[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Have few questions to those who have successfully completed the certification or are in process like me:

1. Will 5 weeks be sufficient to read the PMBOK, take mock tests and able to pass the certification?
2. Rita Mulcahy book also need to studied before taking the test.
3. Any tips/suggestions and real life examples would really help.

My answers may not be too useful for you as I took the PMP cert 12 years back. But sharing in any case. 4-5 weeks of prep is good if you can focus enough time. Best not to drag it out too much as it is easy to lose focus. It is an exam that does require preparation.

On the usefulness of PMP itself- my personal opinion- don't expect any magic. It is good to have and you would have studied hard, so there is a knowledge gain. In a real world scenario, it may help gain entry into an interview shortlist as many PM jobs still list it as a requirement. But beyond that, nothing much.

Interestingly just yesterday I got a mail stating that I cannot call myself a PMP as I have not satisfied the 60 PDU requirement in the last 3 years and the 6 month grace period has also expired. Now, I definitely can go claim 60PDUs, and pay for the renewal. But in two minds whether to bother any more because my on the job experience would have much more value than the certification. So that is also something you need to think through.

Wish you all the best.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Interestingly just yesterday I got a mail stating that I cannot call myself a PMP as I have not satisfied the 60 PDU requirement in the last 3 years and the 6 month grace period has also expired. Now, I definitely can go claim 60PDUs, and pay for the renewal. But in two minds whether to bother any more because my on the job experience would have much more value than the certification. So that is also something you need to think through.

Wish you all the best.

Hahaha - I went through a similiar 'experience' a decade ago when my ScrumMaster certification 2-year renewal came up. Got a lot of alerts / mails / reminders for the same. All went into the spam folder

[gururajrv]

Hello Experts. Seeking your valuable opinion as I am currently working in financial services at the moment and planning on taking PMP course. Since I have management experience with operations, would it be beneficial to have this course for a guy who’s not from a tech background? I am a BBM graduate. So any leads to help me build my resume or pointing towards the right course to shape my career would be fo great help

[for_cars1]

Had done this certification back in 2009.
The world has moved on to the Agile model, so the waterfall model on which the PMP is based on is not of much relevance.

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by gururajrv

<snip>and planning on taking PMP course. Since I have management experience with operations, would it be beneficial to have this course for a guy who’s not from a tech background? <snip>

Since you've not mentioned years-of-exp, can't say for sure if PMP will add value to your career. Generally, 10+ years of exp with atleast 3-4years of managerial/semi-managerial exp will justify doing PMP - from personal experience.

No amount of certifications can substitute actual working experience, but as it is PMP is definitely a value-add. I did it in 2013, have been renewing it periodically, and am still eligible to claim myself one. Did agile/scrum + ITIL also along, just to have sufficient PDUs to renew my PMP! Coming from a so-called technical (read coder/programmer) background, it helped me move two notches up to really know what IT project management is all about and firm up my concepts.

Subjectively, I can say it helped me move on to two better opportunities (which incidentally mandated the candidates be PMP certified) after I did it. Latest versions of PMBoK are aligned to agile methodologies so the certification isn't yet outdated.

Since you are in operations, might also want to have a look at the ITIL stream of certifications - this gives a good framework of managing services/operations (although from a project/program managerial viewpoint this is not as sought after as PMP).

Generally most of these certifications are domain-agnostic, so it really doesn't matter if you aren't from technical (read coding) background or you are from financial background. Just to exemplify, had some medical doctors/construction engineers etc. when I attended the PMP bootcamp.

It all boils down to how better you have real working exp PLUS how relevant your certifications are PLUS how efficiently you can combine both, to demonstrate how you are a better worker due to this particular certification!

Have seen some guys vehemently opposing any sort of certifications - saying this is just bogus. This viewpoint is akin to saying one shouldn't do BTech/MCA/MBA/MBBS etc, instead just go out & get experience in the relevant field! Our system doesn't work so, and not all of us are Bill Gates/Steve Jobs to have our work talk for our experience.

Good luck to you in your career & choosing relevant certification!

[TorqueyTechie]

I am planning to take up PMP training (& and the certification) and was looking at Simplilearn & Knowledge hut for the same. Any suggestions on which one would be better?

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

I am planning to take up PMP...looking at Simplilearn & Knowledge...Any suggestions?...

AFAIK, simplilearn offers in-depth course material, have done couple of trainings (not PMP) with them and were good, but not all of their trainings/trainers can be called top-notch.

Don't have much idea on the other one.

