Encouragement for anyone who struggled to recognize the ROI of their PMP right away!

I FINALLY just landed my dream job and got an AMAZING offer from Lockheed Martin, 7 months after getting my PMP.

I have been a construction PM in Colorado for the last 4 years. I decided to pursue my PMP last fall since I felt I wasn't getting paid market value. (For reference I have 7 years professional experience, 4 years PM experience, a bachelor's degree, and two direct reports, paid $77k annual with no bonus). In Colorado that is not a livable wage for a single mom with two kids. I told my employer I was starting on the PMP path, and they implied that I would get a raise when I did. I studied my ass off for 3 months, took 5 full length practice tests, and passed on my first attempt AT/AT/AT in January, a week before my annual performance review.

At my performance review my manager gave me glowing, very positive feedback, and the told me I'd be getting a 2% raise....slap in the face. They didn't even match inflation, so I practically took a pay CUT after getting my PMP. I immediately started applying for every PM role I possibly could. First three months I never got a single response on over 50 applications. (These were not just "click-to-apply" apps from LinkedIn, these were carefully thought out, cover letter included, applications directly through employers' own websites).

I started to feel very discouraged because I've read so many stories from other people who immediately got 10%,15% or even 20% raises after earning PMP, or getting better offers at another company right away.

I kept applying, messaging any recruiters I could find on LinkedIn, and still another month of never hearing back or getting a couple "we regret to inform you that your no longer under consideration for the PM role" emails.

By May I was feeling so discouraged and like I had spent all those months of studying and thousands of dollars prepping for my PMP to see no return on it. FINALLY at the end of May I started getting interview requests.

I interviewed for three different roles at Lockheed Martin, got shot down for the first two and told I was "runner up" but that they ultimately went with the candidate who already had security clearance (as it costs them about $60-$70k to get someone cleared). My LM recruiter told me that it's very difficult to compete against internal candidates since the barrier to getting clearance is so high.

Walking into my third interview I was feeling so discouraged. But I put my best foot forward, did a little bragging about myself which I HATE to do but felt like I needed to promote myself since I was getting nowhere. In the interview my new manager specifically mentioned that she was interested in me because I have my PMP. The next day I got a call from the recruiter offering me the PM role, starting salary of $95k with bonus package and great benefits AND I'll be getting a clearance!

I am so happy that I decided to pursue getting my PMP and so thankful that it is finally paying off! I hope this post reaches other people who might have been feeling the way I was after earning the PMP and not seeing a ROI right away. Keep your chin up, keep applying and know that there are employers out there actively seeking PMP candidates.

​

PMP/PgMP/PfMP holder here. I've been getting a lot of questions from candidates who started studying under the old outline and are now testing after July 9, so here's a consolidated breakdown of what actually changed and how I'd adjust a study plan. Hopefully it saves someone the confusion.

What changed on July 9:

- Domain weights rebalanced: People 42% → 33%, Process 50% → 41%, Business Environment 8% → 26%. Yes, Business Environment tripled.

- Business Environment isn't the old skim-it domain anymore. It went from 4 tasks to 8 and absorbed things that used to live in Process: risk management, governance, change control, plus compliance, continuous improvement, and organizational change. At 26%, that's roughly 44 of the 170 scored questions.

- Overall task list consolidated from 35 to 26 — fewer, broader, more judgment-based tasks.

- Agile/hybrid coverage went from ~50% to ~60% of the exam. You cannot pass on predictive knowledge alone.

- New question formats: case-study sets, drag-and-drop, matching, point-and-click, and graphic interpretation alongside regular multiple choice.

- Content is aligned to PMBOK 8 and the 2026 ECO, and AI in project management, sustainability/ESG, and value delivery are now testable.

How I'd re-plan a study schedule:

1. Stop treating Business Environment as the afterthought. If your plan was built under the old outline, you probably allocated it a weekend. It now deserves 25-30% of your remaining prep time. Within it, prioritize risk management first (most-tested), then governance models, then change control.

