Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is a worldwide recognized credential for project managers. PMP establishes the experience, education, skill and competency required to lead and execute the projects. PMP is the most desired certification which is administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), USA.

PMI is a non-profit organization, the leader in the US and worldwide for project management certifications. The PMI was established in 1969 and now, around 3 million members are continuously supported through education, networking, and above all through the project management standards, which helps everyone to converse in a common language.

The first PMI member certificate was issued in Philadelphia in 1984 and PMI has not looked back since then. The PMP community has now grown to more than 650,000 members worldwide.

Who Can Apply for PMP?

An experienced project manager who meets the following requirements:

Professionals who are responsible for all the aspects regarding a project while being under the supervision of a senior

Every project has some constraints like the schedule, budget, and resources, people who thrive in such situations by leading and directing cross-functional teams will be greatly benefitted by this certification.

Professionals who have adequate knowledge in applying a methodology to projects that have well-defined requirements and deliverables.

Still not sure? Don’t worry check out the application tips section in the PMP handbook.

Read: Why PMP Certification is apt for you

Prerequisites

PMP Application form

Screengrab from the PMI website application form page

Now that you have learned about the eligibility criteria let us dive into the application filling process

Let us get into the basics first. It is not necessary that your designation in your current company should be the “Project Manager”. All you need to have is the work experience involved in handling a project in India or anywhere around the world. Even if you are just a part of an on-site team or working in as an offshore outsourcing capacity that counts.

Bottom line is that you just have to display that you have experience in the project management process of:

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring and controlling
• Closing

We recommend linking this to specific deliverables for better results.

The next thing on your agenda is the training requirements set by PMI. You just need to prove that you have taken 35 hours of formal project management education which is usually known by its other name contact hours.

PMP Training for Bangalore Students

Silk board traffic picture was taken by The New Indian Express

If you are a Bangalorean or someone who has just moved to Bangalore from your native place you can’t deny one thing: Bangalore Traffic! It is one thing to travel hundreds of kilometers from your place to office (yes, it is a little exaggeration but travel via silk board and even a paltry 5 kilometers would feel like an eternal journey) and it’s a whole another thing to travel to training institutes on the weekends. Many PMP aspirants feel the same way and it is not only limited just to Bangalore, so they opt for an online training course. Although traffic may be the major deciding force, it is not the only thing influencing professionals for this decision. Sometimes the reason is that their employer is not as enthusiastic as them and the employer might look for cost-effective measures. Even their job can be the reason for it. If the job is in a high-pressure environment, they will seldom get time for other things. Plus, you can avoid getting drenched in the rain if you take up an online course as you can study online or by downloading materials.

Still, prefer face to face courses? Don’t worry! Graspskills to your rescue. Graspskills has Instructor-led Live-Online Training which is the perfect option if you prefer face to face training and hate traveling. Also, Graspskills offers classroom training and E-learning choose your desired mode of learning now! Enroll in PMP Certification training in Bangalore.

PMP Certification Cost in Bangalore

PMP certification course has a fixed cost for professionals all around the world. If you are a registered PMI member (which we recommend) you get a reduction of almost $100. PMI offers a plethora of courses so as a PMI member you will be at a greater advantage.

For a registered PMI member, the cost is $405 for PMP certification

For non-registered PMI member, the cost is $550 for PMP certification

Click here to calculate the amount in INR

How many times can I apply for PMP re-examination and are there any charges involved?

PMP aspirants are provided 3 chances to pass the certification within a year. Those attempting for the second time and third have to pay an additional fee of $275 for a PMI member and $375 for a non-member. In case you did not clear it within 3 attempts, you have to wait for a whole year to re-appear for the examination.

Yes, it is a little expensive but the benefits after clearing the exam are worth every penny. We have also listed out the advantages for a PMP professional at the end of the article for your reference.

Watch: 5 Secrets: TOP 5 PMP Study Tips from Recent PMP EXAM Takers

PMP: Pattern of the Exam

The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions where only 175 matter. The rest 25 questions are called pre-test questions and do not add any marks to your score. Here is the thing, those 25 questions are experimental in nature and are tested to retain validity in future examinations. Can you just avoid those questions? It is difficult to do that since they are scattered all over the examination which makes it difficult to be recognized.

PMP is a closed exam so it is similar to the exams written during your graduation, you can not refer to any book during the examination.

PMP is a “Take a deep breath”, 4-hour long examination. Yes, 4 hours long, even longer duration than the Avengers: End Game, although you can take breaks during the exam, the clock will still be ticking.

Unlike the movie you won’t be allowed to bring the snacks, so have a healthy meal before you attend the exam. Noticed that we said healthy instead of just saying food? Because some tend to have exotic food which they have never tried before and ended up regretting it.

We have tabulated the percentage of questions which will be asked in each domain for your reference.

S. No.	Domain Area	Percentage of questions
1	Initiating the project	13%
2	Planning the project	24%
3	Executing the project	31%
4	Monitoring and controlling the project	25%
5	Closing the project	7%

Is there any passing score for the PMP exam?

