[Ardy]

I am a PMP since Sept' 07 and a member of PMI since Aug' 07.

For applying for PMP, you require 35 contact hours of training in project management which you can do from one of the PMI recognized training institutes. I did it from an institute called PMTI. Though they were expensive, they are ready to foot your re-examination fee if you do not clear in the first attempt. I had not more than 10 days of preparation and sample exams before taking up the actual exam.

As a part of the application for exam, you are suppose to produce 4,500 hours of project management experience in the process areas as defined in PMBOK. These 4,500 hours of project management experience does not mean you are required to manage the project, but you need to be a part of the projects. PMI believes that an individual can work only on one project at a time, and hence these 4,500 hours should be sequential hours. If you show 2 projects in parallel to each other in terms of start and end dates, only one would be considered. As a practice it is advised that 4,500 hours be spilled over the last 3 years or so for you to show an average of 5-6 hours of productivity per day excluding meetings etc. References of each project are also to be provided in the application form for scrutiny. I believe that about 5% of the applications are scrutinized and references contacted for verification. However, I am yet to hear from anyone of their application scrutiny.

With respect to leverage of the knowledge in your projects, I do not believe the certification changes the way of working. It however gives you good knowledge in the project management aspects espcially the ones which you never ever bother to think about. The certification is an add on to your resume.

Hope this helps the folks.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Originally Posted by JVH

Your manager is the person you need to convince since he will work with the training department/HR to identify your short/long term needs. The convincing need not be in a written format but typically this kind of thing is best discussed when you are reviewing your performance with him.

If your organization has a performance review system in the form of jotting down your achievements, training needs, technologies interested...etc you can very well mention about the PMP stuff and emphasize on it more during the face-face review.

Believe me, a manager will always look for candidates for delegation and who are willing to take more responsibilities and he will be very happy to support you in this regard.

Thanks JVH for the pointers.

@spitfire: No am from a Network Plumbing Company

[Rajesh Rawal]

attending the 4 day pmp preparatory workshop next week ,plan to take the exam a month after that.

pardon my ignorance but is there any difference being a pmp certified from pmi or being certified as Prince2?

the little information i have is that projects in controlled environment (prince) is very u.k/europe centric whereas pmp from pmi is more global.

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

attending the 4 day pmp preparatory workshop next week ,plan to take the exam a month after that.

pardon my ignorance but is there any difference being a pmp certified from pmi or being certified as Prince2?

the little information i have is that projects in controlled environment (prince) is very u.k/europe centric whereas pmp from pmi is more global.

PMP is recognized across the work. Prince2 is mostly recognized in Europe (UK in particular).

Prince2 is also tough to crack. I would suggest that you take up Prince2 only if you are planning to take up a job in UK / Europe.

[kalpeshc]

Whats the big difference between 3rd edition and the new 4th edition. Why is it recommended to give the exams before 4th edition kicks in?

[sukiwa]

changes in 4th edition: check this URL
http://www.pmi.org/Resources/Pages/2...rdsUpdate.aspx

We would have better resources availability (books, online exams et al)for 3th edition than 4th edition right now. It would take some more time (3-6 months) for availability of new books conforming to new standard.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

And i am guessing most of you are IBMers.

Something about IBMers and PMP certification ?!

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by VJ_MAVRICK

However,to make it more authoritative do I need to submit any written proof from my organization stating the above that you mentioned (Handling folks under me and blah blah blah)?

Thanks In Advance

You need to submit your experience details to PMI to be qualified to write the PMP exam. PMI might check with the references that you quote for further verification, if required (very rarely happens)

Only when PMI quailifies you, then you can take up the PMP exam. This qulaification is valid for a year.

All these submissions can be done thru PMI site and thru your login that you would have created

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Whats the big difference between 3rd edition and the new 4th edition. Why is it recommended to give the exams before 4th edition kicks in?

3rd edition has been around for some time and the questions patterns are known. 4the Edition test could be a bit tricky in the initial stages until it is explored

I guess the certificate carries the same value irrespective of the editions

[mandyrana]

I am PMP since sep 2008. It takes around atleast 2 months of study to clear this exam. Read Rita Mulcahy and official PMBOK only this will be enough to clear exam.

[A.R]

I have enrolled for the 4 day contact program in March from SABCONS, planning to give the exam latest by end of April.

Btw, would there be a requirement to upgrade oneself based on the new edition like in ITIL (v2 to v3)? Do we need to rewrite the exam (other than the PDU collection to keep the certification active)

[kalpeshc]

What sort of efforts (time and money) is involved in clearing this certification? This is assuming that one is good at picking up things and is a smart learner.

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

What sort of efforts (time and money) is involved in clearing this certification? This is assuming that one is good at picking up things and is a smart learner.

I had spend 28K for the 35 hours (4 days) contact program for prep, USD 500 for PMI membership and PMP exam and a month of effort.

If you are doing the contact program for mandatory 35 PDUs from external agency then you can get it as cheap as 16-17K as well.

PMI also considers 35 hours of PM training in the respective organisation. However, I am not sure how does it work in terms of giving PMI evidence.

Hm sounds interesting. After I left IBM I lost the craze for the PMP.Not sure how good it is at this stage (a little more than 4 yrs of wroking exp).But I am planning to do it after a year or so. (And unlike IBM, my current org won't be paying for the fees so will wait :P)

[nemo]

Interesting thread and i wonder if there is anything that we don't discuss here in TBHP.

I'm a PMP since Aug 2006 and it definitely has helped me in getting a fresh perspective in the area of Project Management. This is not exam that one can clear with a casual approach. It needs a dedicated effort of about 150 hours spread across not more than 30-45 days.

I had a chance to glance through the fourth edition and i really like how the content is structred and it appeared to be well presented. There are few changes in knowledge areas - couple of them removed from 3rd edition and couple more added. net-net 42 vs 44 in the 3rd edition.

Please feel free to PM for any specific questions on PMP.

I currently have about 25 PDUs, can someone share resources to accumulate PDUs -- thanks

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Something about IBMers and PMP certification ?!

They go Hand to Hand .

BTW I am PMP too, and IBMer as well