How to Pass the PMP Certification Exam in Two Weeks and Why You Shouldn’t

Spoiler Alert: I won’t tell you to read the PMBOK.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

I passed the PMP with two weeks of preparation while having a full time job and I’m sharing this article so you can too. Let’s get into it!

Note: While the exam has changed slightly since I took it, PMI states that “The new PMP Exam that launched on January 2, 2021 will continue to use the [PMBOK] 6th Edition as a reference.”

What is the PMP Certification?

The Project Management Professional certification is awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and tells employers that you have the project leadership knowledge and skills needed to run a project team. In order to become PMP Certified you are required to take a 4-hour exam that contains 200 multiple choice questions; oh, and the failure rate of the exam is 40–50%. Prior to even taking the exam you have to meet the following qualification:

• A four-year degree
• 36 months leading projects
• 35 hours of project management education/training or CAPM Certification

In other words, passing the PMP Certification Exam is no easy feat; Most people spend months preparing for the exam. In the next section I show you how you can pass the exam in two weeks. In the section after that I argue why you should actually prepare for about a month.

Two Week Study Plan

Prior to the Two Week Study Period:

1. Register and pay for the exam. Don’t give yourself an excuse to push it off. Trust that you will be able to stick to your study schedule and be fully prepared for the exam.
2. Gather/Buy the necessary study resources (Total Cost = $47.03):

• Udemy: Joseph Phillips PMP Exam Prep Seminar — PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition ($13.99)
• Udemy: Joseph Phillips PMP PMBOK 6 Practice Exams Set One for PMP Candidates ($17.09)
• Udemy: Joseph Phillips PMP PMBOK 6 Practice Exams Set Two for PMP Candidates ($15.95)

Two Week Study Period:

Day 1: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 7 & 8 (2 Hours)

Day 2: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 9 & 10 (3.5 Hours)

Day 3: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 11 (3 Hours)

Day 4 :PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 12 & 13 (2.5 Hours)

Day 5: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 14 & 15 (3 Hours)

Day 6: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 16 & 17 (3 Hours)

Day 7: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 18–21 (3 Hours)

Day 8: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 22–27 (3 Hours)

Day 9: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 28–31 (3 Hours)

Day 10: PMP Exam Prep Seminar Section 31 Practice Test 2 (2 Hours)

Day 11: 6 Practice Exams Set One: Exam 1, 2, 3 and 4 (4 Hours)

Day 12: 6 Practice Exams Set One: Exam 5 (4 Hours)

Day 13: 6 Practice Exams Set Two: Exam 1, 2, 3 and 4 (4 Hours)

Day 14: 6 Practice Exams Set Two: Exam 5 (4 Hours)

Notes about the study plan:

• Yes, I’m serious. I passed using only Joseph Phillips’ materials. This is not an ad.
• On day 1 for the Prep Seminar course I started at section 7 because I knew I was in a time crunch and sections 1–6 seemed to be introductory (if you have more time you should watch them).
• I took notes by hand because I believe that this is crucial for memorization.
• Day 11 and Day 13 look daunting but, again, I was in a time crunch and I reckoned that I should get used to the 4 hour exam format anyways.
• For the exams: I reviewed every question I got wrong and wrote down a detailed explanation of the correct answer to fully understand the concept. I would argue that this step is non-negotiable. It does take some extra time, but I usually did not use the full time allotted for each practice exam so I stayed within the 4 hour study schedule.
• Course prices constantly fluctuate on Udemy, I’d recommend waiting until they fall below $20 if you have the time. For reference, I gave you the price I bought the courses at.

Why You Shouldn’t Pass the Exam in Two Weeks

I knew that I wanted to become PMP certified because it was inline with my current career trajectory and I needed the PM knowledge to guide my growing team. However, I was in the middle of my Master’s degree and quickly becoming burnt out; I knew I wouldn’t have the motivation to start something new immediately after graduating. Instead, I decided I was going to take the two week break I had in-between semesters and learn everything I could. I passed, obviously, but I could have gained so much more applicable knowledge from slowing down. Here is how I would recommend you do it:

• Follow my study guide but spend an extra day between each section thoroughly thinking through its concepts.
• Try to recreate each of the project documents in a way that is applicable to your current work, or even a future project you’d like to work on.
• Don’t stretch your preparation time-frame to longer than a month; you don’t need it. While the exam is based on processes and concepts, it is also based on terminology and simple memorization. If you wait too long, you will forget many of the terms and process concepts that you learned in the beginning.
• Take an extra day to map out your knowledge areas/processes and to study your ITTOs. I didn’t but I wish I had.
• Take a day to rest before the final exam.