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PMP Exam Preparation – Prerequisites and Syllabus

PMP Exam Preparation Prerequisites and Syllabus

The PMP certification is a standard to evaluate the abilities of project managers, which is governed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and recognized globally across industries for the standard it has set for itself to the value it provides. 

Project managers holding a PMP certification to their name always get special attention in the organization and the hiring process compared to non-certified project managers. The reason is pretty straightforward as the PMP certification is acknowledged across all domains and certified project managers are always on the top demand in the market.

PMP Exam Preparation Prerequisites and Syllabus

In this blog, we’ll walk through the prerequisite syllabus, along with how to prepare for the PMP examination. If you’re looking for how to crack PMP certification on the first attempt. Let’s get started here. 

PMP certification is the gold standard certification every non-PMP certified project manager looks for to get PMP certification to see growth personally and professionally and take their job to the next level. 

The Prerequisites:

Prerequisites

If you belong to the above category, here are the prerequisites you must know and fulfill to get started with PMP certification.

The prerequisites for PMP certification fall into two categories: one for graduation holders and the other for diploma holders.

Prerequisites for Graduation Holders:

  • Formal education – four-year degree course in any discipline.
  • Project management experience – three years of leading projects. 
  • Training – 35 hours of project management experience or CAPM certification. 

Prerequisites for Diploma Holders:

  • Formal education – three-year diploma course in any discipline.
  • Project management experience – five years of leading projects. 
  • Training – 35 hours of project management experience or CAPM certification. 

From the above, you’ve already got the idea about formal education. But what about the project management experience? Three years and five years of project management experience is not the only thing, here’s is more to it: the experience shouldn’t overlap and be within the last eight years.

About the training: You should join a training institute that provides the PMP certification training, giving you 35 Contact Hours or Professional Development Units (PDUs) that will fulfill the first prerequisite. That was all about the prerequisites that you should know for PMP certification.

Also Read: Bing Ads Accredited Professional Certification Exam Answers

Now, it’s Time for the PMP Syllabus:

PMP Syllabus

PMI keeps track of what’s happening in the industry and always incorporates those into the syllabus every five years through adequate research so that project managers can get the most benefit of it using the following trends and technologies. 

Therefore, PMP-certified project managers are paid the best in the industry. Here is what you need to know about the PMP syllabus:

The latest change in the PMP syllabus was in the year 2020, where instead of five ECOs, PMP revamped its new syllabus to 3 ECOs adding more quality to training and certification. The three ECOs to PMP certification are People, Process, and Business Environment, having weights of 42%, 50%, and 8% to sum up as 100%. 

The new syllabus focused more on hybrid and agile technologies. 50% of the syllabus is based on them. And now is the most nostalgic part:

In the past, there were 200 questions, but now there are 180 questions. The time duration has been shortened by 10 minutes, from 240 to 230 minutes. It is why the PMP exam is quite challenging, and you have to plan it deliberately to crack it on the first attempt. 

How Should You Prepare for PMP Certification (Quick and Simple Guide)

Prepare for PMP Certification

Understand the Changes in the PMP Syllabus Inside Out.

The above PMP syllabus I mentioned was just an outline of the PMP syllabus, that will give you the basic ideas of where your focus should be more and what percentage of weight it carries on the exam paper. Those were not enough to have a complete understanding of PMP certification as they have multiple sub-topics below them. 

Therefore, point out the essential topics with the most probable questions on the exam paper. Those topics require special attention — so read them thoroughly and start making notes on the first day itself and keep learning them.  

Read These Two PMP Books At least Three Times. 

To ace the PMP exam on the first attempt, you need to master two books, not as a whole but all crucial topics — at least three times. Those books are like the bible for the PMP exam — the PMBOK guide by PMI and PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy. 

Training is not enough to clear the basics — you need these two books. When you master them, you are far ahead of them in exam preparation. The probability of clearing the exam is very high in the first attempt with simple solutions to all the complicated concepts. 

Give Simulated Tests To Analyze Your Strong & Weak Zones 

Give at least five tests, one after another, and consider them seriously; missing one of them might cost you huge. And again, the best-simulated tests are from Rita Mulcahy. She and her team have highly organized the test.

By appearing, those tests will give you in-depth knowledge about each topic and put you in real-time PMP challenges that come as the PMP questions. You can trust them blindly as they are the best and play a pivotal role in career success. 

Work on Weak Areas and Come Out With Flying Colors 

Exams are there to evaluate you, so you understand your strong and weak zones; work parallelly on them, and score better marks on your last test. It’s how you grow, and you should work on it seriously. Doing this will not only help you score good marks but boost your confidence to tackle any challenges on your way. 

Here’s the pro tip: give at least five tests at the end of each week, see where your average goes — if it goes above 80%, there are higher chances you’ll crack in the first attempt. 

Also Read: Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional Exam Answers

End Words:

In this blog, you got everything you wanted to know about PMP certification, from the essential prerequisites to details about the change in PMP syllabus and a little overall about the PMP exam, no of questions and time limit for the same. Again, you got to know how to prepare for PMP certification with (a quick and straightforward guide) in four steps. 

So what are you waiting for next? Start preparing for PMP and crack your PMP certification on the first attempt. All the best to you. 

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