I didn't want to press the submit button. I had completed all 200 questions, and had over an hour and a half of review available. Unfortunately, I had completed each question to the very best of my ability and after a "moment", I knew it. Any change in my questions, any second guesses, any other selection would play armchair general to the initial logic that I vested heavily into the question when I answered it. There would be no more changes. The time to submit the exam had come.
It was a point of convergence, time, study, preparation, money, logistics, scheduling, delay, application... all of it, that had come to this moment. Having slogged my way through 200 of the most arduous questions, each I should have been prepared for, each causing me to provide the best possible answer that I could possibly provide with ZERO feedback as to whether I chose correctly or poorly, I will not lie to you. I prayed... not being a very religious man at all. Throwing myself to the mercy, I pressed the submit button on the Computer Based Test.
"Please God! Let me be a PMP... Let me have this. Let me have this one.", I thought to myself as the computer grinded and chugged. It was an eternity - followed by a survey by the testing center. They like the suspense.
Chugging through the survey, I answered "excellent" partially because they deserved it and partially because I thought that excellent was the Correct answer and it might somehow affect my results. I had to press submit again!
More grinding... ahh wonderful, I thought, a new screen, the testing center is now thanking me for my feedback. Hitchcock has nothing on these cats! Submit... Click. And there it was... an official score screen. I browsed the line of percentages, looking for the key word. I easily found the word Congratulations which took me a couple of seconds to interpret as I raced to the area that read that I had indeed passed the examination.
I had not only passed, but developed a newfound respect for what is required to be a PMP. It takes core PMBOK knowledge, problem solving analytical ability and mental preparedness. Without the three it would have been quite likely that I would have thrown my $400 examination fee in the trash can, started weeping on the first question and snowballed in emotional pity and regret to the submit button. I attribute these three factors to my success on the examination.
Saul Rosenberg PMP
created this social network on Ning. 
