Can I take the PMP® exam without experience?

No. You cannot take the PMP exam without the required project management experience and education.

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is one of the prestigious and globally recognized certifications offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). According to PMI,s PMP handbook the prerequisites for PMP clearly states that you must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in leading and directing projects.

Eligibility criteria for applying PMP® certification:

• Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
• 7,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

OR

• Four-year degree
• 4,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

What are 4500 or 7500 hours of leading and directing projects?

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) defines a project as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.”

“Leading and directing” projects is any experience that falls under five processes of project management. The work in all the five project management processes includes:

• Initiating

 Initiating any project or sharing your ideas, creating the objective of the project or part of project management.

• Planning

Converting the idea into proper work structure, creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), creating blueprints, resource planning, building, communication strategy.

• Executing

Executing the project scope within a constrained timeframe, solving problems, quality management, cost management, and risk management.

• Monitoring and Controlling

Tracking the project, reporting the project update and changes required, performance analysis, fixing problems, resource management, stakeholder management, cost management etc.

• Closing

• Handing over, reviewing, documentation, finalizing and managing the final project report, etc.
• It is not necessary to have” Project Manager” designation in all the projects you worked on.
• 4500 or 7500 hours of experience can include all the experience you worked in project management processes. For every project, you do not need to have experience in all five process groups.
• In PMI’s PMP handbook, it is mentioned that the experience does not necessarily have to be paid work, but it does need to be in a professional setting.

What designation can be considered as a Project Management experience?

4500 or 7500 hours in leading and directing projects can be defined as an experience in any role which falls under project management processes.

A leading or directing role can be,

• Supervisor
• Team leader
• Assistant project manager
• Project Manager
• Project coordinators
• Any role participating in project management processes

You need reference related to all the projects and validation by your reporting manager to experience and description to qualify the audit process.

If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

How to get Project Management Experience?

• Step up the ladder along with your company to get project management experience. Take up a small project to lead and get experience in any of the five project management processes as mentioned above, PMI does not necessarily look for “Project manager” job title.
• To qualify PM experience, you have to keep a record of your work which includes initiating, planning, executing, managing and controlling, and closing such. Document your work with the information:

1. Industry you worked
2. Start and end date of the project
3. Reporting manager
4. Experience summary

Consider the past work experience which holds good for the definition of the project “a temporary endeavor was undertaken to create a unique product or service.” Keep a track of your work which comes with a specific deliverable and deadline.

• As mentioned above, the project management experience need not be paid work. You can take up volunteering projects to get PM experience in any of the five processes of project management.
• Create opportunities to lead the project by taking up other project management courses. Certified Associate Project Management Certification (CAPM) is one of the best project management certifications to start with. CAPM certification will help you to understand the fundamentals of the PMBOK Guide.

Recommended post:

• What is PMP?
• Key Features of PMP® Certification Training
• Top 10 Reasons to Get PMP® Certified
• How To Qualify PM Experience In PMP Application Form
• The Step By Step Procedure To Fill The Application Form

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