Message #1501

[msgladiator]

There's a lot of questions throughout this post.  First of all, I took the CPS exam back in 1996 and passed all three parts the first time.  As far as the exam and what it provides, I would have to say that if you are trying to rise through the ranks of an administrative career path, the CPS would definitely be beneficial.  It did help me to go from an administrative assistant to an executive assistant.  As for getting the CPS in addition to a management degree, I would say don't bother.  Simply because the CPS covers some of the same areas that are included in a management degree (business law, accounting, economics and management) and because the CPS is not considered by too many recruiters and those that hire as being a criteria for someone applying for a management position.  The management degree is what they will be looking for.  Unfortunately, I have not seen too many companies who are even knowledgeable about the CPS.  When I was studying for the exam, I joined 3 other people from my IAAP chapter and we formed a study group that met once a week at one of our workplaces.  We had the study guides which we used for our weekly discussions.  None of us had taken the test before and two of the three of us who did take the test passed.  Right now I know two people who are taking a class through a technical college to prepare for the exam and they do not feel they are getting anything out of it (in this case, the reason has a lot to do with the teacher).  Anyway, getting the study guides and putting a group together who has an interest in taking the exam to meet on a regular basis and go over the material in the guides is all you need to do.  It's not difficult.  Good luck!~