Easiest, Fastest, Cheapest and Safest Way to PMP Certification

PMP aspirants often ask me - What's the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to achieve PMP Certification? My response is - pick any two. Easiest, fastest and cheapest are analogous to the triple constraints in Project Management - Scope, Time and Cost. You cannot have all three. You have to compromise on at least one of the factors (Effort, Time, Cost). For example, you can opt for an expensive exam prep workshop that can make it easy and fast for you. Alternatively, go for an online self-paced program, complemented by free sample exams and free tools on the web. That will be an economical option, but not as easy or fast as the previous option.

I added a fourth constraint - risk, and modified the question to:

What's the easiest, fastest, cheapest and safest way to achieve PMP Certification?

The question can be answered from two perspectives:

1. What's the best or ideal preparation methodology that we should follow? I've addressed this question in the article How to become a PMP in 6 Steps.


2. What's the best exam prep resources that we need to pass the exam? In this article, I'm going to address this question.

Based on these 4 constraints - Effort, Time, Cost and Risk - I've prepared 5 'recipes' for PMP Exam success. This post should be particularly helpful for people who are just embarking on their journey toward PMP certification. Read the full article to find out more.

Before I jump into the article, let me share a personal story with you.

After being away on business for a week before Christmas, I thought it would be nice to bring my wife a little gift.

"How about some perfume?" I asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed me a bottle costing $50. "That's a bit much," said I, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30. "Thats still quite a bit," I groused. Growing disgusted, the clerk brought out a tiny $15 bottle. I grew agitated, "What I mean," I said, "is I'd like to see something real cheap." So the clerk handed me a mirror.

You must be laughing at me right now. But, that's how I am, well according to my wife at least.

Let's begin by asking "What's the absolute bare minimum amount we need to spend to get PMP Certification?". There are 2 expenses that we cannot avoid:

1. Exam Fee
2. Training Fee (to get 35 Contact Hours of project management education)

(Note: Some companies conduct in-house courses, which are eligible for 35 contact hours of project management education. Check with your company's training department or HR department about any such courses.)

I break this further down into 3 categories:

1. PMI Membership
2. Exam Fee
3. Training Fee (to get 35 Contact Hours of project management education)

If you are wondering why I added PMI Membership to the list, then you have obviously not read the article 10 Benefits of PMI Membership. In short, $129 spent on PMI Membership will get you $150 discount on the exam fee. You also get a free electronic copy of the latest edition of the PMBOK Guide, which is the official guide for PMP Certification. That leads us directly into our first recipe.

1. In Recipe 1, we pay for only 4 items:
   
   • PMI Membership
   • PMP Exam
   • Self-paced Training Course
   • PMP Exam Prep Book
   In this option, we go for the most economical training option - self-paced training - that qualifies for 35 Contact Hours of Project Management training. Apart from the training course, we add one good exam prep book to the mix. Obviously, you don't want to fail the exam and risk your 550 dollars spent on the exam, do you? We do not pay for any other tool to aid our preparation. We rely entirely on free sample exams and other free tools available on the internet. This option is definitely the "cheapest", but certainly not the easiest, fastest, or safest. The following table summarizes this option:
   
   

   Recipe 1
   PMI Membership	$129
   PMP Exam	$405
   PM Training	$100
   PMP Exam Prep Book	$60
   Exam Simulator	N.A.
   Other Tools	N.A.
   Total Cost	$694
   Rating (higher score is better)
   Easiest	1
   Fastest	1
   Cheapest	5
   Safest	1

   
   
   
2. In Recipe 2, we invest $50 to $100 on a good commercial exam simulator (or a sample question set) and an additional tool to aid our preparation. This will reduce the risk slightly and also make it a bit easy and fast for us. In summary:
   
   

   Recipe 2
   PMI Membership	$129
   PMP Exam	$405
   PM Training	$100
   PMP Exam Prep Book	$60
   Exam Simulator	$50
   Other Tools	$30
   Total Cost	$774
   Rating (higher score is better)
   Easiest	2
   Fastest	2
   Cheapest	4
   Safest	3

   
   
   
3. In Recipe 3, we opt for the best quality exam simulator out there and also add another tool or a book to aid our preparation. This reduces our risk further, helps cut down on preparation time, and makes our life easy. We still opt for the self-paced online training program for 35 contact hours. In summary:
   
   

   Recipe 3
   PMI Membership	$129
   PMP Exam	$405
   PM Training	$100
   PMP Exam Prep Book	$60
   Exam Simulator	$200
   Other Tools	$60
   Total Cost	$954
   Rating (higher score is better)
   Easiest	3
   Fastest	3
   Cheapest	3
   Safest	5

   
   
   
4. In Recipe 4, we upgrade to a complete all-in-one online training course that includes the prep book, sample exams and other study aids. The average cost of such a course is about $1000. We add an extra book to go along with the course, so as to not rely entirely on one source. In summary:
   
   

   Recipe 4
   PMI Membership	$129
   PMP Exam	$405
   PM Training	$1000
   PMP Exam Prep Book	$60
   Exam Simulator	N.A.
   Other Tools	N.A.
   Total Cost	$1594
   Rating (higher score is better)
   Easiest	4
   Fastest	4
   Cheapest	2
   Safest	5

   
   
   
5. In Recipe 5, we replace the online course with an intensive 4 or 5 day classroom training or a PMP boot camp. Usually these programs provide all the material that you need to prepare for the exam and also come with a money-back guarantee. In summary:
   
   

   Recipe 5
   PMI Membership	$129
   PMP Exam	$405
   PM Training	$2000
   PMP Exam Prep Book	N.A.
   Exam Simulator	N.A.
   Other Tools	N.A.
   Total Cost	$2534
   Rating (higher score is better)
   Easiest	5
   Fastest	5
   Cheapest	1
   Safest	5

   
   

As you can see, there's no single easiest, fastest, cheapest and safest option. The most suited package will depend upon your situation. Let's talk about pros and cons of different recipes and help you determine which recipe is best suited for you.

1. If you are a business class traveler or your employer is sponsoring your training, and you can afford to take time off from work, then by all means go for Recipe 5. But note that not all training programs are created equal. So, do your homework before investing your money in any single program.


2. If you employer is willing to sponsor your program, but you cannot afford to take time-off from work to attend a full time classroom program, Recipe 3 or 4 would suit you better.


3. If you are going to bear the cost of certification from your own pocket, and cannot take time off from work, Recipe 3 may be most suited for you.


4. If you are currently unemployed, a bit tight on budget, but have plenty of time at hand, then Recipe 1 or 2 may also be viable.

Overall, Recipe 3 provides the best balance among effort, time, cost and risk. With this option, you can get certified within a span of 1 to 3 months, and under $1000.

To see a complete price and benefit comparisons and my recommended ingredients for each recipe, refer to the following document:

What is the Easiest, Fastest, Cheapest and Safest Way to PMP Certification (PDF file)

Now here's a fun project that my four year old and I did couple days ago. We put together a comparative chart of the five recipes using his Lego bricks. Who said we can't have fun while working! Take a look:


I hope you found this article useful and it helps you select the right study material for your certification. If you have other options, which worked well for you, feel free to post them in the comments section.

Image Credit: Flickr / Yui.Kubo

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