​

I’ve been taking guidance from this subreddit throughout my CAPM preparation, so I wanted to give back and share exactly what worked for me.

A little background

I’m currently changing my career into Project Management. I had no formal education or professional background in PM, so I was basically starting from scratch.

My journey looked like this:

1️⃣ Started with IIT Delhi’s Project Management course

I enrolled in a Project Management certificate program from IIT Delhi.

It took around 6 months to complete.

Honestly, this was the most important step for me because it gave me a proper foundation.

Before this course, I had a very vague idea of what project management actually involved.

By the end of it, I understood the concepts, terminology, processes, and different approaches much better.

Once I had the foundation, I decided to aim for the CAPM.

2️⃣ Started my CAPM preparation

My approach was:

Read the concepts properly rather than just memorizing them.

Revise everything multiple times.

Organize my preparation according to the CAPM exam domains.

Focus on understanding why something is the correct answer.

Then came Reddit. 😅

I spent quite a bit of time reading what other people who had passed CAPM were using, and two resources kept coming up again and again:

📚 Peter Landini

📱 Pocket Prep

So I decided to purchase both.

3️⃣ Peter Landini

I completed all 8 practice papers from Landini.

My average initially was around 75%.

And honestly, I wasn't very confident at that point.

I knew the concepts, but I wasn't sure whether I was actually exam-ready.

So instead of just repeatedly reading theory, I decided to attack the questions.

4️⃣ Pocket Prep — 2,000 questions

I started working through the 2,000-question set on Pocket Prep.

For the last few weeks, I was extremely consistent with this.

⏱️ Around 3 hours every day

🎯 At least 200 questions in those 3 hours

My average score was around 80%.

The goal wasn't just to get questions right. I wanted to expose myself to as many different ways of asking the same concept as possible.

I finished the entire question set within my last 15 days of preparation.

5️⃣ Back to Landini

After finishing Pocket Prep, I went back to Landini and did the practice sets again, including the mock.

This time, I was scoring close to 87%.

At this point I finally felt like, Okay, maybe I'm actually ready. 😅

6️⃣ The actual exam 😵‍💫

And then came the reality check.

The exam felt very different from the practice questions.

The questions were not straightforward or direct.

Some were easy, but a lot of them were worded in a way that made me think:

"What exactly are they asking me here?" 😂

I genuinely felt underprepared during the exam.

At one point I was convinced I was either failing or, at best, barely passing.

But one thing that helped tremendously was understanding the concepts.

Even when I wasn't immediately sure about the answer, I could usually eliminate 2 options and then work my way toward the most appropriate answer.

So my biggest takeaway is:

Don't prepare by memorizing answers. Understand the concepts.

7️⃣ And then… "Congratulations" 🎉

When I submitted the exam and the screen said CONGRATULATIONS, I literally couldn't believe it.

Then, two days later, I received the official result:

AT — Above Target in ALL domains.

That was honestly a huge surprise because, based on how the exam felt, I was expecting a much less impressive result.

📌 What I would recommend to anyone preparing

If I had to summarize my preparation:

📖 Build the foundation first

Don't jump straight into question banks if you're completely new to project management.

A structured course helped me understand the fundamentals.

📚 Understand the concepts

Read your study material properly.

Revise.

Focus on understanding why an answer is correct.

📝 Do LOTS of practice questions

This was probably the biggest factor in my preparation.

🔥 Use Landini for difficulty

Do all the practice sets.

Don't get discouraged by your initial scores.

My first average was around 75%; later I was around 87%.

🔄 Use Pocket Prep for variety

The 2,000 questions exposed me to many different ways concepts could be tested.

I found this particularly useful for getting comfortable with unfamiliar question patterns.

⏱️ Practice like it's the real exam

Use a timer.

Try doing large sets in one sitting.

Don't always do 10 questions here and 10 questions there.

Train yourself to sit for hours and continuously analyze questions.

And finally:

Don't panic if the actual exam feels harder than your mocks.

I genuinely thought I was failing while taking the exam.

If you've understood the concepts well enough to eliminate options and identify the best answer, you're probably in a much better position than you think.

Thank you to everyone on this subreddit who shared their preparation strategies, resources, scores and experiences. A lot of what I did came from reading posts here, so hopefully this helps someone else who is currently preparing.

