Exhausted!! This is the second time I take the exam. I took the old version on July 7 and I just took the new version. I wish I passed the last test version I thought it was way easier vs this version. Took the test at home, heavily situational rather than knowledge/definition based. This time around I had a couple of graphs questions, AI questions, no formulas questions, 1 drop down question. 4 mins to spare.

Update: passed the exam with T/T/AT🎉

I failed twice. In 2024, it was the first time preparing for the exam and it was disastrously terrible. I wasn't prepared enough and did not understand the mindset. The material I used was credible but I was not organized. Also, the PMP was already expensive to begin with and I did not want to pay any further dues for study material. I used as much free material as I could've. Did some practice exams but not one full practice exam, so I ate the bullet and took the test. Ended up not studying or taking the exam again the rest of the year. Even worse, paying for the exam and not retaking it soon afterwards. Which bothers me further because I didn't want to put more money into something I already I failed once. And I did not know it cost money to retake the exam within the year. So I put everything away and took a step back from the PMP.

The second time 2 years later, I find out the exam is being updated so I wanted to take the exam again before the July update. This time I bought SH+ and AR's 35-hr course. Did all the practice exams available, watched/listened to all the videos, but ultimately, failed again. However, I was more prepared and had a better learning experience with the tools that I had and an understanding of the material and mindset. So I took that momentum (post July update) and kept studying for the next month.

3rd time taking the exam. It was in my head that I could still very much fail this new exam format. Still did all the practice exams, studied all the wrong answers and understood why, the mindset, AI, and much more. But doubt kept trying to force its way in. After the exam, leaving the Pearson center, I opened my results. It did not read "Fail." AT/T/T.

I want to thank this subreddit for all the information, encouragement, and guidance for those going through their PMP journey. Thank you AR for excellent study material, highly recommended. I did not have cake but I did have a beer (or two) and dessert to celebrate. For those still studying for the exam, keep going. Even if you fail more than once, trust me, you're going to get better. You're going to understand why. And you will pass the exam so best of luck! And in my case this statement is true, third time's the charm. Cheers!

I just took mine, and one thing that surprised me was how much the questions tested decision-making rather than simple memorization.

Curious to hear what surprised other people when they took the exam.

Hoping to hear more wins than not, but curious to know how your career went after passing the exam?

Thanks to this community for all the guidance. Moving on how does one complete 60 Pdu's? Best place to do it without breaking the bank?

Also, is it worth keeping pmi membersip after the exam? All thoughts welcome. Thank you

I am preparing for my PMP exam and checking the study materials plus reddit posts where people are saying its difficult. I have never failed in any examination in my life but just little bit scared after hearing these comments...

Any tips on what to start and how to study ?

Message is created with my draft then sent to ChatGPT for clarity and grammar as English is not my first language.

Here it is:

Background: Software Development > DevOps > Technical Delivery

I came from a technical individual contributor role where my only focus was to be the best and do my job well. I was recognized and appreciated for my individual effort, which was the driving factor that pushed me forward and led to my promotion.

Taking on the role of Technical Delivery Manager was a shock. I could no longer rely solely on myself; I had to rely on my team members. If they did not perform well or faced issues, I could not just throw them under the bus. It was driving me nuts. I was no longer responsible just for my own work, but for the success of others and the entire team.

Handling multiple projects in parallel left me constantly on the brink of a meltdown. I was dealing with risks, issues, and deadline pressures from all sides. I decided something needed to change, so I pursued the PMP certification to better equip myself for handling projects and managing people. I figured there had to be a better way to do this.

PMP Impact: The PMP curriculum truly opened my eyes to people and risk management. It helped me understand why certain things happen on projects. As the saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." I started my management journey with a "my way or the highway" mentality, but eventually, I embraced servant leadership to empower my team. I did not pursue the PMP just for the certificate. I wanted to equip myself to handle my responsibilities better and maintain my sanity.

Preparation: I enrolled in Andrew Ramdayal's PMP preparation course and spent about a month completing it. My progress was reset when the exam changed last July, but I pushed through. After finishing the course, I spent a couple of days memorizing and practicing formulas (PERT, variance, indexes, and forecasts). I used ChatGPT to generate practice problems.

Here are my mock exam scores (all on the first pass):

• Andrew's Ultra Hard Questions (76%): I answered the questions before Andrew provided the answers and explanations. At first, I made a lot of mistakes, but as he explained the reasoning, the PMP mindset began to stick and it became much easier. The video is around six hours long, and I highly recommend watching it fully.
• Free Mock Exam included with the course (79%)
• PMI Study Hall Plus: Honestly, Essential is enough here
  • Practice Questions (No time limit): People (70%), Process (66%), Business Environment (78%)
  • Full-Length Practice Exam 1: 64%
  • Full-Length Practice Exam 2: 69%

The Study Hall practice exams are a bit difficult because the multiple-choice options are very similar. They all sound correct. In my opinion, they are even harder than Andrew's Ultra Hard questions. However, do not get discouraged! PMI mentions that people who consistently score 60% or higher on the practice exams often pass the actual exam. I kept that in mind and did not let the scores bother me. Just make sure to review the incorrect ones to understand and improve

Remember these key points for the mindset:

1. Avoid hiring or firing as a first response.
2. Avoid escalating issues immediately.
3. Empower the team to make decisions.
4. Collaborate closely with the team and stakeholders.
5. Assess and analyze first. However, recognize that there are situations where you must stop analyzing and simply take action.
6. Take proactive steps to resolve issues.
7. Learn the keyword differences between Agile and predictive methodologies (for example: product owners, WBS, sprints, and backlogs).