You might want to have a look at PMI Bengaluru chapter - have heard they offer quite good trainings.

Back in 2013, I did it from an institute called iKompass; guess now they have presence only in SG not in IN.

All the best!

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

I am planning to take up PMP training (& and the certification) and was looking at Simplilearn & Knowledge hut for the same. Any suggestions on which one would be better?

I believe you are asking the training for the mandatory 35 hours required for PMP. Simplilearn is more online with good material and knowledge hut used to offer customized trainings for corporates. Another option I recommend is Udemy which has Andrew Ramdayal curated course and is a good one.

Hope you are practicing Agile or aware of Agile concepts and servant leadership in your current role. If so it is very easy to pass PMP has changed a lot for good and no more bookish questions from PMBOK or calculations or success of projects through metrics. It is mostly situation based with focus on team empowerment and business objectives.

Once the training is completed, please consider PMI Study hall and it was quite useful. And Andrew Ramdayal videos in YouTube which will be useful to prepare for the exam.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

I am planning to take up PMP training (& and the certification) and was looking at Simplilearn & Knowledge hut for the same. Any suggestions on which one would be better?

Just curious about the reason why specifically PMP? This credential was popular maybe a decade or two back, but now PMI ACP and Disciplined Agile seem to be in vogue.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Hope you are practicing Agile or aware of Agile concepts and servant leadership in your current role. If so it is very easy to pass PMP has changed a lot for good and no more bookish questions from PMBOK or calculations or success of projects through metrics. It is mostly situation based with focus on team empowerment and business objectives.

Once the training is completed, please consider PMI Study hall and it was quite useful. And Andrew Ramdayal videos in YouTube which will be useful to prepare for the exam.

Yes I have been working in Agile since 2010 so aware of the concepts. Thanks for the youtube and PMI study hall suggestion. Will check those.

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Just curious about the reason why specifically PMP? This credential was popular maybe a decade or two back, but now PMI ACP and Disciplined Agile seem to be in vogue.

I have both PMI ACP and Disciplined Agile as well as SAFE. PMP is not outdated yet and still holds relevance. They have upgraded their course to include Agile and Hybrid model as well. I am keen on taking this up to help me scale up in some areas which I feel I need to improve and also utilize some time I have to complete this certification as well.

[lokesharo]

Hello all, my wife is planning to take up PMP in December.
She meets the required criteria and is inclined towards joining a joining a training institute that can help with the course / studies.
I have heard about knowledgewoods and prothoughts but have no idea about either one of them.
Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks

[Illuminati]

I just cleared the PMP exam on 22nd March 23, with an overall Above Target Score (People & Process Above target, Business Environment - Below target).

Such a relief it is! not about the money but more about the time spent studying that did not go to waste.

My experience-
Time Taken - 6 weeks (from the day of seriously deciding to take the test and the examination date)

5 days before the exam – 8-9 hours per day (off work) (Lots of practice tests, cannot emphasise enough, mandatory part of preparation which will help a lot in clearing the concepts)

Mock tests were given from the books below:
1. Head First PMP
2. Rita Mulcahy- All chapter questions are to be done at last after completing the course.
3. Mock Test from Andrew Ramdayal ( one included in the course).
4. Some more mock tests from online websites.
5. Olivers


• Application process was smooth and got an approval email from PMI the next day to schedule the exam
• Exam was scheduled for 22nd March.
• Preparation started around mid-February. Started around the 10th of February by watching Andrew Ramdayal videos on Udemy (It will also provide the required 35 contact hours for filling out the application (Course was recommended by a friend who just passed the exam which acted as a trigger for me) – 2 hours per day (6-8 hours on weekends)
• Full-length mock test after completing the course on Udemy.

Examination-

• I got almost all scenario-based questions mainly focused on team management and conflict resolution having zero numerical on EVM & critical path (the practice questions will help a lot here).
• I got very few EVM questions but those too were not direct. Every question's wording was too lengthy.
• It took me around 90 minutes (out of 230) to complete and review the first section of 60 questions remaining sections had to be completed in 70 minutes each (took both the 10 minutes break provided).
• Finally I saw the Congratulations message and felt relieved to see my performance.

Final verdict:

1. I memorized the 49 processes in the right order but couldn't find any direct questions on them, still may be those have helped in answering all the situational questions.
2. More focus on AGILE in the test.
3. Mock tests/questions help a lot, please spend considerable time on each question and for each wrong answer do a complete analysis of why it was wrong.
4. I had an average score between 70-80% in the mock tests. A general recommendation is to try to score >70 in mock tests to pass the exam.