4.13.2003
The $400 lesson.Today I'm going to share a little story about one of the Fairies. The Aquamarine Fairy, to be specific. And once upon a time, this little Fairy was going to sit for his PMP certification. And he was working at the time, and things were a hassle, and he had no idea how he was going to find the time to study for the test. Plus, he went to the class and thought it was a total scam. The woman who had written the test had also written most of the books (there were seven) that he was going to have to memorize in order to pass. And it irked him somewhat and he figured that since he did project management for a living, how hard could it be? So, without studying or much further ado, he went ahead and took the test. His employer had paid for the training class and the exam, so the expense of it was not a concern to him.
He got a 59%. He needed 70% in order to pass.
He was ticked off, to say the least. He stewed and he steamed and said some rather unprintable things. Then he decided to purchase the seven books, study the daylights out of them, and pass the test the next time. By then, his contract had ended, and in between pursuing new work, he spent countless hours at the library. At one point, he was putting in five hours a day, studying. Within several weeks, he had a much clearer grasp of the material. Yes, there were areas within project management that he'd had less experience of than others; this is what had tripped him up on the test the first time. So a couple of months later, he retook it.
This time he passed with flying colors.
But he'd had to pay for the exam himself this time - a lesson that cost him four Benjamins.
The moral of the story is: Not all certifications are bunk. If a certification is worth having, it cannot be easy to attain. If the instructor is holding up a stack of books and says that you must memorize them in order to pass, perhaps they just might know what they're talking about. Last, but not least - if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish it. You just have to be willing to respond to defeat or temporary setbacks with the determination to stand up and try it again.
All of us here at The Job Fairy would like to congratulate The Aquamarine Fairy on attaining his PMP Certification. Way to go, Aquamarine!!!
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