How I passed my CAPM in a month.

Abhirup Bhattacharya prepares for a month and passes his CAPM exam. He talks about his routine, his preparation and how he juggled his MBA classes to prepare for the exam. He also blogs at Ideas Make Market and you can find him here @abhirupbh on twitter.


Why did you decide to take the CAPM? what is your background?
I am presently in my second year of MBA in finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. Prior to this, I graduated in Apparel Production from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and worked as a merchandiser in Egypt. I am also a Level II candidate for 2013 CFA Programme from CFA Institute USA.

Project management is an integral part of any process in any company. In fact, in my belief it is even more important for a finance manager to be a good project manager as one can directly impact and control costs in any project by managing it well. This was my main motivation for taking CAPM.


How long did you take to prepare for the exam?
I prepared for the exam for a total of around 1 month and on an average 3-4 hours a day. Sometimes I was unable to study for couple of days due to assignments and exams related to my MBA studies.


Did you follow a routine/schedule on how to study for the exam?
Yes, I had divided this period of 1 month into three distinct phases: For the first 2 weeks I completed the entire curriculum to have idea about the entire syllabus. In the third week, I focused on areas in which I had difficulty in understanding. The final week I kept exclusively for solving questions.

What books/guides/classes did you take?
I referred PMBOK and PMP Study Guide by Joseph Philips for my preparation. In addition to this I had the CAPM preparation slides for reference.


Would you like to share 3 most important things to be taken into consideration when preparing for the CAPM exam?
I think the three most important things to consider are : Time management- make sure you plan your strategy well , Practice: This will ensure you get confusing questions correct  and most importantly Clarity: This will imply your fundamental understanding of the topics is clear.

While taking the exam, were you nervous or did your preparation match with the exam pattern?
I must admit I was a bit nervous on the day of the exam. However the fact that I had solved enough problems, helped me remain calm and maintain my confidence level during the exam.