In today's video, we are going to talk about very important frequently asked questions about the PMP exam.

We are going to talk stuff like what is the cost of appearing for the PMP exam?

What is the passing score of the PMP exam?

How much time does it take to prepare for the PMP exam?

You do not want to miss out on any of these critical pieces of information.

Watch this video till the end.

Hi, I am Ray and I am a PMP certified project manager.

The tips and strategies that I share in this channel are exactly the same ones which were used by me to pass my PMP exam in the first attempt.

So, before we move ahead, make sure you like, share and subscribe to my channel because I bring to you the most updated and relevant content for the PMP exam which is guaranteed to make your PMP preparation fast and efficient.

So, FAQ number one, how much is the cost of PMP certification?

The cost of PMP certification as of February 2020 is 405 US dollars if you are a PMI member and if you are not a PMI member, the cost is 555 US dollars.

Now, I will always suggest that you become a member of PMI guys because you will get a lot of benefits like the free PMBOK 6th edition and the Agile practice guide.

There will be a lot of free ways which you can earn PDUs after you complete your PMP certification.

PMI runs very nice webinars which you can attend to master the skills of project management and you can also join the local chapters and events.

Now, if you want to access all these benefits, the cost of PMI membership is 139 US dollars considering that there is an application fee of 10 US dollars but still you will be at an advantageous position if you become a PMI member and then go ahead and take the PMP exam because the total cost which you will be incurring is 544 US dollars which is still less by 11 US dollars than the cost of 555 US dollars which you have to pay if you book the PMP exam as a non-PMI member.

So, question number two, what is the passing score of the PMP exam?

So, we will answer this question with a disclaimer first that PMI never discloses the pass rate of PMP exam.

So, you will see no document which actually talks about the pass rate of the PMP exam.

Now, having said that, experts have analyzed that the pass rate of PMP exam lies somewhere between 60 to 70 percent.

Again, it is a guesstimate.

There is no valid proof of these things but according to the experts, whatever they have done in the past PMP exams, the pass rate stands somewhere between 60 to 70 percent.

Now, you need to remember a couple of things here guys.

Firstly, the PMP exam is psychometric in nature.

Now, what that means is not all the questions carry equal weightage.

So, there may be a difficult question with a higher weightage of marks versus an easier question with a lower weightage of marks and that's how the marks is calculated and that is how the PMP exam also continually evaluates your aptitude as a project manager and the PMP exam being psychometric is one of the primary reasons why the exam is so difficult.

Moving on, the PMP exam has 200 questions in total and out of that, 175 questions are scored questions and 25 questions are non-scored questions or test questions which consider some new areas or new topics which PMI is exploring.

With that, the passing score is calculated based on your response on these 175 questions.

Now, as I said, not all the questions carry equal weightage.

So, do not think that if you have around 106 or 110 questions out of these 175 questions correct, you will pass the exam.

It is not that because the reason what I said is not all the questions carry equal weightage of marks.

Now, the final thing, PMI only reveals proficiency level as per the domain areas.

So, there are four proficiency levels which you will see in your PMP marksheet which starts from above target, target, below target and needs improvement.

Now, above target and target is considered pass, below target and needs improvement is considered as failure.

Now, if you fail the PMP exam, your overall proficiency level in the PMP marksheet will be below target or needs improvement.

Now, the good thing is the PMP exam does not have any sectional cut-offs.

So even if you score below target or needs improvement in any one of the areas, for example, the closing area or the execution area or the planning area, and you flare pretty well in the other domains such as initiation, monitoring and controlling, you can still pass the exam because your overall proficiency level will somewhere lie between target and above target.

Now, the final recommendation from my side will be guys, do not bog yourself down with the passing rate of PMP exam, but focus more on your preparation, on your theory, on your practical questions, try to write as many marks as possible and try to analyze those marks thoroughly.

So, focus on your preparation rather than bogging yourself down on the passing score because as we have discussed, there is no definitive answer of what the passing score of PMP exam is because at the end of the day, PMI does not disclose that.

Question number three, how much time does it take for the PMP exam preparation?

Assuming that you are studying around 2 to 3 hours per day on weekdays and 5 to 6 hours per day on weekends, the average time which will be required for your PMP preparation will lie somewhere between 8 to 12 weeks, that is 2 months to 3 months.

Now, the assumption here is very critical guys, these 2 to 3 hours per day or 5 to 6 hours per day should be dedicated to your preparation without any distractions like Facebook or WhatsApp.

So, you need to dedicate your full time in the preparation, you have to be 100% committed for achieving your PMP certification and that is when you will be able to complete the preparation between 8 to 12 weeks.

Now, the PMP exam is tough, so a sound theoretical and a practical knowledge is a must.

What I mean by that is, the PMP exam will test you with a lot of tricky questions which will require a very strong understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of the PMBOK to answer those questions correctly.

So, if you don't have it, even if you prepare a lot for the PMP exam, you will struggle with those kind of questions.

Moreover, the preparation depends on 5 key building blocks to maximize your impact.

Now, you will see a card right on the screen which will direct you to my video in the same channel where I discuss about these 5 key building blocks which are absolutely essential to maximize your impact in your PMP preparation.

So, make sure you watch that video of mine right after this video.

So, to take away from this question, it lies somewhere between 8 to 12 weeks but your preparation should be very smart and you should be 100% committed during your preparation time to complete your preparation in the mentioned time frame.