My thoughts and tips on how to pass the PMP exam in the first attempt

I passed the PMP exam but was very disappointed that I did not get an Above Target score. I believe it was because Statement Of Work is used only for Procurement in the PMBOK, but in the exam on several questions, it was used as a general description of the Project Charter.

• Eligibility?

You do not need to have a project manager title in your job to get the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
You just need to have had documented project experience in each of the 5 project process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.
For instance, if you are a software engineer in charge of a module, then you likely have the requisite experience.

• Difficulty level of the PMP?

I would rate it on par to one of the easier Computer Science courses in my undergraduate degree. I am remembering courses like: Theory of Computation, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Math. these were intrinsically much harder material.

• Read the question backwards. 

A PMP question often has a lot of extraneous material, though strangely enough, it was not too bad this time. Look for the question mark, then read the answer options, and then you have an idea of what the question is really asking. Now pull backwards and only read as much as necessary to answer the question.

• Do not create a "brain dump" or "download sheet".

Everybody advises spending some time at the beginning writing out your brain dump on the sheets provided, but I disagree.
I wasted 10 minutes writing out my formulas. Valuable time that could have been spent reviewing my answers or taking a break.
I did not need any of my formulas to answer the questions, except for the most basic EVM formulas.

• Do take a stretch and water and toilet break every hour.

It is a grueling exam. 4 hour plus the tutorial time plus check in time will take you to at least 5 hours in the test center. I did 3 burpees at each break in the outside area to revive my cardio!

• Wear the provided earplugs.

The Pearson VUE test center provides disposable earplugs. Wear them to reduce distractions and noises.

• Embrace the PMBOK. It should be your main or even sole textbook.

Yes, it is a dry and boring book. But as you read, ask yourself why a certain process, tool and technique and output is needed at that point. You will learn to appreciate the book. Or to put it another way, if you hate it, you will make it that much harder to pass.

• Take the PMI Challenge here. The questions resemble those on the exam, though I can't say for sure.

https://www.projectmanagement.com/PMchallenge/

• For your 35 contact hours, take an in-person class - but it's expensive.

Rita Mulcahy's PMP prep is a good choice. You can ask your employer to sponsor it.

• Join PMI to save $ off your exam fee.

Without a membership, exam fee is $550. With membership ($139) it is $405.