Why Do You Need PMP Training?

35 hours of PMP course is a prerequisite for before you take the PMP exam. The course should be aligned with PMBOK. In addition, the course should be accredited. If you do not take the course before you apply to PMP, your PMP application will be rejected.

The Language of the PMP Training

You should take the PMP course in which language you feel comfortable. If you are already a native English speaker you should take the course in English. Otherwise, if you took courses in English during your university education or if you currently use English while managing a project you may feel comfortable by a course in English.

If you feel comfortable with your native language and if PMP is supporting an exam in your language, you may take a course which is taught in your native language.

If you are a non-native English speaker, even though you took your PMP training in English, get your native language support while applying to the exam. This will be an advantage for you in the exam. Because when you ask for language support, for each question the screen is divided into two parts. At the top part of the screen, you will have the question in your language, at the bottom part of the screen you will have the same question in English. For this reason just because you took the course in English, do not avoid the native language support advantage.

How Should I Select the PMP Training?

The first thing you should be careful about is, the exam version and the course version should be the same. The different versions also have too many similarities, however, some subjects will be new, some subjects will no longer exist. The course with a different version is still acceptable for the application, but you will have to study for the differences, which will be extra work for you.

Secondly, after you complete your course you will be certified for completing 35 hours PMP training. The name in the certificate should be exactly the same with the application for the PMP exam. Plus, the names that you write should be exactly the same with your identity cards/passports. Not writing your second name, or writing your old last name or shortening your name are definitely not acceptable. If you get your certificate with a wrong name, please do insist to the training center to prepare a new certificate.

The accredited education center is important, otherwise your PMP training will not be valid. Before you take the course, please do check whether the training center is accredited by PMI or not. If you find the provider in the link that I am sharing below, you are fine. Otherwise you need to ask the provider their PMP accreditation code. And make sure you ask PMI whether the course is valid or not.

How Do I Find a Accredited PMP Course

Check the link for the accredited courses. Choose your native language at the “language” part to find the providers.

How Do I Find an Online Accredited Course?

If you do not have a chance to attend a course in class due to your location or time constraints, you always have a chance to look for an online PMP training provider.

If you feel comfortable by taking your course in English, I can recommend an online training provider. I also used the online option when I got my course for PMBOK 5. Now it is available for PMBOK 6, you can find at the link that I provide. The course instructor is Joseph Phillips and the course is in Udemy. Udemy mainly give discounts through the year. If the course is expensive for you, you may wait for those discounts. It becomes lower than 20USD most of the time. And the training is accredited.

Project Management Courses in Universities

If you took a project management course for a semester, good news! Your course is valid for PMP. However you need to validate this option with your instructor, and check with PMI.

Does My PMP Training Is Still Valid?

If you took a PMP training a long time ago, this section is for you. I had this kind of experience before.

If you got a PMP course before, it is valid for 3 years. It is okay if you got a different version. Just make sure you refresh your knowledge before you take the exam.

If you took the course more than 3 years ago, then you should take renew your training.

Extra Practice for PMP and Support Materials

Only taking a 35 hours PMP training course will not be enough to pass the PMP exam. You should solve test questions and be familiar with different types of questions to succeed.

You may get Joseph Phillips’ practice sets in Udemy. However, if you already took his course, then you will feel familiar with the question sets that he provides.

“Head First” is highly recommended supporting material. It is in English. In this material, the concepts are presented by examples and there are many different types of exercises. However it is not the formal material that you can use, your formal material is PMBOK.

During your PMP studies, I highly recommend for you to be a PMI member. Becoming a PMP member comes with a price, but it also gives a discount while applying for PMP. So membership becomes free. PMI members can access PMBOK’s English PDF material for free.

After you create a PMI account, become a free member to projectmanagement.com with signing up your PMI account. After you become a PMP you will use that account to collect PDUs. For studying PMP exam, there are free questions for you to practice. Plus, you will earn badges for motivation 🙂

Did the same questions appear in the PMP exam? Of course not. However, all the test questions that I solved helped me to understand project management concepts. The questions in the PMP exam requires your comments on the concepts. So make sure that you do not memorize the concepts. You need to understand them by heart.

Summary

Passing the PMP Exam is neither a miracle nor a talent. The project management experience is valuable, but it is not enough by itself. You need to study hard to pass this exam.

I wish you good luck.