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How to Apply: Follow this Project Manager on the Path to Certification, Part 2 |
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by Donna Boyette February 5, 2002 In my last article, "Studying for PMI Certification," we talked about setting goals and establishing a study schedule to prepare for the PMP Certification Examination. This week we will look at the administrative part of applying for and taking the exam.  
According to my schedule, this is the week to study chapters one, two and three of "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge," better known as the PMBOK (pronounced "pembok"). That has given me time during this past week to investigate the paperwork side of things. Let's start with one of the most important kinds of paper--money. For $555 I can take the exam. Or, for less than $555 I can take the exam and become a PMI member, with benefits including career resources, annual seminars and symposiums, discounted costs for educational opportunities, and (my favorite) subscriptions to their magazine, newsletter and quarterly professional journal. (For more information, go here.) The cost to take the exam for non-PMI members is $555, and $405 for members. Individual PMI membership costs $119 plus a $10 For just $20 additional, I plan to join the local chapter (fees vary at the 170-plus chartered chapters in the Apply to Take the Exam You can download PMI's "Project Management Professional Certification Handbook," which includes the application, here. You can also apply online here. The application includes the "Project Management Experience Verification Form," in which you must document certain requirements. If you have a baccalaureate or equivalent university degree, you must document 4,500 hours of project management experience, three years of PM experience within the past six years. If you have a high school or equivalent diploma, you must document 7,500 hours of project management experience, five years of PM experience within the past eight years. The application must be submitted with the exam fee, and after passing the exam, you must satisfy the Professional Development Program requirements with additional professional courses and/or service. I have some college, but no degree, so I must meet the 7,500-hour requirement in "at least 60 unique (non-overlapping) months of project management experience." I have already mentioned that I have held the Project Manager title for a little over a year. Does that mean I have to wait four more years to apply for the exam? I have worked for my current employer for almost 10 years; the past year as a PM for our Web development team, and the previous four years as a course developer and instructor. Though my title was Instructor/Developer and not Project Manager, I was solely in charge of developing courses, creating student and instructor guides and instructing the courses. If there was a project manager to whom I reported, I don't think my work would have fulfilled the criteria. Here are the five process groups to which the requirement refers to, from page 31 of PMBOK:
My course-development work was within the five process groups, and combined with the year of Web development, it fulfills the minimum time requirements. (I am fortunate to have been at the same company during this period, because it will make the verifications easier.) If I meet my study goal I will be ready to take the exam in the middle of April. With a suggested 10-to-14-day response time after I submit my application (with exam fee), that gives me plenty of time to complete the application over the next few weeks of study. I have printed the PMI membership application, and the exam application, and filed them away. (No, it's not procrastination. They are just not on my timeline yet.) If you are also on the path to certification, I hope the above information has been helpful. You might also like to test your PM knowledge using PMI's "Online Basic Knowledge Assessment." Please don't be discouraged if you don't fare well on this quiz. You probably know more than you think, and you can always study along with me. Read more next week as I cover the first three PMBOK chapters, to give a solid foundation for the PM Processes before studying the individual Knowledge Areas. So far so good! Donna Boyette is a Project Manager working with a great team of developers and technical writers who design and develop Web-based applications for a large telecommunications company.
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