2. Shift from memorizing to judgment reps. Almost nothing on this exam asks for a definition. Every question is a scenario — a conflict, a disengaged stakeholder, a variance — and asks what you'd do FIRST or what's MOST effective. Practice explaining WHY an answer is right, not just recognizing it.

3. Get comfortable with the new formats before test day. Drag-and-drop sequencing and case-study sets punish people who've only ever practiced A/B/C/D. Even sketching process sequences on paper helps.

4. Audit your materials. Anything published before mid-2026 is aligned to the old outline. PMI refreshed its own study materials in April for the new ECO — whatever you use, verify it says 2026.

Personal note: I didn't pass my first attempt years ago, and the reason was exactly this — I knew the material and underestimated how much the exam tests judgment under ambiguity. The 2026 version doubles down on that, hard. If your practice sessions feel like flashcards, change your practice.

For those who've already sat the new version — does this match what you saw? Curious especially how heavy the case-study sets felt in practice.

PMI is letting people who experienced 2-4 hour on line testing waits in the days leading up to the exam, a chance to retake the old version before 8/23. I just received this email today.

I’m excited to share the result of approximately one month of intensive study: PMP!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone in this group. The posts and experiences shared here were extremely helpful.

Let me first briefly share the resources I used and some information about the exam. Then, I will explain my experience in more detail.

Essential Resources for Passing the Exam:

• Sabri C.’s Udemy course. The Golden Tips videos in the course deserve special praise.
• The new Study Hall

Helpful Youtube Content

• David’s Fast Track video
• Sabri C.’s PMBOK 8 Processes video
• AR Ultra Hard Questions

By studying only these resources, I believe you can pass the PMP exam with a very good score.

Now, let’s get into the details. First, how did I study?

I left my job about a month ago, so I had plenty of time to prepare for the exam. I started with Sabri C.’s PMBOK 8 Processes video on YouTube. Actually, I had watched this video long before leaving my job. I had also enrolled in Sabri C Udemy course, but I had been too busy with work to start it.

As soon as I left my job, the first thing I did was begin the course. I completed the entire course in approximately 10 days. As soon as I finished it, I scheduled my exam.

While I was studying, the course was transitioning from the old version to the new version. Therefore, the new course did not contain any questions at that time. Sabri recently added practice exams and a mock exam to the course. I did not attempt the practice exam questions. However, I completed the mock exam last week alongside Study Hall and scored 73%.

While watching the course, I took some brief notes. After completing the course, I reviewed these notes two or three times. Then, I purchased Study Hall. From that point until the exam, I continuously solved questions and did nothing else. My Study Hall scores ranged from 60% to 78%. I also completed AR’s Ultra Hard Questions.

One week before the exam, I watched both David’s Fast Track video and the Golden Tips videos in Sabri C.’s course. My scores in the practice exams increased after watching these videos. These two resources may have been among the most important factors that helped me pass the exam.

Now, let’s talk about the exam.

I took the exam at a test center and did not experience any problems.

Many comments shared here mentioned how difficult the questions were. I was probably very lucky because the questions I received were not extremely difficult. They were certainly not easy, but the difficulty was not as overwhelming as I had expected.

There were many multiple-response questions. I had at least 15 to 20 questions of this type, perhaps even more. A few of them were connected to diagrams.

There were no mathematical calculation questions. There was only one CPM question that initially seemed to require a calculation, but it could be answered without performing one. There were also two or three EVM questions, but none required calculations.

As many people have mentioned, the first section consisted of case study questions. There were ten questions based on three scenarios. I did not encounter any other case studies in the remaining sections.

The scenarios were quite long. Understanding them and selecting the correct answers took a significant amount of time. Fortunately, there were very few extremely difficult questions in the other sections, so I was able to recover the time I had lost.

The first thing I will do tomorrow is update my CV and start applying for jobs. I hope all this hard work pays off and that I can find a new job quickly.

Wish me luck!

