ARE Complete - Used Amber Book for PA, PPD, PDD

I've been a long-time lurker on this site but the time has come where I can finally share that I passed all of my exams - on the first try!

Although my friends and family have been supportive, they don't really know what it is like to go through this process. So, where better to share this huge accomplishment than to a community of strangers who are all living parallel (exam-taking) lives?!

In 2018 I had set the goal of tackling these exams, so I developed a strategy, became a hermit, studied hard for two months, and passed PcM, PjM, and CE. I had the best intentions and momentum, plus the exam fees were set to increase so I had purchased my seats for the remaining exams. Then, life took an unexpected turn and I had my son - and then my daughter. The crazy thing is that for the last four years, every couple of months I had reminders set on my phone to reschedule my "upcoming exams". I was in no position to actually take the exams but I didn't want to waste the money so I kept pushing them out. A reminder of this huge ticking clock would always pop up!

This winter, I returned to work part-time after an extended maternity leave. With the encouragement of a relatively new coworker and friend, I developed a new plan for this spring to try to knock out the remainder of the exams. He had used Amber Book to pass most of his exams, and upon his recommendation I decided to do the same. I studied for 13 weeks, which obviously was much more challenging this time because of the broad technical content required, retraining my brain to function in this capacity, and still taking care of my family and home.  

But I DID IT! I am so relieved, a bit dazed, and definitely proud! 

I would be happy to pass on any wisdom I have gained because I was absolutely absorbing what others have been sharing on this site over the years.

In general, I used the more traditional method of studying for PcM, PjM, and CE - purchasing key books, reading, note taking. I did have a subscription to Black Spectacles, but only found the practice exams to be truly useful to me.

Amber Book made the most sense for me at this phase of life - I needed someone else to curate exactly what I needed to know for the exams and present it to me in a concise and time-efficient way. While yes, there may be a few things that I would maybe change or refine, in general, the course and its associated resources were what I needed to pass "the big ones".

My takeaways are as follows:  

1. Take similar exams in close succession - or maybe all of them as per the Amber Book strategy. I obviously had a huge time gap and was nervous I had forgotten a lot of what I had previously studied. I watched all of the Amber Book videos, reviewed the "flashcards" and took the practice exams for PjM and CE along with PA, PPD, PDD multiple times. I am glad I did, because my version of PDD definitely had items related to project management and construction administration. 

2. PA was everything and nothing like I expected LOL. I felt that most of the questions on the version I had were achievable only because of my experience and quite frankly, problem-solving skills - like puzzles. If it wasn't for the tremendous pressure and anxiety, this exam would have been, dare I say - sort of fun?! 

3. PjM was my easiest exam, PDD was my most challenging. Take that with a grain of salt. 

4. Make your own flashcards. Re-writing your own notes, multiple times helps drill in information. Review the flashcards over and over! Really quiz yourself. 

5. I have seen a lot of people complaining about time during the exams. I never ran out of time, and although I can't remember the specifics of taking PcM, PjM, and CE, I ended PA 15 minutes early, PDD 30 minutes early, and PPD an hour early. 

6. My strategy for every exam was to quickly go through every question in the first part. If I didn't immediately or confidently know the answer, or if it required any kind of calculation, I would flag it and move on. I then took my time with the case studies, and had more than enough time to circle back to the items I had flagged. 

7. I was a ball of anxiety before these last three exams. I took each one first thing in the morning because I knew I wouldn't be able to wait around for hours. I also felt like I strangely retained the content I reviewed right before bed, better, first thing in the morning. Once I was seated at the computer (I took all exams in person at Prometric), I took a couple of deep breaths to steady myself, and then it was go time!

Best of luck to everyone!!

Leaha