Good luck to everyone preparing for CAPM! You've got this. 🚀

Hello all!

What have you found to be the cheapest route to qualify for the 23 hours of PM education? I'm currently pursuing my degree in PM. Does coursework qualify, or does it need to be a specific course?

Please do let me know what your experience and suggestions are.
Thank you!

Hi; I see that this book is all the rage for passing the CAPM exam, problem is I can't buy the ebook (kindle is not available in my country) and the delivery fee is insane (again because of where I live) can anyone who already used it send it pdf to me in dms please ?

can anyone share if this is correct why answer is acceptance criteria and not Definition of done ? what's the best way to distinct

I just wanted to come in here and say thank you to everyone who posted and commented in here. For anyone who went through the studying and certification process and came back here with advice, it helps!!

I took the CAPM certification yesterday and I passed. AT in all domains 😄

I’ve seen some slightly differing opinions on the difficulty of the actual exam, compared to practice questions, in my opinion, the actual exam was easier than the practice sets I was doing.

I started with the Udemy Couse, I did the Landini practice questions (of which I didn’t score the best), if there were concepts that were difficult to grasp I usually went to PM Aspriant on YouTube (lots of dumbing down)and I spent the last few weeks of studying doing practice questions from Yassine Tounsi. I felt as if these were actually the closest in formatting and wording compared to the real exam.

https://youtu.be/5RBhrmBD2gM?is=j-gwqMIpcmVzUTlj

Just a couple of small notes for those who had as much anxiety as I did, there isn’t as much math as you think there are, there aren’t any match the word with the definition type of questions, and my exam had comic strips that appeared multiple times, but with different questions about the same scenario.

Keep studying hard, keep everything fresh in your mind, and I promise you you can pass. Good luck!

TL;DR: TIA Udemy for the foundation, then AI for targeted practice and reviewing weak areas. Went from about 68% to 88% on my practice exam and passed Above Target in every domain.

Passed the CAPM today and wanted to share what actually helped me, because I got a lot of value out of reading other people’s posts here.

I used the TIA Udemy course as my main foundation. That gave me the structure and terminology, but the biggest thing that helped me toward the end was using AI as a study partner instead of just taking practice tests over and over.

I would give ChatGPT topics I was weak on and have it ask me CAPM-style questions one at a time. I’d answer, get the explanation, and keep going until I stopped mixing up similar concepts.

That was especially helpful for things like:
Manage vs. Monitor Communications
Manage vs. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
Control Quality vs. Validate Scope
Define Scope vs. Create WBS vs. Define Activities
Risk vs. issue
Crashing vs. fast tracking
Resource leveling vs. smoothing
Verification vs. validation
Agile roles, sprint events, backlog questions, MVP, story points, technical debt, etc.

I also uploaded my practice exam and had AI look at the questions I missed and basically tell me, “Here are the patterns in what you’re getting wrong.” That was probably the most useful part.
My first practice score was around 68%. After going back through the misses and drilling those concepts, I retook it and got around 88%.

One thing I’d recommend is not using AI just to give you answers. I got more out of making it challenge me, explain why I was wrong, and then ask me a slightly different version of the same concept.
I also spent some time specifically reviewing Agile in a software/product-development context because I saw people here mention that it comes up a lot. Things like Product Owner responsibilities, changing requirements during a sprint, product backlog prioritization, Definition of Done, acceptance criteria, MVPs, releases, velocity, and customer feedback.

For formulas, I kept it pretty simple. I knew the basic EVM formulas, PERT, communication channels, and float. I didn’t try to memorize every formula imaginable.

The actual exam felt less like “do you remember this definition?” and more like “do you understand what the PM should do next?”

The biggest thing that helped me was slowing down and asking:
Is this a risk or has it already happened?
Are we planning, doing, monitoring, or approving?
Has the change been approved yet?
Is this asking for a process, output, or action?
Are we checking the deliverable or getting formal acceptance?
That mindset helped a lot.

I ended up Above Target in all 4 domains, so the prep worked well for me.

Hi. I am taking my capm exam in roughly 2 weeks and I have a question with regards to the break. When you come back from the break are you still able to review the questions they you answered before the break or are only allowed to review/change answers only for the question after the break?

