Passed—and, so can you!

tl;dr? Passed on my first try w/ AT | AT | AT; didn't spend a ton of money or pay for 1:1 coaching; did devote significant time.

Greetings! I write this with the purpose of providing some insight and encouragement to others who may need it. It's my personal experience, so do take that for what it's worth. I would summarize my approach as diligence and consistently trying to apply pressure at different spots to move a bolder up a crisco-slicked hill.

Background: I come from an ad agency account background and UX, so I was well familiar with **light** project management for creative/UX projects. I was also a CSM, so I came in with a solid understanding of Scrum (Agile). That said, the Waterfall processes took some time to get my mind around and accustomed too. I also struggled with the fact that none of the materials I had were really able to visualize the processes. So I had to make my own charts etc.

Method (in chronological order):

• Education units: I used the PMI training to earn the 35 PDUs. It was boring and took me 3–4 mos to slog through it.

• Rita Mulcahy's Exam Prep: Read through this once and took copious notes. It is rigorous, but I felt like I emerged on the other side convinced I was in over my head. Time spent: 1 mo

• PMBOK: Read this cover to cover in a week.

• Rita Mulcahy's Exam Prep: Re-read this and started taking the RMC exam prep questions. The exam prep questions are by design—and necessity—more challenging than the exam. Time spent: 3 mos

• PMBOK: read it again

• PMP Exam Prep Success Secrets with Scott Payne Podcast: I do owe him a thank you w/o paying him a dime b/c I'd listen to his quick hit podcasts on my morning walks. If nothing else, it did help me get my mind around Pareto Charts (could never answer these questions w/any degree of certainty in the exam prep questions) as well as with Waterfall Charts. I also discovered that a good percentage of the exam is Agile, and I realized I could answer these questions correctly. So I credit these pods with giving me a little boost and convincing me it was time to try taking the exam. Last, but maybe most importantly, these pods helped me to understand how to approach the questions. In retrospect, I think this was critical. This overlapped with the PMI Study Hall.

• PMI Study Hall: I ran through all the practice exams—with a focus on the full length exams. I wanted to be sure I could pace myself. I credit this with preparing me for the exam, and giving me some inkling of confidence that I could pass on the first attempt. Time spent: 6 wks.

Total time commitment: 16 mos (I began the PDUs in January 2023 and took the exam on May 2nd, 2024).

I am between roles at the moment—ensnared in the great tech LR festival of 2024—and wanted to get the exam done. You might say that the risk occurred and I chose to exploit it.

After listening to Scott Payne's pod, I made the calculated assessment that it wasn't worth it for me to pay him—or someone else—$1800 to coach me. It cost $450 to take the exam, and another $150 if I had to re-do it. So even if I retook the exam, I was more than $1k ahead. I caution I have a high tolerance for tedious and painful endeavors, so I realize this may not work for everyone. Also, if I were pressed for time (ie working a full-time job), it may make sense to pay for the coaching.

Last, and this is important, I told myself the PMP is a pass/fail exam—RMC makes this point, too. The objective is not to get 100%. That and $3 will get you a cup of coffee. If I failed the first attempt, I would just retake the darn thing. Not ideal, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. All I had to do was get +1 pt above the highest failing grade the double-regression model identifies for the particular exam.

That's what I did. I wish you all Godspeed with your studies. Know that the mark of success isn't passing on the first attempt. It's that you pass at all. No one is keeping track.

Feel free to DM me with any questions.