My first experience with PMP certification was as a hiring manager at eBay (I managed 5 teams of project managers).  It was after the bubble burst in Silicon Valley and many of us had seen our beloved start-ups give up the ghost.

At that time, people were just taking some classes and taking the test to become certified.  There was no minimum hours requirement as there is now.  People were getting certified because they were desperate for any advantage in the job search, but there was a definite downside.  Before too long, I rejected any certified project manager out of hand unless they had significant project management experience before gaining a certification.  What I was finding in interviews was that many of these people came in with a hammer - and they needed a large toolbox.  They couldn't adapt to situations, even in an interview playing what-if games. 

Fast-forward fifteen years.  The PMP certification has evolved tremendously.  It requires a significant amount of experience to even take the exam.  I joined PMI last year and was thrilled with the amount of material to which I suddenly had access (I even presented at the PMI Global Conference in 2016). 

So I decided to take the plunge.  At the very least I will learn enough to guide my clients through a certification or at least to give greater insight into the advantages other than job-hunting checkmarks that the certification can provide - at most, I'll gain some nice new tools for my toolbox.

I thought it might be useful to document my journey, so here's the first installment.

I've bought a series of classes from a PMI-approved vendor (a friend found a great limited-time offer and the company is well reviewed).  I have the list of suggested activities from PMI.   I plan to dive in the week of April 17 and will produce a timeline of what I plan to do when.  Look for the timeline - I'll post it when I'm done and tell you any impressions I've gleaned so far.

New endeavors are always fun!