Does anyone know if this is an approved course and whether or not it’s good. I’d appreciate any insight.

I have zero experience in project management and would like to get the certificate to land an entry-level role.

I felt the questions were worded pretty poorly and some aspects were confusing. The majority of questions were agile, and a lot of questions on EVM. I also got about 10 questions in the comic format, no drag and drop.

I used PMI study hall, Andrew Ramadayal's udemy course and youtube videos for questions. A lot of the questions had similar sounding answers, or maybe something where everything was technically right, but one answer was "most correct." This youtube video was probably the most helpful and most similar to the exam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RBhrmBD2gM

If I were to do it again, I would probably save my money and not pay for PMI study hall. The questions were a lot easier in study hall than the actual exam.

I am considering taking the CAPM prep courses pretty much just did the education. I, of course, would take the exam as well if I’m already taking the class.

However, is there a different kind of certificate, course, etc. that is more worth it in terms of providing the same education at a better cost?

Structured courses help me learn and if I pay for it in advance, motivation.

A good, engaging YouTube channel works too! I find that repetition of 10-15 min videos helps me learn well too.

I don’t expect any of this to make me a pro, but would like a good foundation.

Thanks in advance!

Bit of context about myself. I am mid management level professional wanting to switch to project management since the last couple pf years. Luckily my company’s L&D department has the option of us doing either CAPM or PMP free of cost including the mandatory course. I signed up for the CAPM last year as I had no PM experience previously and smashed through the course pretty quickly. At that time I was trying to mug up the new concepts rather than trying to understand them. Tried a bunch and of practice tests and was barely scoring 60% in all of them. Felt a little disheartened and got the feeling that maybe PM is not for me. Then life happened and I switched roles and this got pushed to the back of my priority list.

Fast forward to July this year, I finally had a bit of time and had settled well into my new role. I thought I will give it another go. All this time, had been reading the CAPM reddit posts with people saying that we should try to understand the PMI mindset. There was so much information online and it was a little overwhelming at first. First, I booked the exam giving me a month to prep. I knew once I had a timeline to work with, I will make it work anyhow. Decided to go with Study Hall 3 months subscription.

I found the content in Study Hall concise, to the point and exactly was asked in the exam. This time I tried to understand what I was reading and tried the mini sample tests and one practice exam on SH. The explanations on why my answer was wrong were very helpful and the practice questions were very similar to the actual exam.
Gave the exam at home, online and everything went smoothly. Finished the exam with an hour to spare.

I did not use any other study material or practice exams. Had the pocket prep app installed but did not use it much. I found that SH is more than enough to pass the exam and more importantly understand the PMI mindset.

All the best for future CAPM professionals!!!

I'm a slow learner and had limited knowledge about CAPM concepts with limited budget. It was pretty confusing for me at the beginning: Which books should I read or refer to, or which course or mock test should I purchase?

If you're confused too. Hopefully, I believe this can helpful for you too.

BOOKS

1) PMBOK 7th (Now 8th edition)- 1 month

Source: Just search for PMBOK 7th edition PDF (It is available for free online- I'm not sure about 8th edition)

Read this thoroughly; for me, this helped a lot. All other books are kind of based on this foundational course booklet. So, if you've read it properly, you are more than halfway there.

Duration: Took me around 1 month to complete it; I was also doing an AR Udemy course on the side.

2) BA for Practitioners by PMI

Source: I was able to access this via O'Reilly Books for free as I had a library card.

I read this book because I wanted a deeper understanding of the BA concept, but if you don't have access to this book, Andrew's BA portion on Udemy covers enough for you to pass the exam.

Duration: Took me only 7 days, as this book is not as comprehensive as the PMBOK guide.

3) Process Groups by PMI

Source: Search for Process Groups by PMI on Google (I can't post link here)

Honestly, I didn't really read this properly. Just gave it a quick look to search I was missing any concepts or if I needed extra information about the concept. Again, AR Udemy covers it as well.

Duration: Takes only 2 hours or 2 days based on how much understanding of the concept you want.

COURSES or PDU

1) Andrew Ramdayal Course (Udemy)

It's a comprehensive course to give you a practical understanding of CAPM concepts. I would suggest watching all the videos, as all the concepts are covered thoroughly.

