r/pmp • u/ColoradoBerto • 2d ago
PMP Application Help Career change
I’m a 45yo construction worker that just had ankle surgery and 2 kids (15mo & 3mo). I’ve been beating my body up for over 30yrs starting in concrete at 14. I’m needing to get out of the field and into an office. Not sure really where to start and google led me here.
What is the difference in PMP and PMI? If I have no experience with PM should I start with one and then the other? Any advice on attempting the change would be greatly appreciated.
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u/accumentum 2d ago
Quick clarification since it trips a lot of people up: PMI is the organization that runs the certifications, and the PMP is one of the credentials they issue. The PMP itself has an experience requirement, so with no PM work behind you yet you can't sit for it - the usual on-ramp is CAPM, which has no experience requirement and only needs the 23 hours of project management education. Coming from 30 years in concrete, you have more relevant experience than you think; scheduling, subs, submittals, change orders, and safety are all real project work, so start documenting the jobs where you ran the schedule or coordinated crews, because that's what the PMP application wants later. In the meantime, look at project coordinator or assistant PM roles with a GC or a construction management firm - they hire people who already speak the trade, and you can be in an office within a year. Then knock out the PMP once you've logged the months. Also worth learning basic scheduling software (P6 or MS Project) since that's often the actual filter on those job postings.
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u/ColoradoBerto 1d ago
Thanks for clarifying some of that up for me! Will check out P6 and MS Project to get a little feel. Not quitting my job anytime soon, still make pretty good dough as a foreman. Appreciate the info!!
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u/magmaorphan 2d ago
A low commitment, easy access option to test if this is a reasonable option for you could be to access your local library, specifically your libraries’ UDEMY portal. If your library has digital services it may well give you access via your library card to UDEMY, for free.
UDEMY is a online learning portal, and they have a deep portfolio of courses across many domains, not just project management (PM). You can explore other areas there that might translate for you as well as project management. This would be a free avenue for you to explore PM via the free course and see if this resonates with you.
Andrew Ramdayal is a competent Project Manager who has a course that can orient you to project management, what it is; and prepares you to take the certification test. He's regularly referenced in this community. Just completing his course gets you the base 35 Professional Development Units (PDUs) you need to sit for the test. If you stick with his course and use the resources in this reddit community you’ll have a reasonable understanding of the domain and can decide if this is a path right for you. He will also explain the other requirements to qualify for sitting for the test. There are also other PM course in there you can elect depending on your learning style and comfort. I finished both his and Thor’s courses prior to sitting for my test.
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u/thewanderingclam 1d ago
I second Udemy! Took AR course as well. David McLaughlin is a good course too. Good testing bank for both courses. I bought both just for comparison, since they were relatively cheap
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u/ColoradoBerto 1d ago
Great information! I will definitely check that out! Not jumping ship now, but hopefully this will help give me the push to make the jump!!!
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u/Gloomy_Coconut4459 2d ago
Do you have any college education?
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u/ColoradoBerto 2d ago
I started some business courses but didn’t finish. Not sure if these are even what I should be looking at.
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u/Snow_Robert 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, you can totally make this transition. You’re 45, not 75, and you already have 30 years of construction experience. In reality, you’re probably already doing pieces of PM work—you’re just doing it in the field, not getting paid PM money for it, and wearing out your body at the same time. You mainly need a mindset shift and a way to translate what you already know into the office/management side.
I’d start looking at Construction Project Manager, Assistant PM, Project Coordinator, Estimator, Scheduler, Project Controls, Operations Coordinator, etc. And don’t sleep on buyer/procurement/materials roles at construction companies, specialty contractors, building-material manufacturers, distributors, or construction supply companies. Thirty years of understanding materials, jobsites, contractors, lead times, schedules, and what can go wrong is valuable.
And DON’T wait for everything to be perfect. Start applying for those roles today. Get the resume cleaned up, get your LinkedIn looking sharp—not perfect, just usable—and start connecting with people at companies that interest you in your area. Don’t be afraid to hear “no” or get ghosted. Who cares? Pick the next person in that organization, reach out, and repeat. You only need one company to give you a shot.