On Monday I passed the new exam. I did not feel very confident when I clicked "Submit" at the end, but it all worked out, and I'm proud to be a PMP. Here's my experience and advice:

Preparation

To meet the classroom requirement, I completed a 35-hour Skillsoft Percipio PMP bootcamp last year. At that point, I wasn't sure if I would ever take the exam, and looking back on it, the course was not useful as it relates to exam preparation.

My only form of exam preparation was PMI Study Hall, which I purchased 2 months ago. I know nothing about all the other tools mentioned on this subreddit, and I feel strongly that you can pass with just Study Hall, especially if you are an experienced PM who can draw from your firsthand knowledge and common sense when answering questions. Others may require some additional resources. As far as my Study Hall experience goes:

• I scored 69% on Practice Exam 1 and 76% on Practice Exam 2. When excluding Expert questions, I scored 84% on both Exam 1 and 2.
• After achieving 76% on Exam 2, I decided to forego Exam 3 and focus on reviewing Moderate and Difficult questions from Exams 1 and 2 that I either got incorrect or rated as Low confidence. This was super helpful in helping me better understand the PMI mindset and exam expectations. I was also a little concerned that I would fail the exam and not have any fresh study material, so I wanted to save Exam 3 in case I needed it for additional studying.
• I completed all 25 Mini-Exams, and like others have said before, the difficulty level skewed toward Easy on these (57% of the 250 questions were Easy). I still recommend completing each of these.
• I completed 150 of the 240 Practice Questions (50 from each domain). These are also helpful, especially if you are struggling with a specific domain.
• I reviewed all the written content, and it was not especially useful. The only exception was the content that familiarizes you with common PMP terms like work breakdown structure, schedule variance, etc.

The Exam

I took the exam at a testing center, and it was as challenging as I expected. It took me about 3 hours and 15 minutes, less time than I took on the practice exams. As many have said, the questions are less wordy than Study Hall, but the format and difficulty level are similar. They give you a scenario, usually something involving a conflict, and you respond with what the PM should do first. A few take aways that can also serve as advice:

• The break format has indeed changed. You get a break after the first 10 questions and a second break after the next 85 questions. I did not take the first break. Because the questions were less wordy, I did not feel as exhausted trying to comprehend what was being asked, and the one 10-minute break was sufficient. I found the two practice exams to be far more mentally exhausting, so hopefully that is encouraging to those concerned about stamina. I'm sure adrenaline kicked in too, once I began the real thing!
• If you don't have an immediate hunch, flag the question and come back to it. You'll feel better working on the harder questions at the end when you are less overwhelmed, knowing that you've completed the majority of the exam. I flagged 15 or 20 questions from each of the two 85-question sections.
• There were A LOT of Agile questions. Make sure you understand the difference between roles (ex. Product Owner vs. Scrum Master) and all of the tasks and responsibilities associated with anyone on an Agile project.
• There were way more multiple response questions than I was expecting - around 15 - and even one question where I had to select three of the five options. I used the strikethrough function on these questions more than the others, and it helped in attempting to deduce a correct answer.
• AI was mentioned on maybe 10 questions but did not play an integral role in selecting an answer. If you know what a project manager needs to do, you should be fine on these questions.
• I had zero questions that required a calculation.
• As others have mentioned, the case study questions come up again at random points throughout the exam. I had one case study where 4 or 5 questions were in the initial 10 question section, and then 2 or 3 questions from the same case study showed up again later. I found this slightly annoying but chalked it up as a small error by PMI, since this exam version is so new.

Hopefully this summary helps at least one of you get into the right mindset so you can pass as well. Good luck to those embarking on the PMP journey!

I have taken the PMP twice and failed both times. First try- I received BT/BT/BT.
Second attempt I received T/BT/AT.
I have one last attempt, and wondering if I should give it another try.
I have been studying PMBOK 8th edition, and have AR updated Udemy course as well as the new study hall….
Although I have been passively studying , this process has been draining and I feel as if I am loosing out on money.
Any advice…. Anyone feel the same?

I've been seeing a lot of discussion around PMI's recent retake announcement.

