How I Became a Project Manager Professional – Part 2

In my previous post I shared about how I transitioned into the role of a Project Manager. Now I am going to share about the specifics of how I acquired the very coveted PMP certification. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has very clear instructions on how must one go about applying to be a PMP and I will be walking you through each and every step.

1. Experience

First, one must already have some experience leading or facilitating projects. Based on your level of education, this could be either 3 years (four year degree) or 5 years (secondary education diploma). Since I already had an undergraduate degree, I just needed 3 years of experience which thankfully I had by the time I was exploring this formal certification.

I know this could be tricky for some newbies who may be in a catch 22 situation where experience may not be easy to come by without a formal position. Not to worry, you do not need the job title of a project manager to lead projects. However, what is important is that you familiarize yourself with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the methodology for leading projects so you can make sure you are applying those principles in the work you do.

2. Project Management Training

Next, one must have some level of formal training in Project Management. Minimum is 35 hours. In my case since I had already been learning about Six Sigma, a quick cross check on the PMI website confirmed that the course I had taken was valid for this eligibility. If you are looking to apply and do not yet have this training, not to worry, there are plenty of options. The learning area of the PMI site allows you to search its site and the training partners who’s courses will meet the criteria. And in most cases your employer may be willing to cover the cost of the training.

3. Gathering the Information

The next thing is to organize all the information so you have all the data in one place. I used a spreadsheet to keep track of my past projects, the hours, the contacts, duration and other details. This is very important. PMI randomly selects applications for auditing. I know at least 2 colleagues who’s applications were audited. So, you want to make sure that every data you are providing can be verified by others in your team who’d be willing to vouch for the work you did.

4. Create a PMI Account and Submit Application

Yes, you will need to create an account on PMI.org to kick off your application process. This is simply creating a user login and password. This is as no cost. There is also a PMI membership which has a fee associated with it…but I will cover that later.

After you have your account created, you will initiate the application and begin filling it online. You can save as you go along. This is where you will have to begin entering in all the data you had gathered in the previous step. I recall I took several days to complete the application because I had to go back and find some of my old files to collect the additional pieces of information needed. But I made sure that I captured in my spreadsheet every piece of information I was also putting into the application.

Finally, you submit. And you can also download a PDF version of your application. I still have my PDF copy to this day that I refer to every now and then.

5. Schedule and Take the Exam

Once you get notified that your application has been accepted, you are free to pay for and schedule the exam. WARNING: The fees are pretty steep. They were high when I took the exam back in 2011 and they are even higher now. Fortunately, in my case, my employer covered the cost and I did not have to pay out of my pocket. So, definitely check if you can get your employer to cover the cost as well.

Note About PMI Membership

You will see that the fees are much higher for a non-member versus a member. So it is highly recommended you become a PMI member because the cost of membership is usually less that the difference in the cost between the member and non-member rates. Plus you get other perks with your membership. For example, the PMBOK download is included.

Preparing for the Exam

When you schedule for the exam, you do want to take into consideration the about of time you will realistically need to prepare for it. I gave myself 4 months. I had submitted my application on April 7th and took the exam August 5th of the same year. This is not an exam to pass on first try but it can be done with due diligence and proper preparation. There are always several bootcamps and training programs to help you pprepare for the exam but I did not use any of those because I really did not have the time. How I prepared and passed the exam on my first attempt will now have to wait for my next post…

Stay tuned.