“Project Management is one of the most VERSATILE skills that anyone can have.”

In this guide, I show you “How to Get a PMP Certification in Just 2 Weeks”.  

In any project, you are met with constraints in the scope, cost, and time. This is known as the “Iron Triangle”.  It determines the quality of work within a project.  Reducing the cost (budget) without changing the scope or schedule of the project could reduce the quality of work. As a project manager, you trade between these constraints.  Altering one of these constraints may affect the other two constraints.  

When it comes to pharmacy informatics, project management is a key to success.  You could be flooded with electronic health record support requests that has to be prioritized. You may be worried about hitting that a deadline so development can be on track.  You could be concerned that the budget is ballooning out of control. With many things to juggle all at once, having a strong aptitude in project management goes a long way, especially if you are working remotely.  

In this post, I describe exactly how I received my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.  With this method, I was able to study efficiently as well as effectively.  I felt prepared to take the exam within two weeks. Keep in mind, this guide focuses on the LENGTH of studying.  Completing the prerequisites and going through the application process may take much longer. I will also included a resource to obtain the 35 education hours for the PMP application (for $12.99 and online)!  Lastly, I added my scores at the end of the post.  

Follow each step sequentially

Pro-Tip:  It is good to have a Video Speed Controller browser extension to help speed through the videos listed.  

Step 1:  Watch Project Management Simplified 

• Duration:  1 hour
• Cost:  Free

• Review:  Deniz Salal does a PHENOMENAL job explaining the high level overviews of project management.  The PMP exam focuses on traditional Waterfall project methodologies. As someone who is accustomed to an Agile environment, I thought I would be at a disadvantage in learning the material.  However, Deniz is very clear in his explanations and provides relatable everyday concepts.   
• Pro-Tip:  Can watch just once for general understanding at 1.5 x speed

Step 2:  Watch for Ricardo Vargas’s General Flow of PMBOK guide (can watch just once for general understanding) 

• Duration:  1 hour 
• Cost:  Free

• Review:  One of the most daunting challenges when studying for the PMP is learning the ITTOs.  This is the “Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Outputs” for project management process groups.  It answers several key questions below.  Since there are overlapping ITTOs for many different process groups, it is easy to get confused.  Thus, it is important to start learning the ITTOs and the general flow from the start. It is much easier to have a general idea about the flow vs. figuring it out as you study.  Like Deniz, Ricardo Vargas does a fantastic job in clearly explaining the flow.
  • What do you need for a process?  (Input).
  • What methods could you use to work through a process?  (Tools and Techniques). 
  • What do you expect to develop at the end of a process?  (Output).  
• Pro-Tip: Can watch just once for general understanding at 1.5 x speed

Step 3:  MEMORIZE the flow of the SIMPLIFIED Vargas flow chart (*Critical*) 

• Duration:  0.5 to 1 hour
• Cost:  Free
• Review/Pro-Tip:  In the previous step, this had you watching a video.  This step is focusing on memorizing the simplified flow chart.  I would HIGHLY suggest using the old fashion pen and paper to memorize the simplified flow chart for processes.  

Step 4: Read over the flow of the Full version of the Vargas flow chart and continuously refer to it throughout your study time

• Duration:  1 day
• Cost:  Free
• Review:  This is focusing on the full version of the Vargas flow chart with all the ITTOs.  You can focus on ITTO memorization if you can. However, don’t overly stress since it’s quite challenging to memorize it all.  The most important part is to use it as a resource throughout the rest of your studying. 
• Pro-Tip:  Don’t stress here!  

Step 5:  Read through Andy Crowe’s The PMP Exam: How to Pass on the First Try 6th Edition 

• Duration:  5 days
• Cost:  $50-100
• Review:  A general theme of all the resources in this guide is simplicity.  This book follows this theme perfectly. If you are someone with little project management experience, this is the book for you.  It is simple, clear, and concise. The only downside is that (as a double-edged sword) it lacks detailed information.  With that being said, this is one of the key resources in how to get a PMP certification. 
• Pro-Tip:  Skip the book’s practice exams.  I would focus on the practice exams as seen in Step 7 of the guide.  

Step 6:  MEMORIZE the formulas with this video

• Duration:  5 minutes
• Cost:  Free

• Review:  In just 5 minutes, you are able to learn and memorize all of the relevant formulas for the PMP exam.  This is particularly useful when you get into Step 7.  
• Pro-Tip:  Further soften that 5 minutes by watching it at 2x speed.  

Step 7:  Practice with PM Prepcast exams

• Duration:  5-7 days
• Cost:  $139 
• Review:  The PM Prepcast is BY FAR the most helpful.  It puts your knowledge to the test. It is historically a strong indicator of how well prepared you are for the actual exam.  
• Pro-Tip:  My strategy was practicing ALL the questions in the ‘Learning’ Format.  I would practice the 5 process areas as a first pass. Then, with all the incorrect answers, I would group and study them by the 10 knowledge areas.  In this way, I would have a framed mindset when looking through these questions.  

Other Notes

• These were the only resources that I’ve actively studied with.
• For my educational hours, I used Joseph Phillips’s Udemy course.  This can give you a basic understanding of the PMP exam and project management.  You can watch these videos once at 2-3x speed.  
• In addition, I used the Rita Mulcahy book, which is another very popular resource.  I started reading it after the Andy Crowe book.  But, I personally found this book a bit confusing and text heavy.  However, many have received great results from this book as well. For more efficient studying, I only used it for the small ‘Tricks of the Trade’ section for this resource.  

Now, that’s how to get a PMP certification in 2 weeks in terms of studying.  My results were 5 Above Targets AT/AT/AT/AT/AT across all areas! Good luck to everyone and happy studying!

Check out our other blogs as well.