PMP Lessons Learned - by Brandon Pettersen, PMP

“I prepared PMP exam schedule backwards, by first setting an exam date and working out a study plan”, says Brandon Pettersen.

Brandon is Air Force Technical Sergeant from Boston, MA. He is a certified Project Management Professional with Direct Military Communications Security experience from safeguarding Executive Transmissions and supporting Systems Infrastructure. Brendon guides special access programs and their implementation.

In this article Brandon shares how he approached PMP exam preparation, all the way till the exam experience.

What made you to take up PMP?

I am interested in being a Project Manager upon leaving the Air Force and have done it within my career for years, so it was finally time to be certified and educated in it.

I wanted to have a real understanding of the process and methodologies used. Preparing for the course showed me how much I needed to learn, as well as how much more there is out there.

Studying for this certification taught me a brand-new way to study, prepare, and retain knowledge.

This is also one of the hardest type of tests I have ever taken, so it gave me new insight into what information to focus on, how to mentally prepare for a 4-hour test, and how to really read and understand scenario-based questions.

Which study resources did you use?

I started by attending a boot camp with Vets2PM, followed by a self-made study guide in Microsoft One Note, as well as reading Andy Crowe’s PMP Study Prep (ad) book.

Also read: My recommended PMP exam study resources

How did you approach the exam and what was your study plan?

Like I mentioned I worked out my PMP exam schedule backwards. As soon as I finished the boot camp, I immediately applied to take the test with PMI, and set a test date for 30 days later.

I wanted to make sure I took the test while it was still fresh on my brain and the motivation hadn’t worn off.

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