Juggling Family and PMP Exam Prep: My Journey

The first month of summer is over. My daughter had lots of fun with her besties. She had play dates with each of them so far and she’s had a blast. My husband has been super busy with work, managing 2 stores (a cafe/small restaurant and an ice cream shop). As for me, I’ve been busy looking for a new role and preparing for the PMP certification.

I have set my mind to take the PMP certification on August 4, barely a month from now. I’ve started listening to audio books and reading PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge) in May. Then I took Andrew R’s 35 hour course in Udemy. I am still trying to finish the course, but I am on target to finish it earlier than July 23.

I am a full time career woman with a house to clean. I have laundry to fold, groceries to buy, and meals to prep and cook. On top of that, I have an 8 year old who’s home for the summer all day. I also have a 7-month old Shitzu puppy. These 2 little ones don’t really bother me much. I do need to check them from time to time. I make sure they are fed timely. They must have everything they need. I also have other needs to spend time with friends on weekends to fill my love tank. Needless to say, I’m juggling a lot of responsibilities while preparing for the exam.

I thought it was enough to listen to the Udemy course while I do chores and work in the garden. I did that and failed the chapter quizzes. Then, I quickly realized that I need to focus more on listening to the videos. I should practice active listening – which by the way, is one critical soft skill of a project manager!

Starting with chapter 10 of the Udemy course, I started focusing more. I did not put it in the background while gardening anymore. LOL. I took the practice mock exam last weekend. I finished the test in a little over 2 hours because we had some shopping to do. Surprisingly, I scored 72%! Just enough to pass the test! Haha! True enough, the questions on the sections that I did not actively listen to were the ones I missed. I think if I stick to the plan of going over those earlier sections, I will pass this exam.

I think the previous certifications I took like PhilNITS, Oracle Certified Java Programmer, and AWS Solutions Architect are way harder. All of these I passed. But I also took these very seriously and dedicated a lot of time preparing for them. Now the stakes are higher because the roles I’m aiming for require this PMP certification. It’s time for me to really focus and hit my daily goals. I can do this!

Note: My target exam date is August 4, 2025!!! Wish me luck! 🙂

If you have any tips in preparing and passing the PMP certification exam, please share them with me! Also, did you get hired faster with good compensation because of this certification?