Okay, while the test is rumored to be one of the hardest among certifications, there are a few details before that including:
1. Logging 4500+ hours (6200 in my case) under the 5 Process Groups and spanning 9 Knowledge Areas: Sounds simple, right? But it is a crazy process to allocate years worth of work and document how and why you allocated it. I had no idea and it took a few weeks. If you are looking to apply, make sure you know this out first–it is involved and it is not anything you want to do under pressure if you can help it. The class offered at New Horizons (more below) offered a template for this created in excel that adds it all up for up to 10 projects. Total lifesaver and only one of many reasons I would recommend them. And the last caveat is that there are audits on about 10% of the apps so as you create the records of your hours–make sure you have what you need to prove your experience (they detail this in the requirements) just in case!
2. 35 Hours of Class Credit: Okay, you can do this online and it is painfully slow but if you are able to swallow a solid week of focus and a price tag that varies but is a few thousand dollars (many companies will help with this) I would highly recommend the classes at New Horizons. It was a 5 day, 7-8 hours/day, 40 hour week with homework so it was intense but the instructor I had was good humored and really knowledgeable (Clay McKenzie). He took us through the amazing materials at a great pace and was really helpful on questions. The material is 500 pages and you still need to be reading the PMBOK guide (Project Management Body of Knowedge, fourth edition)–another 500 pages! Intense but very, very helpful to be able to verbally review the material and get immediate answers to questions. In the end, they provide a certificate with a number that has to be included in the application.
In addition to these requirements, there is an application but really, it is minimal compared to these in terms of time. BUT you need to have both your hours and your credits completed BEFORE you apply. Once you open the application, you have 90 days to complete it. And once accepted, you have a year. All this is subject to change and I recommend checking the PMI site for specifics, but this was my experience in the last 60 days.
Now to get a test date!
dreamdorelax.com 