Steve Bishop | Austin Senior Solutions Manager What prompted you to pursue certification? It was very good—the boot camp was organized in a way that made a lot of sense. I am someone who really needs a bootcamp—I paid for it out of my own pocket and that forced me to study, and commit to a timeline, and take the test. Being remote, less interaction was helpful. In other boot camps I have been a part of, you get a lot of questions from people that don’t have to do with the exam. Being virtual limited that interaction.What was the Boot Camp like?I took the test less than 24 hours after boot camp ended. My instructor gave some really good advice on how to approach it. For example, if I missed the first few questions, that I should not get into a funk. He put me at ease more than I would’ve been without his input. He emphasized focusing on the most important principles to remember and not spending too much time on any given topic. Another key point from the instructor: “a project manager is always proactive,” so if I wasn’t sure on a question, I narrowed down the answer to what seemed to be the most proactive response. For most of the sections, I was “Above Target” with my answers, whereas I thought I had a slightly less than 50-50 chance of passing at all. I did much better than I would’ve guessed. It was a great class.What kinds of doubts or fears did you need to overcome?The fear was it was a lot of information—and a lot of information that wasn’t always in synch with my understanding based on my years of experience. I was also concerned that that boot camp wouldn’t be that good: I was going to pay for it all, put in all that effort and take the test, but not pass—and then I wouldn’t have the energy to go back and do it again. But the EdWel team was great, especially with this being the first virtual boot camp. They were engaged, really jumped in, and were very easy to work with.What has it meant for your career?Now that I have this certification under my belt, I want to pursue the Program Management career path. I have been thinking about this for about three years now and gettiI have been doing program management for eight years and project management for five or six years before that. In the government world, to get a contract, a project manager has to have a PMP. With the certification on top of my experience, I have that security of knowing if ever I am in need of a job, that it’s there. It’s definitely a through-the-door certification. It has given me a peace of mind knowing I am not going to have a problem getting a job now. ng my PMP was a pre-requisite for this path.What advice would you have for others considering a job or career shift? Unless you have endless time and want to understand every possible facet of PMI, the boot camp is by far the most efficient way to go. More important than anything else is focusing. It’s such a broad topic, and the EdWel instructor really drives home the important topics you need to know.