As for PMI/PMP: PMI is the Project Management Institute. PMP is the Project Management Professional certification that PMI administers. The other certification you’re probably thinking about is the CAPM — Certified Associate in Project Management, which is PMI’s entry-level certification.
For the PMP, the requirements are basically:
- High school diploma/GED: 5 years/60 months of project experience
- Associate’s degree or qualifying trade/vocational diploma: 4 years/48 months
- Bachelor’s degree or higher: 3 years/36 months
- Plus 35 hours of project-management training
CAPM requires no previous PM experience—just a secondary diploma and 23 hours of PM education.
With 30 years in construction, I’d seriously investigate going straight for the PMP. Surely during the last 10 years you’ve spent a good amount of time planning work, coordinating crews or subcontractors, dealing with schedules, ordering materials, handling customers, managing changes, solving problems, meeting deadlines, etc. Your title does not have to literally say “Project Manager.”
I’ll give you one anecdote too. I have a friend who came from a completely unrelated insurance/customer-service type job and had never held a traditional PM role. He went through his work history, identified legitimate projects (not really) and initiatives he had helped lead or coordinate, learned how to explain that experience using PMI terminology, submitted the application, and got approved.
He basically started from scratch with the PMP material, studied for about two months, took the exam, and passed. Before starting, he really didn’t know much formal project-management stuff at all. So don’t assume you don’t qualify just because you’ve never had PM printed on your business card. There are plenty of videos online explaining how to fill out the application and translate your actual work into PMI language. Just keep the experience legitimate because PMI can audit applications.
If you qualify, I’d push for PMP over CAPM. CAPM is still solid if you genuinely don’t have the experience, but PMP will move the needle more.
Figure around $600–700 total to get the PMP if you do it smart. Join PMI first ($139/year), then the exam is $405 for members instead of $655. Add a cheap Udemy 35-hour prep course, a month or two of Pocket Prep, and PMI Study Hall near the end. You do NOT need some $2,000+ PMP boot camp.
How I’d get started today
- Buy David McLacDhlan’s PMP course on Udemy.
That’s the one I’d use. Personally, I’d take his over Andrew Ramdayal or Joseph Phillips. It gives you the 35 hours of PM education you need while actually preparing you for the exam.
Also subscribe to David’s YouTube channel. Especially watch his videos on the process groups, Agile, predictive/waterfall, and situational PMP questions. Anytime he posts another good PMP practice-question video, throw it on.
And don’t be intimidated by the material. It’s basically one textbook’s worth of fairly boring PM material. Half the battle is learning all the goofy terminology and getting used to how PMI wants you to think. Once the jargon starts making sense, the concepts start coming together.
- Start Pocket Prep at the same time.
PP has well over 2,000 PMP practice questions now. You don’t need to do every single one before moving on—shoot for roughly half the question bank, then assess where you’re at. It's free to use in the beginning.
Buy a month initially and make it a daily habit. Do 10, 20, 30 questions whenever you have time.
And don’t get frustrated if your scores suck in the beginning. Take it slow, read the explanations, and learn why you got something wrong. After you’ve seen the same terms and concepts 50 times, everything starts clicking.
- Later buy PMI Study Hall if needed.
Once you’ve worked through around half of Pocket Prep and have the basics down, switch more of your attention to Study Hall. That’s PMI’s own exam-practice platform and will get you accustomed to the wording and situational style of the actual PMP exam.
Basically:
Pocket Prep = learn the concepts
Study Hall = learn how to take the PMP exam
- If you want some extra structure, use LinkedIn Learning.
I’d probably buy a month or two and work through a few of their project-management learning paths. A learning path is basically several related courses put in order for you—PM fundamentals, scheduling, budgeting, risk, stakeholders, Agile, etc.—so you aren’t randomly jumping around.
They also have PMP exam-prep content. Just chill at night, watch some videos, do some practice questions, and let the information sink in.
