Become a Certified Project Management Professional
This article explains the process to become a Certified Project Management Professional. Though certification is not necessary to hold most management positions, it can lend credibility to your next job application.
Steps
- Check if you are eligible to take the PMP(R) Certification Examination. There are three requirements, as follows:
- You should hold a Bachelor's degree or its global equivalent (this is a 4-year degree, not a 3-year degree).
- You should have 4500 hours of project management experience in not less than 3 years.
- You should undergo a 35-hour project management training. Try the nearest convenient Registered Education Provider on the PMI website.
- If you do not have a Bachelor's degree holder, then you should have a high school diploma. In this case, you should have 7500 hrs. of project management experience. You will still need to go through a 35-hour project management training.
- Once you meet the eligibility criteria, become a member of PMI and fill in the form for taking the examination. Although it is not mandatory to become a PMI member, it has some benefits in terms of exam fees, which more than offset the membership fees. Moreover, you get access to download a soft copy of A Guide to the Project Management Body Of Knowledge, the book on which the entire exam is based.
- Almost the entire process is online. When you fill in the form, and meet the eligibility requirement, you will receive an eligibility letter within a week's time.
- Pay the fees of $405 for members and $555 for non-members. The membership fee is $119 + $10 for one-time registration (2010 prices).
- A predefined number of applicants are selected for physical audit at random. On paying the fee, you will be informed if you are required to go through an audit. If you are chosen for audit, you will need to submit hard copies of your credentials (education, work experience and training). An audit may take up to 6 weeks to get approval.
- If you are not required to go through the audit, you receive the "Authorization to Test" email within 3-5 business days.
- Once you receive the letter, go to the Thomson Prometric website and check exam Seat Availability to see the nearest center and test date available in you region.
- Once you seen the available examination dates you should decide to either study independently with a goal of 2-3 months study, or attend a PMP Boot Camp Class.
- The difference between independent or professional study is a simple time to value equation.
- The average class price ranges from $1700 to $4200 depending on the provider vs. $200-300 for independent study guides and sample exams.
- The average study time is 2-3 months independent vs.3-5 days enrolled in a class.
- The average success rate for independent study is roughly 60% for first time test takers vs. 95+% for guided programs.[citation needed]
- Once you have scheduled you class date or study period, you should go to the Thomson Prometric website and schedule to sit for the exam directly after class or study period.
- Take the exam. Examinations are held twice a day on all working days.
- It is a 4-hour test consisting of 200 questions, out of which 25 questions are pretest. You need to score 106 out of 175 questions. One word of caution - the pretest questions are not known. So for all practical purposes, you need to score 131 out of 200 questions.
- There is no break allowed during the exam. If you need to take a break, you can do so, but the clock is ticking.
