Well. I failed the PMP exam. At target, at target, below target. Where do I even begin, do I retake? I gave it everything I had. I dont know

I have been doing Project / Program Management work for over 15 years but never got the PMP because it cost too much. Then I got laid off in 2022 due to a merger and cost-cutting. I decided that I would finally take the test since the job market didn't care about my years of experience as much as they cared about me having three initials after my name. I took an online live course... and never filled out the application cause I was just too daunted by it. I got a job in 2023 starting up a PMO and the immediacy to do the test simply vanished. Got laid off again in August 2024 due to yet another merger and downsizing of senior roles, so I bought AR's Udemy course and book last September as a refresher, filled out the application and scheduled a December test date. Then I pushed out the date. In the meantime, I got my SAFE 6.0 cert. I got two Six Sigma minor belts. I studied Python and AWS Cloud. I got AI certs. I did a Certified Medical Assistant course as a backup in case I couldn't get back into the corporate world... And I kept kicking the PMP can down the road cause I was afraid. I was about to push it out AGAIN when I found out that I couldn't or I would need to pay the fee and do the application ALL OVER again. That's when I got serious. I took a sample test to see how much I "knew" and to see how what I needed to study. Next I downloaded AR's 30 day plan and condensed it to 15 days because that is all the time I literally had before test day. For the first 5 days I reviewed AR's full Udemy course AND his briefer review course. The parts I knew well, I did at 1.5 speed. The parts I didn't know as well I listened to at normal speed even though it felt torturous. (I usually listen to videos at 1.25 because I'm a New Yorker and people always seem to talk too slowly for me.) Once I felt I had refreshed myself enough, I signed up for Study Hall and the TIA Exam Simulator and used both daily. I went through every single question in study hall twice and did all the tests in simulator. I did 5 full exams in test mode spaced out over 10 days.

I just want to tell you I've been there. I was so disappointed after all of the work, the application process, the studying, attending 2 global conferances as I worked to meet the requirements - I came close but failed the exam on my first attempt. On top of that, my boss and mentor knew I was taking the exam that day and I had to share my sad news. I obviously didn't give up, and you shouldn't either! I licked my wounds and bought a training course off the internet and doubled down. The one take away I had from my first exam experience is that there were a lot of questions that asked "what is the best answer" and all choices were a possibly correct answer. My mistake was to answer the question the way I would have previoulsy handled the problem in real life, before my PMP. I learned that the exam doesn't want that answer, it wants an answer that best aligns with the PIMBOK texts. What my family would have labeled as the "book smart answer, not the street smart answer", meaning not based on experience. I hope this helps someone!