Hey everyone! Welcome to our all-inclusive PMP Boot camp guide, where we will discuss everything you need to know about PMP Boot camps and how they help you prepare for the PMP exam.
After reading this article, you’ll certainly be able to determine if PMP Boot camps are the right path for you to enhance your PM career.
The key topics that we will cover in this article include:
With that said, let’s jump right into it.
A Quick Intro
Being a Project Manager Professional (PMP) does not require you to be a technical whizz of some sort; instead, it requires a comprehensive understanding of Project management (PM) skills, project management concepts, PM principles, and industry techniques.
Ensuring you have a grip in each of these knowledge areas can be done by taking a PMP exam which earns you a Project Management Professional certification (PMP certification).
Although the thought of taking an exam is sometimes overwhelming, considering the amount of study needed, choosing to enroll for a PMP Boot camp could make the process a whole lot easier.
That being said, we’ve provided you with everything you need to know about PMP Boot camps and how they can help you obtain a pass within your first attempt at a PMP exam.
What is a PMP certification exam?
With Project management being in high demand in recent years and statistics showing continued growth in demand with employers needing nearly 2.2 million new project roles each year until 2027, a career in Project Management is a very enticing option.
But like any career, you need to acquire certain skills and certifications to succeed in the game.
For Project Managers (PM), an important qualification that you could get is a Project management professional (PMP) certification since this is established by the Project Management Institute, Inc. as the leading project management certification out there.
Designed by Project management professionals, the PMP certification teaches PM professionals the concepts, technical aspects, and skills needed to manage projects effectively.
It is packed with recognized PM methodology, including predictive, agile, and hybrid approaches – important for attracting employers.
It is also highly recognized by organizations as an indication of Project management professionals who can work smarter and perform better.
Ultimately, the PMP certification serves as a bonus for supercharging your career. And while we have everything good to say about this certification, you need to take an exam to acquire the PMP certification.
The downside of taking exams is that you’d have to spend considerable time over a pile of books and through PMP training courses to achieve the pass rate for the PMP certification exam.
By choosing to enroll in a comprehensive Bootcamp, you’ll make preparing more easier.
With a PMP Bootcamp, you’ll find the hours of crunching become lower, considering you’ll be given study material expertly curated by professionals who know what is needed to pass the PMP exam.
What is a PMP Boot camp?
Ever taken a crash course to master a skill in, for example, cooking and felt like a top chef within less than a week.
Well, a PMP Boot camp facilitated by an accredited academic institution is quite similar in that it teaches you the core concepts of PM in typically 4-5 days, with its course material tailored to help you pass the PMP exam.
In a PMP Boot camp, prospective and existing Project Managers learn key concepts and formulas from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Additionally, PMP Boot camps go over Project management processes such as advanced cost, schedule, and risk management methods, tested in the PMP exam.
The PMP Boot camp takes a step further to ensure you pass your PMP exam, with some offering to take you through practice exams that promise a pass guarantee in the real deal PMP exam.
While preparing for a PMP exam through a Boot camp course makes sense, some people might argue that self-study could provide the same benefits. Hence, let’s take a comprehensive look at the benefits of a PMP Bootcamp below.
Are PMP Boot camps worth it?
Now that you’ve established why PMP Boot camps are put in place, is it something worth doing?
Well, if you need guidance on how to pass the PMP exam and feel this is something you wouldn’t be able to figure out on your own, the PMP Boot camp is perfect.
With many institutions providing one or two mock exams for participants to practice with, participants will find it less stressful to take the real exam.
Also, if you’re looking to save on time, then the PMP Boot camp is highly recommended.
The course only teaches participants what is tested in the PMP exam- nothing more and nothing less.
Additionally, if you’ve ever participated in any Boot camp, you would know that the social element of undergoing group learning is valuable for finding people you can study with or a training partner.
And later on in life, you could form a network with your PMP Boot camp classmates.
Furthermore, classes are taught by industry experts, so you can absorb their years of experience to benefit your career.
And for concepts that haven’t been given much attention in the PMBOK guide, attending a PMP Boot camp, which ensures in-depth analysis of concepts tested in the exam, will help you get the hang of those less explained details much quicker.
Additionally, if you are looking to gain project management knowledge that you can apply to your work without intending to take the PMP exam, then it’s worth it.
The courses are curated under a unique study plan covering a holistic program that allows students to get the best out of their training for their exams and apply it in real-world situations.
Suppose you hold existing PMI credentials but do not plan to obtain a PMP certification; the PMP Boot camp is an excellent way to update your knowledge of PMP concepts and earn professional development units (PDUs) to maintain your PMI certification status.
There are many benefits to taking a PMP Boot camp, but these benefits can only be fully realized if you are disciplined enough to complete the course and fully engage in it.
With a new topic covered each day, you can’t afford to backtrack, or else you will lose an understanding of key concepts.
To understand how intense the process can be, we’ve dedicated the next section to giving you a comprehensive overview of the content covered during a PMP Boot camp.
What to expect from a PMP Boot camp syllabus
As stated earlier in this article, the entire design of the Boot camp and the content of the courses offered are focused on ensuring you are ready to pass the PMP certification exam.
While course outlines are unique to academic institutions, they often follow a general scope with courses curated by industry experts according to PMI concepts, tools, and techniques.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the modules in a PMP exam prep course, otherwise known as a Boot camp, as per our research conducted across various institutions offering PMP Boot camps.
Module 1: Creating a high-performance team
The first module of the course introduces students to Project Management and the role of a Project manager in managing projects and high-performance teams.
