Trying to Keep Up....

Bruin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:05:00 GMT

With the job market as it is, especially here in what was the financial capital of the world, I thought now might be a good time to shore up my skill set. With an undergraduate degree in Biology and a graduate degree in International Studies, one might ask how I ended up in this career anyway. Well, the answer is, I just fell into it working for a bank while I was in graduate school. Five years into the job and several years out of graduate school, I woke up one day to find it had become my career.

As an independent contractor, I always seem to be in job search mode. However, with all of the recent layoffs in this industry, the problem has become the number of people who have joined me there. So how to differentiate myself beyond work experience, especially without the benefit of an MBA? I decided to focus on the most extensive part of my experience, and look for a Master's Certificate program in Project Management. Ultimately, I would like to sit for the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification exam, something which I hope will show any potential employer that I am committed to keeping my skills up to date with the most current industry standards.

After looking at several certificate programs online, I had narrowed my choice down to two: Villanova University and Boston University. Both schools offer similar programs and are comparable in terms of name recognition, but ultimately I decided on Villanova. The advisor who called me was incredibly informative, and she was quite thorough in terms of first ascertaining my goals in order to suggest the best course to fit my needs. Not that the other advisor I spoke to was not informative, but there was something about the woman from Villanova that inspired confidence both in her as well as in the school itself. My hope is that the course itself is of the same caliber.

The first class begins this week, and I am waiting with a mix of anxiety and eagerness. Time will tell if I will be able to manage this, but in this environment, I feel as though I don't really have a choice. I have to keep up.

Bruin is a guest contributor to eLearners.com. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in International Studies. She works independently as a Business Consultant, primarily in the area of Technology. She is currently pursuing a Master's Certificate in Project Management online from Villanova University, and is preparing for the exam to earn her PMP certification.

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Trying to Keep Up....