Tamara Robinson | Baltimore Project Manager What prompted you to pursue certification? I have worked in IT support since 1996—my company took a chance on me without certification, and I have been in a project manager role for a long time. Becoming certified—and going through the challenging learning curve to get that certification—has been pivotal. My management was encouraging me to get it, and I stopped procrastinating and took the opportunity to pursue it while we are all quarantined.What was the Boot Camp like?I really liked the convenience of doing it from home, and loved my instructor. He was relatable, and provided case study examples that I understood. He did a great job of keeping us all engaged in the training. It helped that we could see each other on the computer. Also, through the chat function, we could send questions and get answers, from the instructor and other students.What kinds of doubts or fears did you need to overcome?I was worried that I wouldn’t grasp the information—that it wouldn’t make sense to me. There is a lot to take in. EdWel’s boot camp was far from easy, but it was convenient, and effective in helping me to grasp all the material that goes into attaining your PMP certification. I buckled down, studied, and benefited from the practice tests. The COVID-19 situation caused delays in the actual test being available, and EdWel was really good in extending the time we were allowed to access those practice tests,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 getting my PMP was a pre-requisite for this path.What advice would you have for others considering a job or career shift? Take the training seriously. Even compared to college, or when I got my master’s degree in human resources management last year, preparing for my PMP exam was by far the hardest I have had to work. It has given me a strong dose of confidence as I take on projects now. You have to stay focused; you have to know it’s what you want. I have heard of people who took the test and failed because they really didn’t have a goal.