I hate working for “the man”. Every time I sat behind my desk, it was like sitting in hell and wishing for a way out. But, I only had a degree and a few years of experience. Job offers weren’t exactly flooding through the mail. Unfortunately, only the bills were coming in, so I continued sitting at that desk and hating every minute of it.
It’s not like I didn’t have any skills or experience at all, it’s just that no one was going to be willing to pay me a good wage for what I had to offer. For years, I had looked into doing freelance work as a project manager, because I’m a motivated person and I’m really good at getting stuff done. But, I didn’t have the certification to do anything like that. Once, I tried to see if I was eligible for the test, and I was told I needed a bit more experience first.
Ever since then I became completely discouraged about the whole idea of working for myself. Honestly, it hadn’t even popped into my head again until recently. One day while I was sitting at work, begging the clock to tick a little faster, I had another eureka moment and decided to see if I was eligible yet to become a certified project manager. As it turned out, I finally had the qualifications to do it!
There was a glimmer of hope for a moment, because I actually thought I would be able to quit that horrible office job and start working for a boss I can really get behind: myself! Being certified as a project manager would mean I could finally take up jobs of my own. Certification would give me something to show for myself, so any potential clients would actually be able to trust me on more than my word alone.
But, then I saw the study guide for the exam. I took a simulated test and didn’t even come close to passing! That made me feel like I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, which didn’t make sense because this is exactly what I’ve been doing at work for years now. So why was the test so difficult for me? Was I just not good enough to do it?
I gave up on the idea again for a little while. I would study a bit from the exam guide here and there, but never put too much thought into what I was doing. Every once in a while, I’d take another test simulation to see if any knowledge had managed to stick, but it never did. Self-study just wasn’t working out for me like I wanted it to. I had no idea what I was doing, what I should be studying, or how to get better at the topic. My simulated test scores were completely stagnant.
Finally, my luck changed. All this time I was letting myself get so discouraged while feeling like I would never be able to get the certification to work for myself. What I didn’t realize was that there was a really great project management course that would be able to guide me to success on the actual exam. My luck only changed because I stumbled upon a PMP Certification course that my friend posted about online. It looked interesting, so I checked out the link.
The course only took a few months to complete, and I had full access to everything I would need to learn for the exam. There were quizzes and practice tests throughout the study material, so I really could tell when I was getting it and when I had to repeat something. By the time I finished, my confidence was restored.
After the course, I took another practice exam, just to make sure. I passed! So, I scheduled my official PMI (Project Management Institute) test and waited anxiously for that day, re-studying all of what I had learned during the course. I was so nervous when the day of the test came, but I got up and went to the test facility anyway.
That was two years ago, today I can happily say I’ve gotten enough clients to start working entirely for myself. I’ve quit the office once and for all! No more working for “the man”; now I actually get to control what I do, when I do it, and how much I get paid. If I ever do decide to go back to working for someone else, I’m finally going to get some respect and will have a lot more opportunities than ever before.