You need to fulfill several requirements in order to sit for the PMP exam. The PMI has detailed the certification process quite extensively at its website. Go to www.pmi.org , and click the Professional Development and Careers tab to reveal the Certifications selection and get the latest information on certification procedures and requirements. As of this writing, you are required to fill out an application to sit for the PMP exam. You can submit this application online at the PMI’s website. You also need to document 35 hours of formal project management education. This might include college classes, seminars, workshops, and training sessions. Be prepared to list the class titles, location, date, and content. In addition to filling out the application and documenting your formal project management training, there is one additional set of criteria you’ll need to meet to sit for the exam. These criteria fall into two categories. You need to meet the requirements for only one of these categories: Category 1 is for those who have a baccalaureate degree. You’ll need to provide proof, via transcripts, of your degree with your application. In addition, you’ll need to complete verification forms—found at the PMI website—that show 4,500 hours of project management experience that spans a minimum of three years and no more than six years. Category 2 is for those who do not have a baccalaureate degree but do hold a high school diploma or equivalent. You’ll need to complete verification forms documenting 7,500 hours of project management experience that spans a minimum of five years and no more than eight years. The exam fee at the time this book is being published is $405 for PMI members in good standing and $555 for non-PMI members. Testing is conducted at Thomson Prometric centers. You can find a center near you on the PMI website. You have six months from the time PMI receives and approves your completed application to take the exam. You’ll need to bring a form of identification such as a driver’s license with you to the Thomson Prometric center on the test day. You will not be allowed to take anything with you into the testing center. You will be given
a calculator, pencils, and scrap paper. You will turn in all scrap paper, including the notes and squiggles you’ve jotted during the test, to the center upon completion of the exam. The exam is scored immediately, so you will know whether you’ve passed at the conclusion of the test. You’re given four hours to complete the exam, which consists of 200 randomly generated questions. Only 175 of the 200 questions are scored. A passing score requires you to answer 141 of the 175 questions correctly. Twenty-five of the 200 questions are “pretest” questions that will appear randomly throughout the exam. These 25 questions are used by PMI to determine statistical information and to determine whether they can or should be used on future exams. The questions on the exam cover the following process groups and areas: Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring and Controlling Closing Professional Responsibility All unanswered questions are scored as wrong answers, so it benefits you to guess at an answer if you’re stumped on a question.