The PMP: An Insider’s View
I am going to do this. I am going for my Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. After many years of working toward a rewarding career, and somehow life taking over, I decided now is a better time than any. I knew there would be challenges, and I was ready to face whatever came my way to still come out on top. I asked myself, I was able to do it once before, right? I was able to manage a full-time career, raise a family, study towards my MBA (which took me five years to earn but yay!) AND take care of myself at the same time. I still have the same drive, determination, and resources so I told myself, I can do it again - Go For It!
So…it wasn’t that easy. Time was one of my biggest challenges over the past few months. The multiple projects I was managing needed a lot of attention and care to ensure they were on the right track. Conference calls ran late into the evenings at times, and other times early morning to accommodate global colleagues. Like many of you, experiencing a shift in working remotely full-time did not allow for a lot of the personal time I was hoping to gain. My three hour a day commute to and from work was replaced by conference calls and catching up on actual work prior to logging off. I am lucky if I get in a work-out at dawn before taking care of the dog and logging on. So how do I manage?
A Project Manager by nature always has a plan. I project-managed my life. With the help of my mentor, I laid out a plan of studying, purchased the material and set a target date that I wanted to be ready to take the exam. I figured out how much time I should set aside each day to study. Then I mentally tracked my family and work obligations and committed to accommodate studying time.
Mental readiness was another challenge when it came to studying. The past few months had its moments. My only child headed off to college during a pandemic, I’ve been self-quarantining to take precautions to not get COVID-19, and have a high-maintenance dog and husband. Oh – and yes, Ladies, unfortunately, I am going through perimenopause, so physical and emotional symptoms sometimes want to take over. It’s a daily struggle with myself, but I mentally try to stay strong and not give up on my goal. As silly as it may sound, I sometimes repeat ‘I think I can’ over and over for a few minutes until I get the optimistic energy to move forward. I’m forever grateful for that little voice in my head.
Everyone has their own way, so how do you study for quizzes and exams? I learn by repetition and make up silly mnemonic devices. There is so much to remember for this exam, that I might as well make it fun right? Although I practice project management on a daily basis, remembering the terminology and formulas, some that I don’t use every day, and the sequence of the project management methodology was very overwhelming for me at first. Every organization practices project management with their own flavor, but I had to take my experience out of it when responding to questions on the practice exams. I had to think how PMI would want me to respond. I took a couple of online courses, and also read a 600+ page PMP prep book that had test taking strategies as well as practice exams. On study days where I’m on fire, I breeze through the practice exams easily. Then there are days when I struggle with the content, forget formulas or I just totally messed up. Did my study structure fail me? Was I not focused enough? On the days I didn’t do well, I stopped for the day, put everything away, and did not look at the material for another 24 hours. Perhaps I’ll do better tomorrow.
So why am I taking the PMP Certification exam? Sometimes I have to remind myself of my WHY. Becoming a Certified Project Management Professional proves competency in the industry. The title gives me the credentials of the professional ability to manage projects. It builds trust with employers and customers that their goals will be met by a Project Manager that will protect their time, budget and resources. It demonstrates my dedication to the profession, with the hope of opening up opportunities, as well learning new skills to bump up my professional contribution to my organization. I have not been shy in saying I’m an uber-learner, as I always say Knowledge is Power, so everyone who knows me is not surprised I took on this endeavor.
Most importantly, I’m pursuing the certification because of my personal principles. It strengthens my Personal Brand. I have the chance of getting a higher education, so I owe it to myself, my fellow women, my readers and my son and his generation, to exercise the opportunity to become more intelligent and articulate. I personally believe no one should stop learning. My passion of preaching and practicing the pursuit of higher education will continue to be a theme.
So what is the process, you ask? Studying is the first part of the process. Part two is applying to take the exam. The application is pretty detailed. For an applicant with at minimum a four-year degree, he/she is required to provide evidence of at least 35 hours of project management education/training and at least 36 months of experience leading projects. The applicant must also document the projects lead, including the role had on the project, as well as the outcomes. Some applicants get randomly audited, but I was approved within a week, paid the fee and scheduled the virtual exam.
Finally, the last part of the process is actually taking the four-hour, 200-question exam, remembering to pace myself and not second-guess. At this point I prepped all I can, after a few months of going through step one and recently step two. The exam is scheduled for after the release of this blog, but I will take the advice that my support system has been giving me – Have faith in yourself and BREATHE! Thanks for being on this journey with me.
If you had the chance to pursue a professional certification, higher degree, or learn something new, wouldn’t it be worth it?
-Gail