Here is what the PMI says

“The passing score for all PMI credential examinations is determined by sound psychometric analysis. PMI uses subject matter experts from across the globe to help establish a point at which each candidate should pass the examination(s) and the examination point of difficulty. Data that shows how candidates actually performed is cross-referenced with the subject matter experts to ensure that the point of difficulty on each examination is healthy”

In a word that means: No. There are no fixed marks like your graduation to pass the exam. The passing percentage depends on the difficulty of the paper set by the organization. It is different for every student as no two students will get the same set of questions. Hence, if you get an easy set of questions, your score to clear the exam will be relatively higher than the student who had gotten a difficult paper. And each question is allotted different mark(s) that makes it even more difficult to estimate the exact passing score required to clear the exam.

Finding the Bangalore Test Center

Click on the image to find out the distance from your place to the center

Bangalore is one of those fortunate cities to have the PMP test center. So, if you are in Bangalore you don’t need to travel to other cities to write the exam.

The PMP exam center in Bangalore is managed by Prometric and is on the third floor of Tower B Prestige ShantiNiketan on ITPL Main Road. Go to the Prometric website, click ‘Locate a Test Center’ in the box at the top and enter your details to make your booking at the Bangalore Prometric exam center.

Click on the image above to find out how far is your place from the center and make plans for traveling on the D-day. Always remember Murphy’s law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. So, reach the center at least 30 minutes before the allotted time (give ample amount of time for problems on your journey). Go through the PMP handbook and be sure to take all the required things like your identity card, photo, etc to the exam center.

You won’t be allowed to bring in anything because all the things you require for the examination like calculator (which is usually built into the system), rough sheet, pencil, etc will be provided in the exam center. You are required to keep all your personal belongings in a locker provided by the center.

After they guide you towards the computer allotted to you, there will be a guideline video which explains all the rules regarding the exam.

When Will I Know the Test Result of My PMP Certification Exam?

Almost Instantly.

After reviewing all the questions click submit, there will be a short survey to answer.

After that, your screen will start to turn white and your test result will display on the screen. Although it happens almost instantly it may feel like forever (well, that happens for all the results, maybe the theory of relativity?)

A congratulatory message will be displayed if you have cleared the exam. And you will be informed that your certificate will reach the address provided by you to PMI in 4-6 weeks.

You can start using “PMP” in your resume, business cards, etc as soon as you see the result. After 1 week you will get a congratulatory email from PMI and you can see your name in PMI certification registry. Also, you can see your certification status in PMI account.

It is not the end of the world if you did not clear it, you can try it again.

Don’t expect your certification status to be updated immediately after clearing the exam.

PMP Bangalore: The Benefits

PMP is a globally recognized credential and it is one of the most preferred qualifications by various industries across various sectors. The reason for all of this is due to the standards maintained by PMI for conducting the courses and ensuring that all the PMP professionals abide by the strict rules put forth by it. Therefore, the professionals who are not particularly interested in PMP but apply for due to peer pressure are sodded off by making the course a tad expensive than others and the exam arduous.

Let us go through the benefits gained by PMP certification.

Great Salary

According to the Project Management Salary Survey (2018), the average salary for a PMP in India is around INR1,964,135 (the US $27,486). According to PMI, you can expect a minimal hike of 36% of your present salary. That shows the impact PMP certification has on your work life.

Job Opportunities

Since PMP is a globally accepted certification. Your resume will be automatically picked over the non-certified ones. And since it is accepted by various industries across different sectors, you can leave your boring job and try for jobs in your desired working sector.

You Are Taken Seriously

Your opinions will be respected, and the upper management starts consulting you for taking important decisions regarding the project. If your opinion matters a lot, then take a wild guess at what it will do to your confidence. Yes, your confidence will exponentially increase and that will result in having access to a quality life.

You Won’t Be Fired

Many big organizations prefer their project to be handled by a certified professional and that will increase your value to the company. And that means you will be the last person they will think of letting go even during recessions

Disadvantages

Nothing is perfect. Even PMP certification has its flaws

• The course is expensive
• It can eat up your time as it is not an easy course to pass
• The company that you work for may have no idea about this certification. Well, you can always change the company, just saying “wink wink..”.

Conclusion

That brings us to the end of the blog. This blog has given you enough information to take up the course in Bangalore. But we recommend you research more about the PMP examination before joining it, as it is a big step towards the advancement of your career also it is not that affordable either. Think of your finances and make an educated decision before taking up the course. Only you can decide when you are ready for the certification, don’t pay heed to other’s opinions.

To summarise the blog: Make sure that your training center is nearby to your location if not you can always opt for online learning. There is no fixed score to clear the exam, so you have to attempt to get correct answers for all the questions. Your result will be declared as soon as you complete the exam. Don’t worry if your certification status is not updated on the PMI website. Good things take time.

Good Luck for Your Exams!

Watch: What next after PMP?

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