September 13, 2024

10 Steps To Become a Successful PMP Certified Professional

With the growing complexity of business and its challenges, organizations and companies across the globe are looking forward to skilled Project Managers contributing to their business success. The Project Management Professional is the gold standard of the Project Management Certification. PMI offers the certification and is designed by practitioners for the practitioners on rigorous standards and ongoing research that enables them to meet real-world challenges. pmp certification course

Becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) is a big step in your career. Earning a PMP credential is a time-consuming and difficult journey, although this certification from Project Management Institute is definitely worth an effort. If you are curious to become a PMP Certified Professional and know-how certification can help you be in demand across the industries, you have hit the right spot.

Youtube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MecLq3Cov74

10 Steps To Become a Certified PMP Professional

  • Step 1 – Fulfill the requirements to become a Project Manager
  • Step 2 – Start with the PMP Handbook
  • Step 3 – Become a member of PMI
  • Step 4 – Apply for the PMP Exam
  • Step 5 – Study the PMBOK Guide
  • Step 6 – Get study materials
  • Step 7 – Enroll for a PMP workshop
  • Step 8 – Practice PMP exam questions
  • Step 9 – Buy a simulator and practice
  • Step 10 – Take the exam

Step 1 – Fulfill the Requirements to Become a Project Manager

To become a certified Project Management Professional, there are certain eligibility requirements that PMI has set, and one needs to fulfill them before applying for a PMP examination.

If you have a three-year degree or an associate degree, you must hold five years (60 months) of unique Project Management experience. Moreover, you must have spent at least 7500 hours of time leading and directing projects.

If you have a four-year bachelor’s degree, you must possess three years (36 months) of unique Project Management experience and at least have spent 4500 hours leading and directing projects. 

Step 2 – Start with the PMP Handbook

The PMP Handbook is the principal and first go-to source as this will be useful for preparing for the PMP Certification exam. This is a guide to all your queries about the process for applying and taking the exam. In addition, it covers all the knowledge areas that help you to become a Project Management Professional.

Step 3 – Become a Member of PMI

The PMP experts say that it’s worth becoming a member of PMI during the year you plan to take up the PMP exam. This is because once you become a member of PMI, you will get a discount on your membership fee and receive a free PDF of the PMBOK guide and a discount on the PMP exam.

You also get to interact and network with experienced and new Project Management Professionals, increasing your chance of clearing your exam on the first attempt.

Step 4 – Apply for the PMP Exam

Now start with your PMP application procedure. First, visit pmi.org to register and fill up your application. Once you have filled the application, kindly recheck it as you need to submit the same to PMI for verification and approval. Once you receive the confirmation number, visit the Prometric website, and schedule your examination.

Step 5 – Study the PMBOK Guide

Once you start preparing for your PMP examination, the PMBOK Guide will be your primary sourcebook which you need to study and master.

According to most of the trainers, the PMBOK Guide has around 75% of the questions answered correctly, and as per experts, the majority of the questions are from the PMBOK Guide. 

Step 6 – Get Study Materials

As stated earlier, PMBOK is the primary source but not the only source, so try to access most of the study materials available for Project Management. Nowadays, there are a plethora of study materials available online for free; therefore, you can choose any as per your preference. You also need to earn 35 contact hours or PDUs (Professional Development Unit), which can’t be earned just by reading books. 

Step 7 – Enroll for a PMP Workshop

To get the 35 PDUs, you can enroll in a PMP workshop organized by PMI chapters, training institutes, and universities across the globe. These workshops will let you interact with the trainers and other students via interactive sessions to clear your doubts and do a knowledge transfer. You can check out the Online Project Management Certification offered by Simplilearn aligned with the latest PMP exam content outline for 2021.

Step 8 – Practice PMP Exam Questions

There are a lot of free sample exam questions available on the internet; try to attempt as many you can to check your learning curve. Experts say that a sample paper score should be 90% and above, so keep track of your scores, and it’s all about practice and practice.

Step 9 – Buy a Simulator and Practice

The PMP exam is difficult, and you need to prepare for that. It is a four-hour exam consisting of 200 questions. Out of the 200 questions, 25 questions will not be scored, and you won’t be aware during the test which questions are not being scored. 

As the exam is for four hours, it’s not that often that you need to concentrate in an exam sitting for so long, in fact when was the last time you took any examination? Probably in your last semester of college. 

This is where-in a simulator comes into the picture. An exam simulator is almost a replica of the PMP examination. It gives you access to multiple PMP questions that help you to sit and concentrate. Multiple simulators are available on the internet, so look for a simulator that offers a full-length exam.

Step 10 – Take the Exam

Now, all the hard work is done, and it’s time for you to appear for your PMP examination at your scheduled time and date. Kindly don’t skip the short tutorial on using the computer and the software at the beginning of the exam to avoid any mistakes.

Conclusion

With the increase in demand for certified Project Management Professionals, it is true to say that they earn 25% more than those without a Project Management certification. These 10 steps would help you become a successful Project Manager, enable you to understand and speak the global language of Project Management and connect you to a community of experts and professionals across the globe.

 

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