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I Passed the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) in One Day — Here’s How
The “Why”
As a recent graduate of the Flatiron School, I am always looking for ways to augment my skills as a Full Stack Web Developer, as well as learning about the way in which companies build software. In preparation for an upcoming opportunity that concerned Product Delivery, I was looking for a way to differentiate myself from traditional Full Stack Developers, and demonstrate that I understood the key concepts in how the target organization approaches development. The result — I was advised to pursue the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) Certification.
With little time to complete the certification, I decided that I had to apply one of Scrum’s 5 Values: Focus. In just one day, I learned Scrum to the level needed to achieve this certification with a 97%, with zero prior experience. Here’s how.
The Certification
According to Scrum.org, those who pass the assessment “demonstrate that they understand Scrum as described in the Scrum Guide, and how to apply Scrum in Scrum teams.” Essentially, it is a recognized designation that says to a potential employer, “Hey, I understand enough about Scrum to go into a new role with confidence.”
Currently, there are over 418,000 Professional Scrum Certificate holders in the world. When you pass the exam (and you will pass!), you are immediately added to the list of certificate holders, and employers will be able to verify these credentials. You will also receive a nice certificate PDF, as well as a badge that allows you to share it on social media, especially LinkedIn.
Preparation
If you’re starting from scratch like I did, then you will see a lot of opinions on how to prepare for the exam. For the most part, people do advocate for the best resources. However, some recommend as much as 1 full month of preparation. I have the luxury of time on my side, so I was able to put in the hours to achieve the certification quickly. With that said, it is my opinion that the average person, with no prior experience in Scrum, will…
