"Professional Development"

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I've just been through my annual Personal Development Meeting at work. While it was a reassuringly painless experience, one of the consequences is that I have to look into my "training needs" for the next year. My boss suggested a Project Management course - but the ones I've come across through google give me the ph34r. (The prospect of 3 days of role playing in Yorkshire in the company of middle managers is frankly terrifying.) Have you ever done a worthwhile work-related course? Or is it all just platitudes wrapped up in jargon justifying corporate awayday expense accounts?

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 7 July 2003 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I had my review recently too and luckily my MA kinda covers the 'Professional Development Needs'. I wouldn't do anything residential for work, ever. Certainly nothing woolly anyway, only measurable technical skills.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 7 July 2003 11:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Do a training the trainers. Piece of piss, and then you can design equally worthless training.

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 7 July 2003 11:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I took and Employee Leadership program course at the advice of my boss. He told me it would be wise for me to take in order for a promotion, i took it last June and am yet to get promoted.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 7 July 2003 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I think there are some less painful one-day "project management" courses you could go on. I have this on my PDP too, but no way would I get sent anywhere.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 7 July 2003 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I did a Java Certification course to pass the requirement, though they were putting pressure on me to take the Canadian Securities (or was it Operations) Course instead.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 7 July 2003 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i had a usual course in manuscript editing. but i do suspect many professional-development courses are a bunch of hooey.

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 7 July 2003 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

i had a useful course in manuscript editing. but i do suspect many professional-development courses are a bunch of hooey.

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 7 July 2003 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

whoops.

― amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 7 July 2003 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Amateurist - get thee to a posting on ILx Course hence.

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 7 July 2003 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been on lots of courses. The very technical ones (a couple of weeks ago: new features in the Oracle 8i database) are often very good, unless you get an idiot trainer who can't answer any questions that aren't in the book (these are uncommon in my experience), the woolier ones are very variable indeed. Worst I had was about dealing with stress at work, which was about as wooly as it gets, and came complete with idiotic game-playing bits that had everyone staring at each other in shock. 100% stupid and useless. On the other hand, I went on really excellent recruitment training a few months back - specific, covering all the bases, practical and with its heart and brain in the right place, with full commitment to equal ops, mostly in a fairly sophisticated way. I've been on a project management course too, which was mostly okay, albeit with a bit of "No, this is the right layout for a Project Initiation Document" bullshit. None of the courses I've been on were more than a couple of tube stops from my workplace, and I don't see why you would want to go much further.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 7 July 2003 17:06 (twenty-two years ago)

The last one I went to was three days in length - and a two hour drive from home - and started early (well, 900 AM - early for me) in the morning. Only pluses were that I could spend the lunch break at a bookstore with a cafe and that we all had Internet-connected workstations, so much of my time was spent surfing and emailing and chatting, whilst the rest of the class toiled through some idiotic "how to use your computer" lectures (should have stated sooner, but the training was a result of the big boss discovering that one of the employees was lacking computer skills - instead of sending *her* for training, we all had to go. Yeah, tech writers and network administrators and so forth - Ugh!) on W*rd and 5xcel. Excellent waste of time, IMHO.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Monday, 7 July 2003 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

First aid is handy. And if you can, for whatever reason, go on a 4-wheel bike or 4-wheel drive one. The ones involving actual topics of interest, like I have done several statistic-sy ones, are good, but the ones involving how to get long better with yr workmates etc are dud.

Generally, course run by people who work in the field they are teaching about are better than courses run by people who work in the course-teaching field.

― isadora (isadora), Monday, 7 July 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't go, Jerry. Papercuts is fine as it is.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 15:19 (twenty-two years ago)

seven months pass...

I've went to my compulsory Health and Safety training this morning. The first 45 minutes, a woman gabbled incomprehensibly while showing us PowerPoint org charts of who's in charge of H&S for my university. Then a man showed us a video of a room catching fire in four minutes. Then he talked and showed us some more PowerPoint slides about things that were relevant if you worked in a laboratory, which I don't. Then, he got out a load of extinguishers to demonstrate. Then, for reasons unknown to me, the Franz Ferdinand album started playing over the tannoy. Our trainer looked a little puzzled by this, but he continued nonetheless. He sprayed the stage with CO2 as Take Me Out played. We were helpless with giggles.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I've went. Doh.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:58 (twenty-one years ago)

It's ok, it just shows you're settling down in Glasgow ;0)

― Vicky (Vicky), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:10 (twenty-one years ago)

You were in Glasgow before me. Pal.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, but I've had seven years in London since, it's a wonder I haven't turned cockney..

― Vicky (Vicky), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:26 (twenty-one years ago)

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