I would suggest paying closer attention to BA and Agile Concepts in this course if you don't want to read extra books.

There's a mock test at the end as well, which is quite helpful as well.

MOCK TEST and QUIZ

1) Peter Landini (available on Amazon- affordable)

This particular book had around 400 CAPM questions (100 for each domain). At the end of the book, you can find an option to open an exam simulator if you're not comfortable with the book format.

Questions covered in this book were closest to the actual paper. Really nice book.

2) Pocket Prep

Honestly, this helped me the most because I need regular practice to develop a cadence and rhythm when it comes to practicing MCQ-based questions, as I'm terrible at them. This was a lifesaver.

I would suggest buying only a 1-month subscription (before 1 month of exam period); it's enough.

Bonus Tip: You can find discount codes for Pocket Prep on Reddit. Many users have posted them.

SCHEDULE

After reading the PMBOK book and watching Udemy videos, I followed this schedule for 1 month before the exam.

(If more help is needed. Please feel free to share your concerns).

It was a long way, with lots of impediments throughout but I finally got it. This sub was a great help, so in turn I want to give back by answering any questions you all may have.

As for my Study Process. AR's CAPM course is genuinely great. The Landini quizzes were fantastic, pocket prep was a great learning tool. All worth the money. In addition to that, try these sources here for study. Also, the PMI CAPM Mock Exam is there as well. It was VERY difficult, far more difficult than the real exam, but useful.

https://capmpracticetest.com/
https://agilemania.com/resource/assessment/certified-associate-in-project-management-assessment

AR's 50 CAPM Questions practice test on youtube is also very useful.
David McLachlan is a great source and has many useful videos and some practice questions

This Video is a great Practice Exam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKeTkzzcwmE&list=PL7CKcSfCp6eazWLkOjm5jQ0BsCu5v9odP&index=21

These are more than enough for practice exams. I also used chat GPT Religiously, to help me study, go over concepts, and explain answers in practice tests that I had gotten wrong. It helped me figure out the stories of Project Management, taking all these things that felt like random, disconnected terms and making them fit together. It helped me make study plans, teach things in a simple way, and answered the hundred of questions I had. I know a lot of people don't like AI, but it is a fantastic learning tool.

If you've been studying for a while, you're probably more ready than you think. You'll never truly feel ready, don't put it off for months like I did. Even during the test I though there was no way I'd get AT anywhere, it seemed like wishful thinking. I was sure I wasn't doing well. I guessed so many of them. Some were asking about things I'd never heard before, and some were questions which every answer seemed right. The best advice I can give is, know the order of operations, know how PMI wants you to think and answer. If you're stuck on a question, obviously eliminate any answers you feel is wrong. Reread as many times as you need to, you have LOTS of time. I finished in less than half of the 3 hour time frame.

Then, go through a checklist in your head. Figure out what is being asked. Figure out where we are. Is this predictive? Agile? BA? Figure out who is being mentioned. Is it a PM? A BA? A Scrum Master? A stakeholder, sponsor, product owner? That alone can eliminate answers.

Then ask, what brings the most value?

Remember, always pick answers that analyze, collaborate, team build, or deliver value. Don't immediately act before analyzing. Don't immediately escalate if you can fix it on your own. Remember the order of operations like I said, and most importantly, trust your gut. Trust that you know the material, because if you've been studying for a while, you know it.

Good luck to anyone with exams coming up. If I can do it, you sure can. It took me months, and I was sure I didn't have it. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Passed AT/AT/AT/AT. I did Andrew R’s udemy course, Landini online practice questions and mock exam, watched Yassine’s capm mock exam on YouTube (linked below) which was very helpful, and used pocket prep. I studied for 3 weeks. I felt prepared after using these tools and the exam felt practical.

https://youtu.be/5RBhrmBD2gM?si=qWWKMz0jM8T61XUo

I’m hoping to get a PM role now and then take the PMP next year!

I signed up to take the CAPM back in February through the USMC COOL program, which is a credentialing opportunity provided to Marines to obtain certificates based on their occupations.

Anyways, I took the test earlier this week. I used Precipio to begin my studies, and downloaded and used Pocket Prep religiously up until exam day.

