PmPrepCast

I have as of today watched the first 36 episodes of the PMPrepCast (the video podcast helping me for the PMP exam). The nice green color represents finished episodes, and though it might not be easy to see, it also states that I have successfully managed to keep my deadline of watching all the episodes on the first page in August. Phew! Just made it.

36 down, 81 to go! :)

Funny Friday

Here's a friday treat for all the gamers out there, well and everyone else btw. Enjoy!

Scholarships for unemployed Project Managers

ESI International has started a scholarship fond aimed at unemployed Project Managers in the EES countries. The fund contains over 3 million Swedish crowns and applications are to be sent in between 1st of September until December 31 (or until the fund is emptied).

The aim of the scholarship is to cover the larger part of the cost for up to 3 educational courses for the successfull candidates, thus improving their chances to receive employment.

More information can be found at the Swedish PMI Chapter, and at the ESI webpage. (Unfortunately all the information is in Swedish, but I will try to dig up some english pages)

PMP Study Materials

Ok, so I have decided to pass the PMP exam. Easy? Not exactly. The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions to be answered over a 4 hour period. The topics covers a wide range of subjects from the PMBok Guide (shown to the left below), i.e the Project Management Framework in use here. The book itself is, sorry to say it, a snooze. There is no way any sane person can honestly say that they have read it from cover to cover without their eyes drooping. This is a wellknown fact within the pmp community. Instead, the PmBok Guide should be seen as a reference book which you continuously come back to during your studies.

Hence, I need to look elsewhere for material which will make me PMP-exam ready. I have settled for three additional study resources:

* "The PMP Exam - How to Pass on your first Try" - by Andy Crowe. The book is really intuitive and easy to read and understand. The author guides you through the heavy material and gives valuable tips for the actual exam. I can higly recommend it! It also comes with a 2 week trial for a website which offers online preparation exams.

* "The PMPrepCast" - by Cornelius Fichtner. This is a Video Podcast with over 30 hours of material. For me this is a lifesaver on my 3 hour daily commute. I have to date gone through almost 30 episodes and can only give it two thumbs up! Cornelius also hosts a very popular Project Management Podcast which also is very educational for Project Management Professionals.

* "PMP Exam Prep" - by Rita Mulcahy. I haven't bought this book yet, but from what others have said, this is also a must have when it comes to the preparation materials. I will have to get back to you on that one. But I intend to order it any day now from Amazon.

The PMP Exam requires a lot of studying...

PMP Certification

During the spring of this year, I was trying to figure out the best way for me to further enhance my Project Management skills. I knew that I had a solid base with both educational experience from the university as well as having worked as a Project Manager in the past. However, during a conversation with my elder brother (also a Project Manager) I learned of something called the PMP certification. The Project Management Professional certification is a credential given by the Project Management Institute, PMI, to skilled professionals in the field of Project Management.

My brother had then just recently passed his PMP exam and highly recommended this certification. It would both give me a deep understanding of a commonly used Project Management framework as well as function as an official statement of my knowledge level. Said and done, I did some research of my own and came to the conclusion that the PMP certification was my next goal in my professional development. Just before the summer I obtained all of the material that I will need, and two weeks ago I started my journey towards my PMP exam. It will take a couple of months, and a lot of hard work. But I am determined to succeed and will of course discuss my progress (or lack thereof) here on TechGirl. Wish me luck!

Back at work

Vacation is over and I'm back at work. Filled with new energy and lots of ideas for the coming months I think it is time to get the blog up and running again. My search for a Wordpress theme has begun, and I have some idea on how I want the design to look. Also the new TechGirl logo is coming along, and not the least I have found the webhotel I will be using. In other words, work is progressing! I also found out that I got accepted to the university course about blogging to which I applied to in April. This is going to be really exciting as well as educational. Fits perfect in timing as we will learn about Wordpress for example. Life is looking pretty good! :)