After trying to make sense of the announcement, reading through recent candidate experiences, and following the questions people have been asking, I realized there was a lot of confusion about what it actually means.

Some people think it means there's something wrong with the new PMP exam. Others believe everyone can request the previous version. There also seems to be a lot of uncertainty about what this means for anyone preparing to take the PMP in the coming months.

Rather than piecing everything together from different sources, I decided to put it all in one place. I wrote a summary explaining who this announcement actually applies to, what PMI is (and isn't) saying, what it means if you're preparing for the new PMP exam, and answering the questions I've seen come up most often.

The full write-up is a bit too long and would make the post longer than I'd like, so if you'd like a copy, just send me a DM and I'll happily share it.

I took AR’s mock test today. I got 82% in two hours. Yet when I take the study hall mock exam one I get 69% both times I take it. When I take Study hall, Mock 2 and Mach 3 I do better in terms of 70s. Is it just me or is the study hall Test much harder than the AR mock exam?

Hello,

I already passed my test, but I am helping a friend, and I wonder if with the new exam third3rock notes also changed? Those notes were gold for me

After extensive research on this sub, I submitted my application using all the advice in previous post from others. I was approved yesterday.

Going off of previous post I scheduled my exam and went to buy study hall and AR course to get the mindset right. I get on Udemy today and there is a sale (for another 15 hours, today 7/22), course was $14.

Just wanted to spread the word for those in doubt about buying it for the value. I have an android, so google gave me another 3 dollars off from the App Store. I couldn’t pass it up for $11.

Hopefully this helps someone. Have a great day and good luck to anyone studying for the exam!

I posted this earlier and got self-conscious so I deleted, but it sounds like maybe others are having the same issue so I'm posting again in hopes someone can help!

I submitted my PMP exam application on 7/19 using AR's new PMP Application instructions in his Udemy course. These new instructions essentially direct you to write your project experience description at a high-level based on your role, instead of listing out specific project details as PM required in the past. This makes sense, since the new format asks for organization, role, and 'experience' dates before you submit your application, similar to how a job application or resume would be laid-out. It even greys-out the 'experience end date' section if you're still in your role. Screenshot included for reference.

This morning I got a rejection notice from PMI stating that "It is unclear if the experience documented on your application is a project without a clear objective statement in the description." The online agent through PMI was also no help, so I called PMI. That rep also confirmed that they still require specific project information including duration and budget range.

I'm so lost. Am I supposed to fit multiple project descriptions for all 36 months of experience in one 500-word description? Or do I just mention more specific projects in the objectives section, but give an overview of what my responsibilities were? It doesn't seem like I should be making multiple experience submissions based on the format, but maybe I'm misreading something.

If anyone here has had their application approved recently, please let me know how your application was filled out and how you formatted your description.

Appreciate any help in advance!!!

I don't have an exam center nearby, so I plan to take the PMP exam online on 8/17. Before scheduling, I'd appreciate hearing about others experiences. I've read concerning reports about long wait times and even reversed passing scores due to proctoring suspicions, followed by difficult appeal processes. I hope these are rare exceptions. Please share your experiences and any advice for taking the exam online.

Edit: Does network loss result in an automatic fail? I read a post saying to leave your phone facing up nearby to see if the proctor is trying to call you.

I made notes on the way through of places I need improvement, and I'll go through the individual questions when I get home from an appointment.

But how prepared is this showing me to be at this point? I'm looking at the 65–75% and thinking those are Cs and Ds. 🫠

Just sat for the new PMP exam and passed with AT/AT/AT!

Like others have mentioned here, the exam started with the case study questions, followed by the first 10-minute break (which felt too soon). There were around 10 select-all-that-apply questions (more than expected), at least 5 diagram/graph questions, and 1 calculation question. The second section was definitely the toughest for me. For what felt like half the questions, I could narrow it down to two answers, but both seemed reasonable, even with the PMP mindset. Also started getting exam fatigue near the end of this section. After my second break, I felt I bounced back from section two. Finished the exam with ~15 minutes to spare.

