How I Passed the PMP Exam: The Hardest Test I’ve Ever Taken
Exciting News: I’m Officially PMP Certified!
Getting my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification felt like a quest straight out of Hogwarts. You know, the kind where you’d need Hermione’s study skills, Harry’s courage, and a dash of Felix Felicis (Liquid Luck) to survive. With hundreds of flashcards and hours of practice exams, passing the PMP felt like my own Triwizard Tournament—only with more SharePoint Lists and fewer dragons.
The Bootcamp That Launched A Hundred Flashcards
After years as a Project Manager at a Fortune 50 company, I was swept up in tech layoffs. To stand out in the job hunt, I realized I needed to learn the “official” wizardry techniques of “herding cats,” also known as Project Management. I enrolled in a four-day PMP bootcamp from Educate 360. In a hotel conference room with a small but mighty group of classmates, we braved the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide, cover to cover. Imagine cramming an entire semester of Potions into one intense week—it was like a turbocharged crash course at Hogwarts for PMs.
Our instructor was brilliant—think Professor McGonagall with a sense of humor—and she left us with a piece of advice: before sitting the real exam, score at least 70% on two practice tests. That sounded reasonable… until I actually took one.
Here’s how my 4-hour practice exams went:
March 19, (Practice Exam 1): 59% – Ouch. I haven’t seen a score that low on a test, ever.
March 25, (Practice Exam 2): 60% – Getting a little better, but I might need a Pensieve for all these terms. I decided to make physical flashcards hoping that writing down the questions I’d missed with the corrected answer might help.
April 1, (Practice Exam 3): 56% – April Fools, apparently. At this point my confidence took a nosedive and I turned to digital flashcards.
April 9, (Practice Exam 4): 64% – Some progress, but I still felt like a muggle.
April 13, (Practice Exam 5): 62% – Noooooo!!!!! Commence to re-reading the entire book, all my notes, all flashcards, day and night.
April 18, (Practice Exam 6): 68% – Seriously?! This was supposed to be the “magic spell” that helped me land a job and all I could hear was Hermione Granger, “Are you sure that’s a real spell? Well, it’s not very good, is it?”
24 Hours of Exams, And I Quit
I didn’t want to waste any more time, effort, or money on a certification I couldn’t pass. In that moment of desperation, I enrolled in Google’s Project Management Certification on Coursera. It wasn’t the PMP, but I figured 170 hours of video lessons and hands-on projects couldn’t hurt. Surprisingly, this course, which uses the PMBOK methodology, was as easy as “Alohomora” (the spell to unlock doors). I breezed through the tests, scoring 90-100%. This was a huge boost—it meant that I knew the material. The challenge was getting past the mind-bending question style.
Facing The PMP Exam: My Final Duel
Armed with a new strategy, I decided to stop overthinking and took the actual PMP exam in October. Those four hours were intense. The format was grueling, but I had practiced: three rounds of 60 questions with two 10-minute breaks. What I didn’t anticipate was the non-ergonomic desk in the testing center, which was brutal on my neck and shoulders—I was practically sending out a Patronus by question 30.
By question 75, I had no sense of how I was doing, had the worst headache, but I knew I had to power through. Retaking this test was not an option I wanted to consider.
The Art of Surviving PMP Curveballs
PMP questions are like riddles from the Daily Prophet. Take this gem:
Sample Question:
You are the new Project Manager for a project that’s already in execution. The prior Project Manager is out on sick leave and you don't know if they'll return. The project team has been working together for a year but are having daily arguments about how to move forward with this project. What do you do first?
A. Meet with stakeholders to understand the goals of the project.
B. Meet individually with team members to understand their concerns.
C. Review the project charter.
D. Review the team charter.
Every answer seems reasonable. But in PMP world, you’re new to the project—so the “most correct” answer is C - Review the project charter. Not once in my very successful career as a Project Manager had I seen a project charter, but it would have been nice to have. Just remember that real life doesn’t matter in this test, PMP logic has its own rules, just like the Hogwarts staircases.
My Top Tips for Passing the PMP Exam
1. Take Multiple Practice Exams (But Not Too Many):
Four-hour practice exams might drain your willpower faster than a Dementor, but they do build stamina and teach you how questions will be worded. I’d suggest doing a few and analyzing your mistakes to spot trends.
2. Embrace Flashcards:
PMP loves jargon and understanding the Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs of the 49 project management processes. Flashcards helped me stay sane. Pro tip: don’t worry about memorizing every formula—focus on understanding the what the formula is used for.
3. Know When to Let Go:
Overthinking can feel like staring into the Mirror of Erised. At some point, you have to trust your preparation.
4. Do a Brain Dump:
At the start of the exam, I wrote down all the key terms and formulas that were the most challenging for me. I practiced this twice the day before the exam and reviewed it in my car for 10 minutes before I checked in for the exam. This took off some pressure and helped me focus.
The Financial Side of PMP Certification
To anyone considering the PMP, know it’s not just mentally taxing—it’s pricey too:
Educate 360 PMP Bootcamp: $1,995
Project Management Institute (PMI) Membership: $184
Member Discounted Exam Fee: $425
Total: $2,604. (And that’s not counting my out-of-state travel for the bootcamp!) But if it opens up new opportunities, it’s a worthwhile investment—even if it cost more than a Nimbus 2000.
Closing Thoughts: Finally Free
With the PMP exam behind me, I feel like I’ve been handed my very own Marauder’s Map for project management. And while I was a solid Project Manager before, knowing the “official” approach has me so excited about the next project I take on. Here’s to never taking that exam again! (As long as I complete 60 Professional Development Units of continued education every 3 years to maintain the certification.)
To anyone else with big goals in their sights, keep going—the journey’s tough, but accomplishing something hard is magical. Click on the link below for the resources I recommend for passing the PMP.
Wishing you the best!
