the examination in 1 Year from the date of the application approval. You can take the exam up to 3 times during this 1 year.

You are granted a one-year eligibility period in which to pass the examination. During the eligibility period, you may take the examination up to three times because candidates do not always pass the examination on their first attempt. Gauge your time carefully to leave enough time during the eligibility period to retake the examination, if needed.

If you fail to pass the examination three times within your one-year eligibility period, you must wait one year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the certification. However, after failing to pass a certification examination three times, candidates may opt to apply for any other PMI certification. For example, a candidate who failed to pass the PMP examination three times in his or her one-year eligibility period must wait one year to reapply for the PMP. However, he or she can apply for the CAPM, PMI-SP, PMI- RMP, PMI-PBA, PMI-ACP, PfMP, or PgMP (and submit associated initial certification fees) at any time.

If your eligibility period expires without you passing the examination, you must reapply for the certification.