For exam prep, I used:

- Andrew Ramdayal's Udemy course

- PMI Study Hall Essentials

- David McLachlan's YouTube videos

From Study Hall, I only completed the two full-length mock exams (with scores of 65% and 70%) and the mini exams (with scores from 60%-100%). I was honestly pretty nervous, because I've seen posts here from people who have passed and failed with scores in that range.

Anyways, good luck to everyone still studying - you've got this!

I originally failed the exam NI/T/AT on July 7th, 2026 after attempting to try to squeak by on the old exam. I had only been self-studying AR’s materials on TIA and his YouTube principles. I was crushed but I didn’t give up.

I bought SH and let me tell ya… The SH was a must. I think the questions were very similar to the actual exam. I will say, I think this version is easier if that helps anyone to ease their mind. I saw another post on here sharing about the format and they are correct. My first break was after 10 questions and 2 Case Studies. In later sections, the case studies reappeared. All of the highlights that I made did remain from the first section. Speaking of highlights, I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I highlighted key words in every single question, used the strike through feature to eliminate wrong answers, flagged questions to review and it made things easier to just look at the two answer choices that I was teetering on.

On my drive to the testing center, I found a video called the PMP Fast Track by DM. I honestly feel like that helped me calm my nerves, reminded me of the basics and gave me the small confidence boost that I needed.

If nothing else, AR’s mindset video, SH practice exams (66%, 72%; 90-100%s on the minis) and DM’s YouTube video all prepared me for the new exam.

I finished with 40 minutes to spare.

I appreciate everyone who commented on my previous post with words of encouragement!!!

If you’re struggling, keep going! You can do this!

(And I did wear blue and had a zebra cake)

EDIT: the day before the exam, I did study the wrong answers from my mock study hall exams. I studied the wrong answers and PMI tells you why their answer is right and the others are wrong. I only took their first two full length exams.
Exam 1: 66%
Exam 2: 72%

I scored 87% average on the mini exams.
Then scored 66% on the first exam? Seemed incredibly difficult.

What are people’s thoughts on the StudyHall’s exams 1,2,3 (full) in general? Worth it or adds to unnecessary preparation?

Summary

• Passed with BT/AT/BT/T (Domain 1-4 accordingly)
• Time period: Started Mar 2026, ended July 2026
• Training materials:
  • PMI-ACP Exam Prep, 2nd edition (Mike Griffiths)
  • Udemy Course (PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Andrew Ramdayal)
  • Practice exams (PMI-ACP® Practice Exam)
  • Practice exams (SkillCertPro)

Details

What went right?

• Mike G’s book was very helpful. I highly recommend reviewing it at least twice:
  • First pass: Go through all domains.
  • Second pass: Focus on your weak areas after taking a practice exam.
  • This is especially useful if you have no PMP certification (like me) or much Agile experience.
• There was a debate between PMI's StudyHall (SH) or Practice Exam (PE), I didn't try SH, and personally find PE quite useful if you want to quickly identify your weak domains though one practice exam
  • Total 120 questions
  • Difficulty: harder than the real exam, in my opinion
  • 1st attempt only 35%, 2nd only improved to 60%
• SkillCertPro (SCP) is useful as I find the format & difficulty level are similar to the final exam.
  • Total 1300 questions in 22 Practice Sets; that's ~10 full practice exams
  • I eventually got an average around 80%

What went wrong?

• Mike G’s book is very detailed, but I probably should have focused earlier on the sections related to Tools & Techniques (T&T) and Knowledge & Skills (K&S) so I would not get overwhelmed by the full ~400 pages book

Last reminder

• Use AI as early as possible, especially for the practice exam review, as it can capture your weak domain accurately and reduce your overall time & effort

Good luck & have fun!

This is an expert question, where I thought C is the best approach. The question says it is a potential risk, so I am not sure why we would perform an action of establishing relationships instead of analyzing the impacts first. Can someone please explain this?