While you may expect to learn concepts such as the ability of Project Managers to negotiate project agreements and manage communications with clarity, a heavy focus is placed on the team aspect of Project Management.
You could expect to delve into gathering and managing team members to perform tasks that contribute to the fulfillment of the needs of stakeholders.
Furthermore, key points such as setting team ground rules and supporting team performance are explored.
Concepts like honing emotional intelligence to create positive working environments and manage conflict may also emerge.
Module 2: Starting the project
After being taught the basics of assembling a high-performance team, lecturers will introduce you to strategies used to plan a project.
Planning includes creating a budget, scope, deadlines, quality, activities, deliverables, and closure.
Lecturers will give you an in-depth look at determining an appropriate project methodology.
Furthermore, this module teaches an overview of establishing a project governance structure to help divide responsibilities amongst your team and integrate project planning activities into the actual project.
Module 3: Doing the work
Once you grasp concepts relating to planning a project, the next module explores the requirements needed to oversee a project from start to finish.
Executing projects that live up to the quality and deliverable expectations while withholding the business value may be explored here.
Furthermore, industry experts would want to discuss concepts like risk management and how to respond to potential project risk.
Other concepts explored include managing communication, project changes, project artifacts, and the importance of ongoing engagement with stakeholders.
Finally, the ability of project managers to facilitate knowledge transfer to their team members is explored.
Module 4: Keeping the team on track
The fourth segment of the PMP exam prep Boot camp provides tips and tricks on keeping the team morale and productivity strong throughout the project.
Keeping the team on track includes demonstrating leadership qualities that will facilitate collaboration between everyone involved in the project.
Furthermore, this part of the Bootcamp seeks to teach students how to address impeders and blockers to productivity, such as conflict amongst team members or lack of resources.
Properly understanding this section should provide you with the know-how on maintaining a high-performing team.
Module 5: Keeping the business in mind
Once you’ve mastered maintaining productivity, Module 5 drills information about internal and external business environments and how they might affect a project manager’s job.
It emphasizes the responsibility of Project managers to address internal and external business environment changes by understanding how to manage compliance requirements, continuous process improvement, and ways to support organizational change.
Furthermore, it teaches PMs how to manage these processes while upholding project value and the organization’s well-being.
With an abundance of knowledge offered in the PMP Boot camp and with no to few prerequisites required, we understand why it may be an easy choice to enroll for the PMP Boot camp course.
However, before you get all excited about taking this on, let us have a look at what to look out for when picking an academic institution to take up your PMP Boot camp.
Institutions to take the PMP Boot camp
Many academic institutions providing PMP Boot camps promise to take you from PM rookie to expert in just five days.
Still, to assess if they can deliver, you need to ensure the Boot camp you’re planning to register under offers a comprehensive program that fully prepares you for the PMP exam.
When choosing an institution, you’d probably want to make sure they cover everything you need to learn, as outlined earlier, and you’d want to explore their study techniques to make sure it fits your needs.
Although finding a PMP Boot camp institution could be an extensive process, you would never want to waste an investment on something that doesn’t even benefit you.
So while we’ll leave the decision on who to make an enrollment with to your discretion, we’ll give you a head start by showing you some of the institutions we feel offer comprehensive PMP Boot camps.
Certification Academy
Founded in 2014, the Certification Academy has offered face-to-face and online professional development courses across various fields in 23 US cities.
Their top course offering so happens to be the PMP certification training, which we are concerned about in this article.
An overview of their PMP Boot camp training syllabus, based on the PMBOK Guide, illustrates an exploration of key Project management concepts, techniques, and formulas tested in the exam.
They emphasize providing study methods that help participants understand and analyze different components of PM and how they relate to one another, considering the PMP exam contains 180 questions of a choice of 10 000, which would need more than just cramming.
And they boast a methodology that allows their students to take the PMP exam with confidence.
And although PMP Boot camps are usually intense, according to a testimonial on their page, Lecturers delivered the course material without it feeling too overwhelming.
Their PMP Boot camp costs $1899 for four training days, which is about the industry standard price.
And if this might make you more at ease, they offer a 100% money-back guarantee, with a transparent overview of what their money-back guarantee covers.
Learning Tree International
Rated 4.6 out of 5 by 734 respondents, Learning Tree International already shows promise before we can get into the details of what they offer.
Learning Tree International has committed to developing professionals with skillsets for over 46 years through various online courses and face-to-face interactions.
Their learning services are fully accredited and endorsed by several companies, including the PMI.
Due to their experience level and high standards, they require to enroll for the PMP Boot camp, which is three years of experience as a Project Manager.
The PMP Boot Camp is a 5-day instructor-led course with one-on-one coaching sessions, which is excellent for bringing up questions and concerns that you might not ask when in a group.
Upon reviewing their coursework outline, you will find their modules are packed with the right knowledge needed to take the PMP certification exam.
Despite their PMP Bootcamp costing $2590 per participant, which is a little to the steep side in comparison to their competitors, their PMP comes with a satisfaction guarantee, meaning you are bound to get your money’s worth.
Conclusion
Although the PMP Boot camp might be an intensive process, knowing you are equipped with the expertise to tackle a PMP exam and even pass it at your first attempt makes it worthwhile.
Apart from that, with the vast PM skills and knowledge imparted to PMP Boot camp participants, the intensity of the course prepares you to advance in your Project management career.
So, whether you are looking to fast-track the amount of time it takes you to prepare to take a PMP exam or simply looking to enrich your PM knowledge for competitive advantage, we recommend you take a PMP Boot camp.
Good luck!
