In the category of good, but intimidating news, this week I received notice that I have been accepted to sit for the CBAP Exam. This is the exam which, if I were to pass, would grant me a professional certification in Business Analysis from the IIBA, and allow me to put those 4 letters after my name.
I never necessarily aspired to be a Business Analyst or Software professional. Ask any member of my family, and they'll tell you that I was the one who was always reluctant to have anything to do with computers or technology. Yet somehow I fell into this career, and I have tried to make the most of it. And now that I've gotten involved with the IIBA, and especially in my role as Chapter VP over Professional Development, it seemed that I should try to set an example of continuing to advance in the profession.
The application process is quite daunting. You need to prove that you've spent over 7,500 hours in the last 10 years working at being a BA, and you need to show your entire work project history over that time. You also need career references, among other things, and applying is an expensive undertaking. So I was pretty nervous about the whole process. But I got it all in, and received word just a few days later that I'd been accepted. Hooray for getting this far!
So now it's time to get my rear in gear and really study for this exam. I have a year from this week to take it, but knowing how easy it is to let the year get away from me, I've set a personal goal to take the test by the end of this year. The test is 3 hours long, with 150 multiple choice questions, and I've been told it's extremely difficult. I'll be studying on my own, so I've marked time in calendar to study for an hour every weekday. I've purchased Flash Cards, and I have my BA manual, so I'm all ready to get started. And for those times when I know I'll be traveling, I've also downloaded a study guide that I can review from my phone.
Lock and Load - let the studying commence!
I never necessarily aspired to be a Business Analyst or Software professional. Ask any member of my family, and they'll tell you that I was the one who was always reluctant to have anything to do with computers or technology. Yet somehow I fell into this career, and I have tried to make the most of it. And now that I've gotten involved with the IIBA, and especially in my role as Chapter VP over Professional Development, it seemed that I should try to set an example of continuing to advance in the profession.
The application process is quite daunting. You need to prove that you've spent over 7,500 hours in the last 10 years working at being a BA, and you need to show your entire work project history over that time. You also need career references, among other things, and applying is an expensive undertaking. So I was pretty nervous about the whole process. But I got it all in, and received word just a few days later that I'd been accepted. Hooray for getting this far!
So now it's time to get my rear in gear and really study for this exam. I have a year from this week to take it, but knowing how easy it is to let the year get away from me, I've set a personal goal to take the test by the end of this year. The test is 3 hours long, with 150 multiple choice questions, and I've been told it's extremely difficult. I'll be studying on my own, so I've marked time in calendar to study for an hour every weekday. I've purchased Flash Cards, and I have my BA manual, so I'm all ready to get started. And for those times when I know I'll be traveling, I've also downloaded a study guide that I can review from my phone.
Lock and Load - let the studying commence!
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