Hello all, I’m planning to start studying for the PMP exam in a month, I’ve seen a ton of courses and study books but I was wondering if you can recommend which ones to stick to and focus on? And is a month realistically enough time to study for it?

Hello, been lurking on r/pmp and decided to give back and share my experience. Hopefully it helps someone. I passed PMP exam yesterday with AT/AT/AT taken at an exam center. For percentages, I scored 69%/69%/75% and 72% overall.

First the good: I really enjoyed learning more about Project Management. I've managed projects for several years but the company I was with had extensive OPAs/SOPs so my toolbox for doing some of the processes was admittedly small. Learning about different techniques and thinking through what situations those techniques would be useful for I definitely believe will make me a better PM. My entire study was this:

10 PDU Introductory Course offered through my company. Taken back in Jan/Feb.

Read a lot of PMBOK 7 and 8 and took notes.

AR - 200 Hard Question - Scored 77%

DM - 110 PMBOK 8 Questions - Scored 83%

Edwel Programs 75 free questions - Don't remember score but confident it was >70%

I would always answer the question first and anything I didn't know, I would write down and Google later. I also used the Index in the book to read what PMI wrote specifically about the topic.

The day before the test I caved and bought the SH. Did 65 practice questions at 78% and 7 mini exams at 87%. I'm not sure if it was really worth it but it's pretty cheap so I'd recommend it. Never did a full length test and never did longer than 40 questions in a session, although somedays I did 2-3 sessions. Looking back, I definitely don't recommend following that. Starting at like question 120-130, I found myself looking at the remaining questions frequently, wishing for a quick death. So fatigue is real.

The Bad: The PMP questions were an absolute joke in the sense that they were poorly written. For starters, many (felt like 20 or more) were missing parts of the sentence. Some simple words like "the", "and", "they", etc. Obviously it was simple enough to figure out what was missing but I felt it would disrupt my brain and force me to have to reread questions multiple times and added frustration. Worse then that was the obscurity of the questions. The AR/DM/SH questions did a great job of describing a situation and then asking a question. Several times I found myself unable to link the question to the situation. Maybe that's just my experience.

Format: Based on what I had read here, I expected the two scenarios to be just in the first 10 question section. I had the two scenarios, but was surprised to see one of the scenarios pop up again in the second section after like 40ish questions. So just something to be aware of. I never had an issue with timing. I spent roughly 10 minutes reviewing questions in sections 2 and 3 and still finished with 15 minutes.

So long story short. Really happy with the study process, disappointed in the exam quality, happy with my scores, happy it's done. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions.

For those of you who needs color and everything just written down. Maybe helpful for no one but I got these down as I went through his whole 50 questions with 50 PMP

Also a random side note of things I’m learning where I can easily drop 2 of the wrong answers. And of the 2 more correct answers and I almost always go for the one without including the team. Especially in agile this is huge. I’ve included screenshots of two of those questions as well for reference. (These are from ultra hard YouTube video)

More often than not even if the other one looks so correct - if you’re not including the team it’s wrong 🫣. So hard to mentally embed that in my brain because I come from a predictive background where my coordinators just did what was asked and wasn’t making much decisions at all lol

I took my PMP exam relying on one full-length practice exam and mini exam results from PMI Study Hall.

The PMI Study Hall indicated that I'm at Advanced Proficiency on both People and Process domains, and Proficient with Business Environment.

Banking on this analysis and trusting the knowledge gained over the course of a decade in project management, I scheduled the exam for today.

Final Performance by Domain

People - Target

Process - Target

Business Environment - Above Target

For the last 40 questions, I resorted to deep breathing as I just couldn't keep my focus 😄.

The break schedule definitely needs some review, as I'd like to think that the attention span of "normal" people has reduced drastically and 85 questions (each) in one go really messes up with your focus and hence overall performance.

I went through the AR mindset video to stay aligned with the PMI mindset and used PMI Study Hall to be aware of question pattern.

It turns out a leap of faith, powered by my project management experience, was all it took!