Are you preparing to take the Project Management Professional Exam?? I'm here to help you. This is my story.

The Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a global qualification program in Project Management overseen by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

I wrote the PMP paper based test in Lagos on May 7th 2016 as the CBT has been cancelled in Nigeria for some years now, and I passed at first attempt! I'm here to assist those who are also seeking to obtain this global certification.

How I prepared / Study Materials I used

After attending the compulsory 35hrs of PM training, I spent exactly 5 weeks of study. Developed a study guide/ daily time table and was reading for about 5-6 hrs per day since I wasn't working so I studied full time.

I used Rita Mulcahy's book "PMP Exam Prep" which I read over once and revised it once. I watched all the PM prepcast videos by Cornelius Fitchner and listened to all the audio CD's in Andy Crowe's "Conversations on the PMP exam" these three materials were all very very good and I strongly recommend them to anyone preparing to take the exam. The advantages of studying with the audio and video materials is that they help to minimize your study time and are specially designed for busy people who do not have much time to be reading through volumes of literature.
I also have 150 PMP flashcards that contain questions and answers/explanations on them aimed at giving you a retentive memory on the key information/knowledge that you require for the exam.

I never read the PMBOK guide as it was too boring, complex and difficult to understand so I only used it as a reference guide. The PMBOK guide in itself is inadequate as it only covers about 70% of the content of the PMP exam. You'll need to use additional materials as well.

I took all the tests in Rita's book and scored on average 77.5%. I also took all the assessment tests at the end of all the prepcast videos and scored an average of 79%. There are lots of tips, tricks and secrets for preparing and getting the answers right in the exam which I learnt from the study materials I used.


Total Cost of the exam and preparation

PMI membership registration - $139
PMP exam fees - $250 (for paper based test)

Overall I spent about 240k for the PM education training, exam fees, registration as PMI member, study materials etc. You don't have to spend that much as I'm here to guide you. But a serious minded candidate for this exam would have to budget at least 220k for everything especially due to the USD /NGN currency exchange rate.


Before the exam

A week to the exam I felt I hadn't studied enough so I was scared that I might not pass so I tried to postpone / cancel the exam but I found out that it wasn't possible on the PBT . To cancel or postpone a PBT you'd have to do it 35 days prior to the exam. I eventually just decided to take the exam anyway based on what I had studied so far. I visited the exam venue 3 days before the exam to be sure of the exact location of the venue so that I don't have to start looking for the venue on the day of my exam.


The exam day

I got to the exam venue 2 hours before the exam start time to avoid any unforeseen situations such as traffic or vehicle breakdown. The invigilators didn't allow us to use the dumpsheet before the exam started unlike on the CBT that you are given 15 mins before the exam to use the dumpsheet. There weren't more than 4 calculation questions and they were quite easy. Overall I felt the exam was very difficult as I only answered about 185 questions out of 200. I had to just guess the remaining 15 questions. I felt my chances of passing were 50:50. I had made up my mind that if I didn't pass, I would just resit the exam 3 months later in August. So I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.

The results came out after 10 days by email as it was a PBT. I passed and I'm PMP certified now!!


Are you preparing to take PMP exam in Lagos? Would you like to have the study materials I used? then send me an email at a2space2015@gmail.com and request for the materials.

Only contact me for the materials if you've taken the required 35 hrs of PM training or you're about to and if you're planning to take the exam very soon.

Please read the post below before contacting me for the study materials.

I will also share with you some tips and tricks for passing the exam on the first try.

There are two groups of individuals who seek project management certification.

(i) Those who have Project Management experience and have managed project teams before and
(ii) those who haven't managed project teams and have little or no PM experience.

Now before you contemplate writing the pmp exam, it is essential to note that PMI offers two distinct certification exams, Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).

The PMP is for those who have demonstrated at least 3 years of work experience and competence in leading and directing project teams while the CAPM is an entry level option for those who are new to project management or are still trying to figure out your career path.

So if you're not sure that you have enough PM experience or are somewhat new to PM , then you have to register for the CAPM exam instead. Because when applying for the PMP exam, you would be asked to demonstrate your PM experience in the application form.

To sit for the CAPM exam you don't need any PM experience, you only need 23 hours of PM education training. Youth Corpers and fresh University graduates are not eligible to take the PMP. You have to take CAPM. You need at least 3 years work experience in leading and directing projects before you can take PMP.

Also note that it is the same preparation materials that you'd require for both examinations and the CAPM exam is a lot easier to pass.

Please contact me for the materials only if you've already gone for the required 35hrs / 23 hrs of training at a registered education provider for PMP / CAPM or you're about to and you plan to write the exam very soon my email address is a2space2015@gmail.com