I'm often asked what my journey to earning the PMP (the gold standard for project management certifications, worldwide) looked like. How long did it take? Was it hard? How much did I spend? Would I recommend it? (Cliffs notes at the end!)

And so, without further ado, here's a quick and dirty overview:

Timeline

I first learned about the PMP (and, really, project management in general) midway through my MBA in the summer of 2018. Project management is a weird field: you can take an entire MBA without ever taking a specific class about it, even if your concentration is management (ask me how I know). I'd happened to take a class on innovation management with a faculty member who was a PMP, and he invited a panel of fellow PMPs to speak with us about the discipline after class one day and I. Was. Sold. I knew I wanted to learn more - but I didn't know how, so I spent a few aimless months Googling. (In retrospect this is probably how/when Caroline Manages was actually born.)

At the same time, I was starting get serious about what my next steps in higher ed would be. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that I just wasn't living and dying for student development the way my closest colleagues were, and I was starting to understand that there might be a life for me in project management (though at that time I had grand dreams of applying the discipline to higher ed, before realizing that higher ed wasn't as interested in this as I was). I asked my supervisor for his buy-in very early on in the process, and he was supportive - probably because I was able to demonstrate concrete examples of how it would make me more efficient with respect to both my core job duties (Student Activities & Engagement, at that time) and my ancillary department responsibilities. That said, at that time the ask wasn't super specific - I kind of just wanted permission to daydream.

I spent that fall of 2018 learning more about options for certifications, and in January 2019 decided to get really serious about the PMP. I spent nine months self-studying - I've heard of people moving faster, but in general I hate rushing, and I was also working on an MBA and working full-time - and applied to sit for the exam in July 2019. In September 2019, I passed it on the first try.

Cost

Before we get into cost, you should know a few things up-front about the PMP:

• You have to apply to sit for the exam. The application process itself can be a bit of a bear if this is your first time directly translating your student affairs work into project management language - you'll need to demonstrate 36 months of experience leading projects, broken down by project domain.
• In order to apply, you also need to demonstrate 35 hours of "project management education". This can be anything, so the temptation is strong (or, at least, it was for me when I first started learning about PM) to take a Udemy course and call it a day. Do not skimp here. Ultimately, please choose a PMP-specific (not just PM) prep course that includes access to lots and lots of exam simulators. I am a formal referral partner with MindsparQ®, and they also offer a guarantee that students will pass their exam. Use the code CAROLINE10 to receive 10% off your registration! Cost here: $1890 after discount code (in 2023)
• Once you complete enough of the course to have the 35 hours referenced above, you can apply to take the exam. Once you're accepted, you pay to sit for the exam. Cost here: $405 (in 2022).
• If you don't pass the first time, you can retake the exam twice (so a total of 3 attempts). Cost here: $275 per re-attempt, as needed (in 2022).

A lot of the reason I chose to take my sweet time studying was because I knew the first-time pass rate is only about 70%, and I'd received professional development funding for the prep course and the exam, but it was going to be a tough sell (and also pretty humiliating, which is not the advice I'd give to someone else but I am only human and unfortunately vain in this particular way - with respect to achievement) to have to ask for funding to re-take it. I also frankly know myself and I knew it was going to be tough for me to get back on the horse after a fail - so I did my very best to avoid this circumstance by giving myself allllllll the time I thought I needed.

Study methods

My number one piece of advice if you're serious about the PMP is get a study buddy. My accountability partner was a friend a few states away who was also looking to pivot out of higher ed and into project management. Here's what we did:

• January 2019: Gathered materials (remember, we were figuring all this out on our own - my blog didn't exist yet 😉). Ultimately, this looked like 1) selecting our prep course, 2) figuring out wtf the application process even meant, and 3) figuring out what the PMBOK even was (this is why I always go out of my way to show pictures of it and explicitly state that it is a book) and then ordering it.
• February - May 2019: We worked through the modules one week at a time, and then we met via Zoom (before it was cool! is it cool?) to discuss anything we were still confused about. This worked well because if we were both confused, it was validating (lol), and if one of us felt strong about a topic the other was confused about, it gave us a chance to practice explaining it to each other.
• June - September 2019: Almost every single Saturday, we took a practice exam. I failed a lot of them at first. The PrepCast gives INCREDIBLY detailed score reports, so then we'd go back and make notes about which specific sections we'd performed poorly in, and study those in the upcoming week. We'd also study the specific questions we got wrong - though sometimes you can get a bit locked into specific wording rather than actually learning new concepts that way. I genuinely believe that grinding out these practice exams is the reason I passed the exam - I don't mind telling you by quite a large margin - on the first try. This is why I feel so strongly that whatever exam prep you choose, please (PLEASE!!!) choose one with an exam simulator.
• September 14, 2019: Caroline Horste becomes Caroline Horste, PMP, goes out for Noodles & Company because something fancier feels exhausting, and then takes a nap at 6pm.