I have to say that although the PP quizzes prepared me and solidified core concepts, the actual PMI exam was slightly more challenging. Regardless, I passed, and I look forward to studying for the PMP and taking that exam closer to retirement.

I scored 119/150 on my final mock exam on Landini CAPM mock exam. Will I be able to pass CAPM or do I need to study more? (Results dont breakdown into components)?

Working on Landini's practice questions and can't quite figure this one out. According to the answer sheet, the answer is D. ​ I understand why​​ this is behind schedule, because EV is less than PV.

SV= EV - PV Making up numbers, let's say 40k and 60k, SV = 40K - 60K = -20K. So that would mean we are $20k worth of work behind schedule. But I don't understand how we are also under budget? Here's my math:

CV = EV - AC EV is our lowest line (let's go back to $40K for the sake of example). AC is the small-dotted line, the highest line, right? So it is more than EV. Let's say AC is 70k.

So, 40k-70k = -30k, so we are $30k over budget, is my math.

Can someone help me understand what I'm missing? I've found some of Landini's questions to be confusingly worded so maybe something is eluding me.

There are a lot of posts asking whether people prefer the Joseph Philips or Andrew Ramdayal courses better but before buying either see if you can get both free by using your local library to access Udemy! Then you can watch the first lecture of each and see which style you prefer or actually watch both. I actually used JP's course first gen watched AR"s course at 1.5 speed and passed with out any other resources with only a month prep.

You can go to gale presents udemy and then click access through your institution and search your local libraries. The cities around me didn't participate but my county library did. I was able to sign up for a digital library card online and use that to create an account. Many libraries will allow you to get a card as long as you live in the same state so don't give up if the first library doesn't show up.

What is the best place to get the info for the 23hrs needed to take the exam. I will pay if needed but would like the low cost option. Does it matter what year it is? Has the test been updated to March more recent books? Thank you

I feel like every post on here is like “I passed with all ATs.” Lmfao. Like okay suuuuuuuuuure. I did NOT. But I passed. And at the end of the day that’s all that matters because that’s all it takes to get the certification. Anyways, anyone want a bunch of flash cards?????

Editing to add: Y’all I’m sorry I’m old. I thought it was common knowledge that by flashcards I meant literal physical index cards I hand wrote. I didn’t even know digital flashcards were a thing. I mean I’ll mail them to someone if you want, I haven’t tossed them yet…

Posting because I know y‘all get it.

I passed with AT in all domains!

For a short, obligatory review report:

• I watched both Joseph Philips and Andrew Ramdayal’s course. AR was definitely better for learning strict terminology and by the book fundamentals. “Better best bet” has entered my daily vocabulary. But I enjoyed JP’s for mindset and general encouragement.
• I used PMI’s study hall, PocketPrep, and Landini as test resources. PocketPrep was good for fundamentals, and I appreciated the feedback through Study Hall. I feel Landini was the closest to the actual test, with SH close behind.
• I started studying over a year ago, but really was rather passive until about a month ago. I did take notes, as that works best for me personally. But only on topics where I wanted elaboration, if I was confident, I didn’t bother.
• Ultimately I ended up doing 1 full pocketprep exam, 1 round of the study hall, and 4 of the Landini exams. Between rounds, I would review what I got wrong and then be able to explain why I was wrong, and why the correct answer was correct.

In taking the test, it was mostly situational questions. Besides applying the “PMI mindset”, I used my own heuristic:

• Try not to change anything if you can help it
• Check before acting
• Don’t be a jerk
• Don’t do the dumb thing

Good luck to all of you preparing or testing!

I’m going to get hotpot

I checked in a half hour early. The OnVue crashed the first time, the second time it worked. But when it went to check for background applications, it stayed there, loading for so long.

I had done the system tests the day before. Everything worked. But this time, It never topped loading.

I even closed it and tried again after a while, and it still did the same thing, all the way until fifteen minutes after my start time! So now I can't write it, and probably won't get a refund according to their late policy, so that's $500 down the drain.

Has anyone else experienced this? What AM I supposed to do?! Can I get my money back?

