Besides obtaining certification through exams, life has many other aspects—as well as documenting the difficult journey of pursuing certifications over these years

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For the first time, I’m on a forum to analyze myself and talk about my tough journey in obtaining certifications. :I’m a woman who graduated from graduate school 11 years ago. :$ In the few years after graduating, I focused on my family (I had children at an early age; they are 10 years old now). It wasn’t until 2012, seven years after I graduated, that I thought about obtaining a CPA certificate. So I picked up up the subjects I studied in college 10 years ago, such as advanced mathematics, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and electronics; thinking about them brought tears to my eyes. Back then, I was at the top level in these courses during my college years. (Hehe, I was the first among 200 students in my class.) But after 10 years, that knowledge felt like something I was learning for the first time. Fortunately, I took the basic courses offered by Global to help me catch up. It took about 3 months; in the last week I reviewed the basic concepts of the subject, and my total score was probably 152. It’s quite lucky. :In the second year, which was 2013 (the professional exams were extremely easy), it took me about a month to prepare. I didn’t put in that much effort either – I didn’t even finish doing all of the practice tests. I relied on the lectures given by the Global Education teachers, but unfortunately, they just had you go through the material without providing any actual explanations. So I missed that opportunity that year: 130 points in knowledge tests and 52 points in case studies. Out of the 9 people who took the exam together with me from my workplace, 5 passed – it was really disheartening… There was a subsidy of 25,000 per year… So in 2014, I joined two sisters who had just finished their basic training and took the professional exam together. I made up my mind; I spent 2 months preparing, going through all the past exam questions from 2010 to 2013. I bought the question sets provided by the association, completed them all, and then, in the last ten days, purchased a book from the association (it’s truly an excellent book!) ) The professional knowledge on the first day was too simple; I handed in my paper 30 minutes early. I was in a very good mood when I got home that night, thinking that I would surely pass this year. This feeling lasted only until 8 o’clock the next day; when I saw the exam questions, I was stunned. I had no idea how to answer them at all. I felt anxious and worried that I wouldn’t pass the exam. The more anxious I became, the less able I was to think clearly, and the harder it was for me to find the answers. I had comforted them at noon, saying to do their best on the afternoon exam, but who would have thought that the afternoon would be even more unbearable. I couldn’t sleep all night on the day after the exam, tossing and turning… In the end, I scored 148 on the knowledge test and 54 on the case study test. I was looking forward to taking the exam again in 2015, but unfortunately it was not possible to register at all… :( In 2016, I registered as early as 7 a.m. on the day registration opened; I was eager to pass the exam, as I became pregnant with my second child at the end of last year, with a due date in September. Despite my husband’s advice, I insisted on taking the exam that year. I started studying 3 months earlier; I used exam questions from years 2010 to 2014, working through each question by hand and redoing those I got wrong. However, I didn’t pay attention to the book published by the association – I only read the first two chapters before moving on to the book from Tianjin University. So, as the saying goes, you reap what you sow – whatever seeds you plant, that’s what you will harvest. On September 3, 2016, there was an exam on specialized knowledge; it was so confusing, as I had no idea where the answers were. I went through countless books, including those published by the association, as well as textbooks on chemical engineering principles and manuals on chemical engineering design. I was panicked – I just couldn’t find any answers. By the end of the day, my fellow candidate told me which questions were on which page; it really broke my heart… On September 4, 2016, the case study exam wasn’t as challenging as it was in 2014. I answered over 35 questions in the morning and afternoon, so the chances of passing were quite high. Is it time to wait for good luck when it comes to knowledge now? NO – in the case study from the next morning, the answers weren’t written inside the brackets on the test paper; instead, only checks were made next to A, B, C, or D. Ugh… I kept checking Haichuan’s comments for three days in a row, and I realized that getting 0 points was the most likely outcome. I really wanted to give up… It’s been a tough journey in preparing for this exam; I won’t continue next year. After all, besides this exam, I have other things in life to deal with, and my workplace doesn’t offer any opportunities to obtain such certificates. Thinking about missing out in 2013 means I missed out on 100,000 yuan… It’s heartbreaking… :(:(