Blog Post 01.         November 18, 2023

(Disambiguation: PMP here refers to the Project Management Program, not the Professional Certification)

Hooray, I Completed Google’s Project Management Program in just 7 Days!

Sounds interesting? First, here’s the context.

I came upon the Google Project Management Professional Certification course on Facebook. In the spirit of sharing is caring, someone circulated the link to pique the interest of learners.

And yes, you guessed it right! I was interested and definitely clicked on that link. Little did I know that it would catapult me into greater fields of learning!

The Google PMP is a 6-course series, completion of which is estimated to be about 6 months, if taken at 10 hours a week. Whew, I thought. Achievable? Sure! It is beginner-level, after all.  The only question now is if I’d be willing to put in the time and effort to finish the course at all. 

Enrolling for the course was easy, made possible by Globe’s partnership with Google, through the Coursera platform. You had access to the course resources for a year (from the time you signed up)- totally FREE! Hooray collaboration, hello professional growth! 

I managed to get through the first course just fine, at a placid pace, with no haste. (This was around October of last year, 2022. Our business had come to an indefinite standstill, unfortunately. I had spare time which I intended to fill with work,  so I then decided to look online for opportunities, and chanced upon the Google PMP link.) However, the business picked up by January of 2023 and projects started reeling in, which made me busy once more, and caused me to put the course on pause. Being attention-deficit, I had to focus my efforts on the business first and foremost. <Did you know that there’s no such thing as multi-tasking? It cuts your attention by half, causing you to take twice the time as compared to when you have complete, undivided focus. Makes sense, right?> Anyway, by the time I was ready to resume the course, the consortium between Globe and Google PMP was no longer available. Sigh! I had just one certificate under my belt, and I still had 5 more to go.

Not allowing my efforts to go to waste, I visited Google’s PMP course again, just to check if it was possible to re-enroll. And to my surprise, it was! Now, what really caught my eye was this– 7 DAY FREE TRIAL! I thought for a second, and without further hesitation, clicked on the button. I was on a learning roll!

7 days later, without a shower LOL, and with much anticipation- I completed the program! S-I-X duly accomplished courses, WHEW. What a milestone!

Now, please note that finishing the course at the shortest time frame was not my goal. It was to finish the entire program at no added cost, hence my purpose was to beat the 7 day free trial period. You see, I was willing to invest my time and effort, but not so much my financial resources (I was saving up to get certified). Needless to say, I gained a lot of insight and real-world applicable concepts which I hold valuable to this day. 

Google’s PMP Certificate program was well put-together. It was a consolidation of  cohesive principles and collaborative people- made by present PMs, for future PMs. The resources, in videos and text formats, were an iterative approach to instill the concepts  in a comprehensible manner. There were also sets of quizzes and peer-graded assignments which encouraged thoughtful feedback from fellow learners. So you really have to put your mind to it, too! (Others have taken the courses just for the sake of earning certificates, i.e handing in mediocre work.) But overall, the program was great, and a welcome addition to my knowledge base!

A word of caution: do not take the 7-day approach, as much as possible. It is mentally exhausting! I was elated with the experience, but found myself fatigued for a while. Literally drove me nuts, but I guess I was begging for it lol! Thankfully, I’ve recovered soon after and kept consistent and persistent towards my learning goals. If you are committed to learning, do it at your own pace, within the recommended schedule. Have the extra time, effort and additional resources? Go ahead and invest them wisely. You’ll soon be reaping those rewards!

The journey does not end with the certificates. Learning is a continuous and life-long process. Putting all that information to action makes all the difference. Knowing those principles is only half the battle, victory lies in application and mastery! I have yet a long learning path ahead and I’m truly hoping to one day make an impactful difference in my chosen industry. 

I’m currently taking a similar route with the LinkedIn Learning platform, garnering as much knowledge as I possibly can, and this time beating the 1-month trial period for F-R-E-E.

Crazed, I know! As Aristotle once said, “There is no genius without some touch of madness.” 

Start your trial with these learning platforms now, and get ready for some professional growth!