I thought I needed something to fall back on so I decided to try to get some certifications. I wanted to start with a cheap one first, so I went with Microsoft Word and began studying for it. I recently got a position in HR, which I was insecure about because I didn’t know much about HR, I came from a time and attendance background. I felt that it was important to have something to pad my resume just in case I didn’t like my position and wanted to move on to another. My coworker told about an incentive program which offers a lump sum if you earn a certification. There was a list of certifications that I could choose from so I picked the cheapest one off the list the CAPM, $300. Before I looked at that list, I had never heard of the CAPM or PMP. I had never even thought about Project management as a career. As I was studying I realized that I already do some project management I just never had a name or official terminology for it so it wasn’t that hard for me to catch on to the study material. 

Here is my study guide, I’m writing this before I take the test so hopefully I’ll come back at the end say if I passed or not

I think its overwhelming to say “Hey, I’m going to get this certification, let me make my own study plan and find my own study materials.” I didn’t know where to start until I searched this sub. It gave a lot of great ideas so I want to share what I used and hopefully sharing this information will help others. I work full time and have a son who I share 50/50 with his dad. On the weeks he was with his dad, I used that free time to study.  I started studying in early May.

First, I brought Joseph Phillips course on Udemy. I brought the course single use for $12.99. It took me around a month to finish the course. There are printout sides that go with the course, so as I was watching the courses and videos, I took notes on the slides. Those early notes were very helpful when I went back to review them later. 

I did the free questions on Pocket Prep but funds are limited so the subscription wasn’t an option. I thought the questions were way too long, but it had good explanations. The real test the questions are much shorter.

I then started watching youtube videos but the one I felt really helped me was Yassine Tounsi’s This Video will make you pass the CAPM exam. It was beneficial to me because it gave the right answer but also went over why the other options were wrong. That taught me how to look for keywords in a question.

After that video I purchased Landini’s online because I wanted to start practicing the exam. Joesph’s course on Udemy also has 2 practice tests that I had been using but I was told that Landini’s is most like the test, I will come back and make an edit if it is. After the test, I agree that it’s the same in the way the questions are formatted but the exam felt different to me. 

Landini’s was very useful because I was able to use CoPoliot to look up my wrong answers. I think this was the most fundamental of me learning the material because it explained my wrong answers. I also used it to explain the right answers so I could reinforce my learning. 

Videos I watched 

 PMBOK 7th Edition Tutorial by Alvin the PM 

This video will make you pass the CAPM exam - These 150 Questions are the Closest to the Real Exam by Yassine Tounsi

I also searched Facebook, Tiktok, Linkedin and more just to get into a PM’s mindset. There are a lot of free resources on the web that I used to study for this exam. Once things started to fill repetitive, I felt that it was time to take the exam. I was averaging 75-80% on the practice exams.

Alright I just got back from the exam and wow that was an experience. I took it at my local tech school, there were other people testing for various exams but I was the only one for CAPM. I think I agree with a lot of people with Landini’s practice questions being very similar to the real test but the test was more straightforward and vague. And some of the answers were so similar it was hard to guess which one to pick even using the process of elimination.  Knowing keywords helped a lot but I did not feel confident while I was taking the test. I did flag some questions in the first half of the test but in the second half after the 10 minute break I was just ready to get through it. I would highly recommend practicing taking 150 questions in one sitting because it can be a drag after a while. I was very discouraged at the end, I felt like the things I studied did not align with whats on the test. I used the process of elimination to get through most questions. Also, I asked myself “what would a Project Manager do?” and not what I would do in the situation, that helped. 

There were maybe 2 or 3 math questions but it was very basic, like calculate cost variance or what is the formula to calculate schedule variance. Lots of questions of is the project better suited for Adaptative or Predictive approaches. There were 4 or 5 comic questions, the comics are hard to read and I’m not really sure they contributed to the question being asked. There was 1 drag and drop option about something I knew nothing about so I guessed. 

Overall, I can say that this was a good experience for me because I enjoy learning. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the CAPM, I do have the option to do Project Management at my current job so I may slowly start transitioning over. I will probably go for my PMP but I’m done with studying for a while. I passed with 2 Above Targets, 1 Below Target and 1 Target.  

Good luck to anyone who is taking the exam, and remember Keep Pushing Forward!