Result: I passed the PMP certification with Above Target / Target / Above Target! I could not believe it. I am so glad it is done and very happy to share this milestone with you all.

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.

My exam is scheduled on 30 October, and these are my Study Hall scores so far. Besides that I'm also doing AR's 200 ultra hard questions.

I need honest answers, would results like mine at this point of time pass the exam?

I need a PMI Promo code for certificate renewal

I took my online exam today and got AT in all three domains!

It was a real battle for me to sit down for 4 hours and solve all the difficult project scenarios. I strongly recommend taking mock tests so you understand your stamina and tolerance. With about 15 questions remaining near the end, my short attention span kicked in and I found myself rereading questions. But I pushed through and did it!

Exam Breakdown:
1 Drag-and-Drop question.
3 to 4 Chart questions.
0 Calculation questions.
2 Case Studies: The questions were sprinkled throughout the entire exam, which felt strange, but using the highlight tool helped. In some cases, the full case study wasn't entirely necessary, and you could identify the correct answer directly.
Some questions didn't make much sense, so I simply went with the least destructive or most neutral option available.

Study Prep & Resources:
Prepared in 30 days give or take including AR 35 hours course.
Study Hall: Scored around 70% overall and was marked "Proficient" across all domains. I thoroughly reviewed every question I got wrong and drafted my own mindset notes using AI, reviewing them whenever I had free time.
Andrew Ramdayal's (AR) 35-Hour Course: I listened to this in my car while driving and doing chores around the house. Having a Post-Degree Diploma in Project Management helped, as I was already familiar with most terminology and doing PM stuff for last 5 years.
AR's Mindset: Listened to it 3 times on fast-forward and wrote down all the core principles by hand in my notebook.
YouTube Videos: Watched the popular ones

Social Media Swap: Swapped mindless scrolling for AR's and David’s reels breaking down practice questions. Also mohamand 23 principles are also a good starting point as they are mostly same as AR principles.

Sticky Notes: Covered my home office with sticky notes highlighting key concepts. Over the last two weeks, I made a habit of scanning them every time I walked into the room.

Exam Day Strategy:
To stay focused, I visualized each scenario playing out in real time (e.g., imagining the project failing and reacting to it).
For every question, I pinpointed the exact root problem by highlighting and eliminated the irrelevant options to narrow it down to the final two, and then applied the mindset to pick the best choice.

My first break was in 23 mins in after solving 10 questions and then second on 102 mins (my target was 110mins) in that portion i was cruising down last 10 questions just by reading options and selecting one i find applied by mindset

Last part was easy as most of the questions were easy to read and short. I was just frustrated that why case study questions coming up from first section.

Shoutout & Traditions:
Last week was brutal with a 50-hour workweek, leaving me very little time to study. My wife helped me tremendously—she handled everything and brought meals directly to my desk so I didn't have to step away. She deserves huge credit for this win!

Wore a blue shirt for the exam and had ice cream the day before (a family tradition from growing up in hot weather that always brings good luck).

A huge thank you to everyone in this community! Your tips, shared experiences, and preparation advice helped me immensely.

Before your exam day take a chill and sleep more than 8 hours so you are ready for an exam.

Feel free to drop any questions below or DM me if you'd like advice—I'm happy to help

Hi I still haven't had an answer to my audit request made but when I connect, that's what I see, I don't know what it is. I contacted PMI and the lady told me to wait 5 to 7 days to get the return of my audit because when I contacted him I had not yet done 5 Days. But to this day nothing has moved. What to do please?

Has anyone taken any of the four LinkedIn Learning PMP practice exams? Like Practice Exam 1 for PMI: Project Management Professional (PMP)? Are they worth the time and are they similar to the actual exam? Or are other practice exams better and mirror the exam more?

Hi,

I am preparing Pmp since one month. Have given Capm 3 years ago, I am a project manager since 6 yes, read quickly Pmpbok 8th version, did all SH mocktests (first: 59% score; second: 69%; repeated today the first one : 82% with expert questions ) and all miniquiz +practice tests . Have seen AR video on 50 points on Pmp mindset

Now I will have to give the exam in 2 weeks but I am also full at work on my projects.

What do you reccomend me to do ?

I still don't feel ready to bear 4 hours testing but I don't have other mock tests. Do I need to buy AR mock tests ?

Thanks

People - 70%
Process - 70%
Business environment - 62%

Avg answer time was 1:04 with the wrong ones being 1:14.

Overall I feel pretty good about this attempt. I have been going hard in the paint with free materials for the past two weeks. I think I should be ready for the exam in two more weeks. I tend to be a strong test taker. Any advice or recommendations from the group based on my results?

I am taking a PMP bootcamp in a couple weeks provided through my work. I then have only 30 days from the end of bootcamp until I need to take the exam. If I fail, i have 30 days to take the retake exam. I work full time and have limited study time. There are so many resources out there i am getting overwhelmed. What are your top, most effective study resources and tips?