Agile Project Management – My experience with the Agile MBA by TheJobHackers
After spotting a Nextdoor post about an Agile MBA class starting soon I questioned whether it was the right thing for me to do. I had been a Project Manager/Data Scientist before taking time off to raise my kids. Now that my kids were more independent I wanted to move from part-time/projects work back to full-time work so it seemed the perfect tool to add to my toolbox. The best part; it was free and there were no prerequisites! I signed up straight away.
The classes were 7:30-9 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 6 weeks. Before Covid-19 the classes were run live from offices in San Francisco but if you could not get to the office you could watch it online via zoom. In addition to the morning classes, there were optional practice classes to help students pass the Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) exam at the end of the Agile MBA. There was also a one day Scrum simulation workshop.
Due to my kid’s schedule, I watched all the classes from home and when I missed a class the video would be loaded into Slack for me to view in my own time. I attended a cohort in Menlo Park on Fridays, which met weekly where we discussed what we had learned in the classes that week and we practiced for the PSM I exam. I also took advantage of the Scrum simulation workshop to polish my skills.
I thoroughly enjoyed the classes. Larry Apke is a well-read, entertaining, and engaging speaker that not only taught us Agile Project Management but so much more. Larry really motivated me and challenged my thinking. He is a champion of all his students. We got many good book recommendations and he brought many amazing ‘out of the box’ thinkers to class and meetups. Edward Gordon supported each class by handling all the chat/admin questions during each session. Dan Sharoni and Ana Maria Perez cohosted the Friday sessions that helped me pass the PSM I exam. I got real-life experience in an Agile environment when I attend John Mauls’ simulation class. The PSM 1 is a timed (one hour) open book test that you can take at home. It costs $150 to take the test. The best part of attending the cohort and simulation was that I got to meet and work with other participants who I know will be lifelong friends of mine.
The JobHackers have monthly meetings (now virtual) where you get to meet other JobHackers and share knowledge and leads. I have been able to attend many conferences and workshops where The JobHackers had obtained tickets. These have been wonderful opportunities to network with not only fellow students but industry professionals.
I highly recommend the class and think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much more than Agile Project Management you will learn.
Curious for more information? Hop on over to https://www.thejobhackers.org/
