Thinking about paying someone to take my PMP exam for me

[azharkhalid]

I am going to say the thing that a significant number of people in professional certification forums are thinking but rarely put into words. After seven years of hands on project management experience across construction and technology sectors I am sitting here genuinely considering whether to pay someone to take my PMP exam for me and I want to have an honest conversation about it rather than pretending the thought does not exist.
Here is my situation. I work sixty plus hour weeks managing concurrent projects across multiple geographies. My organisation is pushing for PMP certification as a formal requirement for my grade level and the deadline they have given me is not realistic given my current workload. The exam itself tests a very specific framework knowledge base that does not always reflect how project management actually operates at a senior level in the real world. I have managed programs that most PMP holders would not be equipped to run and yet the credential process treats me the same as someone fresh into the field. That disconnect is genuinely frustrating.