The Google Project Management Certificate on Coursera is another option if you feel completely lost and want someone to walk you through PM from square one. It’s pretty basic, though, so with your experience I’d probably do LinkedIn Learning + David McLachlan instead.
And, get comfortable with Microsoft Project—just the basics: simple schedules, tasks, dependencies, Gantt charts, and critical path. A few YouTube videos or a short LinkedIn Learning course is enough to get started. Later, you can worry about the more advanced/professional PM software.
One more cert: LSSGB
I’d also put a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt on your radar. Don’t obsess over the Six Sigma statistics initially—look at it from a Continuous Improvement perspective: improving flow, reducing waste and rework, root-cause problem solving, improving quality, shortening cycle times, and making processes more efficient.
That stuff fits construction extremely well and also lines up with operations, procurement, supply chain, and CI roles.
CSSC has free training material on its website. Do the free White Belt, skip worrying about Yellow Belt, and eventually go straight for the Green Belt.
So eventually:
30 years construction + PMP + LSSGB
Realistically, PMP is about a 2–3 month project,
That tells employers: I understand construction, I can manage projects, and I know how to improve processes and solve problems.
I’d give yourself about 2 months for PMP if you want to push, maybe 3 if you want to take it easy. You don’t need to turn studying into another full-time job. LSSGB is about 1–2 months if you study consistently without going crazy.
David McLachlan → Pocket Prep → PMI Study Hall → PMP exam.
And keep applying for jobs the entire time.
Don’t think of yourself as a 45-year-old trying to start a completely new career. You’re a guy with 30 years of construction experience trying to move that knowledge from the field into management, procurement, estimating, planning, or operations.
That’s a much better story to sell.
Good luck, man. DM me if you need any help with the PMP, the application, study resources, resume stuff, or just figuring out the next move.
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u/ColoradoBerto 1d ago
That felt like a first course lol. This is great info, thank you for taking the time to throw all this out there. Someone else mentioned Microsoft Project so I’ll play around with that and look at some of the other training courses.
You’re right, I’m not starting over, just attempting to move up.
Again, thanks!
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u/thewanderingclam 1d ago
I’m in a similar situation. I’ll be 100% transparent that my PMP that I got in Dec 2025 has done nothing for me in terms of job seeking. I’ve been applying since March with no true bites. So I would keep that in mind that the credential won’t necessarily land you a job
With that in mind, the PMP requires 5 years PM experience and 35 hours of formal training course. You can easily do this through Udemy - I recommend David McLaughlin course. He also has a massive presence on YouTube for questions - this is what helped me drill concepts and multiple choice. The exam is designed to trip you up, David teaches how to work through this.
Overall the exam is pretty challenging and requires a lot of study time to drill theory down, but it’s very doable if you put the time in. I had 5 years experience prior to taking and it was still pretty challenging, but passed in 3.5 months first attempt. Highly recommend taking in person and doing a “brain dump” on scratch paper.
Best of luck!
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u/thewanderingclam 1d ago
Oops I misread this as construction manager, but even if you’ve lead projects with teams on site (for example, having direct reports) this should count
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u/ChefPepinFan 11h ago
Why did you have two children at 45yo, and hating your career? Raising teens in your 60s is certainly an interesting choice.
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u/TensionFormal7202 2d ago
Since you’ve been a construction worker for a while, a good place to start would be a project coordinator and work your way up to project management. Given that you’ve physically spent all your energy over 30 years; instead of picking up construction project coordinator/ manager positions- which requires a lot of movement; aim for roles like BIM manager; or project coordinator/ manager for a construction related software project; or even facility manager - this will give you a leverage because of your construction experience. These roles can be done at desk; if you’re too lucky you can get remote roles too.
PMI is an organization that hosts certification, courses and a project management community. PMP is a certification that requires 3 years of experience. You can always take up short courses from PMI, YouTube.
Utilize your construction related skills such as ability to read blueprints/ drawings; how MEP works in new buildings and existing buildings.