BCI certification – is it worth pursuing in 2025 and how hard is the actual exam?

Been working in business continuity for about 4 years and finally decided to go for the BCI certification. I'm about halfway through my prep and wanted to start a thread for people in similar positions. The qualification sits within the BCI's tiered membership structure and the exam itself covers the six Professional Practices in depth.

I'm currently studying about 1.5 hours a day and targeting a 10-week prep window. The Good Practice Guidelines are the core document everything else builds on – if you haven't read that cover to cover at least twice, the practice questions start feeling random. BCM Institute also has some decent supplementary material that helped me connect the theoretical framework to practical implementation scenarios.

My mock scores are running around 67–71%, and the pass mark sits around 70%, so I'm cutting it close. The scenario-based questions are harder than the knowledge recall ones because they require you to apply professional judgment, not just recite definitions. The crisis communications and supply chain resilience sections have given me the most trouble.

Worth doing? For me yes – my company is pushing ISO 22301 certification and having the BCI credential gives you a lot more credibility in those conversations. The membership benefits and access to the BCI community are a solid bonus on top.