D.C. professional re-boots his career with PMP boot camp

In 2020, millions of Americans have lost jobs, with no certainty that many of those positions will ever come back on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even for those who have retained jobs, the economic shakeup nationally has moved them to action as they take steps that strengthen their long-term career prospects.

Case in point: Matt Wennersten of Washington, D.C., a technical delivery manager for a software company in Northern Virginia. In June, he obtained his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Those initials are highly sought after, but even more importantly for Wennersten, he has strengthened his project management skills in the process.

“It was not just about getting a piece of paper saying that I was certified, but helping to make our customers more confident that I can not only talk the talk but walk the walk and their projects will be appropriately de-risked,” said Wennersten.

In March, he had enrolled in a four-day Project Management Professional (PMP) boot camp operated by EdWel Programs. He was impressed with the caliber of EdWel instruction, which he described as “exceptionally well prepared” and with insightful strategic counsel about how to approach the PMP exam.

“There is a large amount of material to power through, and as a former teacher I had tremendous respect for the instructional strategies that my instructor used,” Wennersten said. “There were a couple of core principles that he kept going back to, again and again, and that was very helpful.”

The EdWel training provided “a clear framework to guide my activities on the job,” Wennersten added. “As situations come up in my work, I can hear my instructor’s voice and the mantras he communicated: `a manager communicates, a manager is proactive, a manager plans.’”

Wennersten’s experience reflects surging interest among project managers nationally to obtain their PMP certification, said EdWel founder Mike Welles.

Project management is a fast-growing field, a trend detected by a 2017 Anderson Economic Group (AEG) analysis commissioned by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The analysis forecast that employers globally will see a growth of 22 million new jobs in the field over a 10-year span, with nearly 88 million individuals overall in project management-oriented roles by 2027.

For project management professionals, nothing opens the door to an interview and offer faster than certification, according to Welles. For those who are in a job or career transition, displacement can be discouraging—but can also represent opportunity, he advised.

“Keep a positive outlook,” Welles said. “It is easy to feel lost or disjointed with all the tumult caused by COVID-19. Let the labor market adjust and come back to you. Just be ready when it does happen—and having a PMP in your back pocket is one great way to prepare.”

About EdWel Programs

Since 1992, the adult-education and training firm has helped more than 25,000 boot camp graduates work toward PMP (Project Management Professional) certification.

With training sites in nearly 20 U.S. cities, the industry leader’s training program is so effective that some students have attained key certification within a few days of completion of its intensive boot camp course. For more information, visit www.edwel.com.