PMP Prep Course FAQ
The Project Management Professional (PMP) credential establishes your dedication to professional project management. To gain the PMP designation, you must satisfy certain educational and professional experience requirements, as well as, pass a rigorous 200-question exam.
Having the PMP designation provides a quick way to re-energize your career and can open you up to global opportunities. Many positions within the field of project management now require or highly suggest securing your PMP. With a little dedication and focus, it is possible to receive the PMP designation quickly and for a fraction of a university degree.
To earn the PMP, you must complete the following:
• Submit an application to the Project Management Institute
• Meet eligibility requirements
• Pass the PMP exam
• Adhere to certain professional standards
Completing the Application
If you apply online, the entire application process for the PMP takes about 10-15 business days. Schedule at least 10 hours of your time to complete and review the application.
Application Review
According to the PMP Handbook, an online application will be reviewed and acted upon within 5 business days.
Application Audit
The Project Management Institute does selectively audit a percentage of applications. Therefore, it is important that you take care in the accuracy and veracity of your submission. Generally, an audit will be completed within 5 business days of selection.
Eligibility
To qualify to sit for the PMP exam, the PMP Handbook states that a candidate:
• Perform their duties under general supervision and are responsible for all aspects of the project for the life of the project.
• Lead and direct cross-functional teams to deliver projects within the constraints of schedule, budget, and scope.
• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge and experience to appropriately apply a methodology to projects that have reasonably well-defined project requirements and deliverables.
As usual, there is some room for interpretation in the eligibility requirements. Many times, candidates believe that they must hold the Project Manager title in order to be eligible. In our opinion, this is not the case.
As the handbook asserts, an eligible candidate must be “leading and directing project tasks”. You could be a project lead, project coordinator, or a project contributor who leads a small team through an entire project or just one aspect of a project lifecycle.
However, all project management experience must occur within the last eight consecutive years.
| Category 1 PMP Designation |
If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent, you need a minimum three years of “unique non-overlapping professional project management experience” during which at least 4,500 hours were spent leading and directing project tasks”.
Remember though, PMI looks at months and hours as separate requirements. When you work on two projects during the same month, you can count only 1 month toward the requirement. However, the total hours worked during that month on both projects can be applied to the 4500 hours necessary.
| Category 2 PMP Designation |
If you have a high school diploma, associates degree, or global equivalent, the requirements are different. In this case, you need a “minimum of five years unique non-overlapping experience during which at least 7500 hours were spent leading and directing project tasks.”
| Contact Hours of Project Management Education |
In addition to your project management experience, you must verify at least 35 contact hours of specific instruction that addressed learning objectives in project management. According to the PMP handbook, “document all education hours regardless of when they were accrued”. We interpret this to mean – learning is forever. Any training/academic course you have taken during your career can apply. However, the course must include content on the following:
• Project quality
• Project scope
• Project schedule
• Project budget
• Project communications
• Project risk
In our opinion, it is not necessary to have “Project” or “Project Management” in the title. A generic “Effective Communications” training class should count toward the requirement, as long as, you believe the course content could be applied to a project-based scenario.
PMI® considers almost all employer-sponsored training courses/programs as meeting the requirement. If you have participated in training courses throughout your career, you most likely do not need to take additional training to meet the eligibility requirement. Possible sources of training could include the following:
• Employer/company-sponsored courses
• Training companies and consultants
• University/academic programs and continuing education
Just be aware that your previous training courses are not the same as a PMP Exam Prep course. Only an Exam Prep course will prepare you specifically for the test.
Call to speak to an EdWel PMP-certified Academic Adviser. They are specially trained to help you get certified quickly and easily
