How difficult is the PMP exam and certification

As we ponder upon the extremities of PMP, let us start with a brief introduction of what the PMP is.

What is PMP?

PMP or Project Management Professional is a widely recognized professional tag. 

Now coming straight to the point, how does one get a PMP certification? 

Well, PMP certified professionals have to appear and qualify an exam conducted by the Project Management Institute.

How tough is it to qualify the PMP exam?

The PMP exam is hard if we have to rate it. In fact, it requires the preparation wherein an aspirant must give it the utmost primacy. In layman’s term, it is extremely difficult to qualify, but of course, not impossible.

They are coming towards some information regarding this exam. A candidate is given a duration of 4 hours to cover 200 multiple-choice questions. The questions cover different aspects, like theory, logic, analogy, comprise case studies and graphs too. Now, the prerequisites to appear the PMP examination, candidates are required to pass an officially upheld preparation course, which spans 35 hours and helps in preparing a candidate in both theoretical and practical approaches. The eligibility period for this exam is one year only, in layman’s term, a period during which a person can appear the test. A candidate can attempt this exam a maximum number of three times within his/her eligibility period. There is no fixed date for the candidates to appear this exam and they can schedule their own dates to appear the exam. PMBOK is the fundamental source text that comprises PMI’s management criteria. Reading this book is a must, or at least some important instances from this book should be visualized by a student. The main contributors to the difficulty of the examination are its length and complex structure. The complication of the exam is also due to its perilous questions, which requires patience to be answered. There is a given structure for the exam, with different domains being specified with certain percentages, which implies the probability of questions coming from that domain. The domains are initiating(13%), planning(24%), executing(31%), monitoring and controlling(25%), and closing(7%). One hundred seventy-five questions are given; in addition to that, 25 pre-test questions also have to be attended. A candidate should spend a considerable amount of time preparing for this exam, as in dedicating the time to exam simulators and practicing. The study guide has been specifically designed to curtail the toughness to extents. Choosing the right study guide often eases the work and preparation. One can clearly differentiate by self-analysis of the time required to prepare for the said exam using different study guides. Appearing and practicing questions that are similar to that which have been asked in some previous exams help the candidates to a great extent. A detailed study is more important rather than a quantitative study. A candidate who scores 70-80% in mock tests can consider his/her preparation to be in the right route though it shouldn’t be taken for granted as finishing line. It takes a lot of time to finish the PMBOK, as the content in it is really vast, but it gradually takes fewer efforts, one is used to the pattern of the course material. The certification gives a great amount of obligation to the one who attains it. Candidates with an Associate’s degree or High School Diploma have to complete 7500 hours in authorizing projects, steering, and managing them. A candidate in order to maintain the certification has to fulfill PMI’s Continuous Certification Requirements, which commit you to attain the least amount of 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) in a span of three years. PDUs can be compared to the credit system used extensively by certain institutions around the world. The 60 PDUs should consist of a minimum of 35 PDUs from continuous education, a maximum number of 25 PDUs must come from creating content or working as a project manager. These criteria might look difficult but tend to become as easy as one or the other step gets completed. The pass rate of this exam is no doubt very low, due to which the pass or failure rates aren’t released publically by the PMI. But there’s always a probability which, when aided by hard endeavors, can result in success—all the best for PMP aspirants.