Yes. It is hard.
There is no doubt.
But it is not impossible!
Here are some of the factors that make it hard:
- Demanding eligibility requirements
- Project management experience must be within the previous 8 years
- PMBOK® Guide often leaves room for interpretation
- Candidates' experience may differ from the "perfect PMI project management world"
- The exam tests experience, not knowledge
- Exam questions are often ambiguous with more than one answer being possibly correct
- New questions are constantly developed and are based on new trends
- Questions are not only based on PMBOK® Guide but can come from several sources (see PMI official Reference List)
But please don't despair!
Even though the PMP exam is one of the hardest exams out there, almost 700,000 project managers around the world have successfully navigated its treacherous waters and came out with the certificate at the other end! (at the time of this writing)
And if so many have passed already, then you can do it too!