What's the best training to request?
January 30, 2018 8:08 AM Subscribe
I had a yearly meeting with my manager recently and amongst my requests to her was that I'd like the company to provide some training for me, to broaden my skillset and let me do a wider range of work.
She readily agreed and sent me the relevant form for training requests.
So now I need to figure out what specific training to request. How do I?
Many Deets!
I work in the UK for a large international engineering consultancy. My main focus is transport modelling, transport data and that sort of thing.
I do work in the general proximity of a bunch of economists, so my first thought was something in that area. But of course what I want is the thing that is likely to most increase my value (and hireability/salary), so something with a certification perhaps?
How do I even begin searching out useful and relevant training that I might feasibly be able to get?
Many Deets!
I work in the UK for a large international engineering consultancy. My main focus is transport modelling, transport data and that sort of thing.
I do work in the general proximity of a bunch of economists, so my first thought was something in that area. But of course what I want is the thing that is likely to most increase my value (and hireability/salary), so something with a certification perhaps?
How do I even begin searching out useful and relevant training that I might feasibly be able to get?
My first thought was, where do you want your career to go? Toward technical excellence and mentoring, or toward leadership and people managing?
If the former, then I guess you can narrow your search down to technical training (acreditations, software, etc), and if the latter, you could instead look at things like change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadershippy stuff!
posted by greenish at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2018 [6 favorites]
If the former, then I guess you can narrow your search down to technical training (acreditations, software, etc), and if the latter, you could instead look at things like change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadershippy stuff!
posted by greenish at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2018 [6 favorites]
Certifications are a dime a dozen and without the commensurate education and experience working in the subject area can be very limited in terms of their worth - rather than focusing on it from a "what certification should I get" perspective, I would focus on what types of work that is available for you to experience that you want to get involved in and are unable to at present.
For example - if you like projects and your org is in a position to give you Project Management authority and experience, then a PMP would be a good fit. It sounds like something in the data science area might also be a decent fit.
In brass tacks terms on one option that you have suggested, I'm an economist by trade and unless you have a masters in that area along with work experience using the analytical tools and frameworks then you're unlikely to grow into that particular field. Generally speaking (knowing there are of course exceptions), that route is typically masters or Ph. D, research internships, then working as a Junior or Analyst in that role for a while until you can become more established and senior in your career.
posted by notorious medium at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
For example - if you like projects and your org is in a position to give you Project Management authority and experience, then a PMP would be a good fit. It sounds like something in the data science area might also be a decent fit.
In brass tacks terms on one option that you have suggested, I'm an economist by trade and unless you have a masters in that area along with work experience using the analytical tools and frameworks then you're unlikely to grow into that particular field. Generally speaking (knowing there are of course exceptions), that route is typically masters or Ph. D, research internships, then working as a Junior or Analyst in that role for a while until you can become more established and senior in your career.
posted by notorious medium at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do you manage people? Do you work in projects? Do you have to wrangle large groups of people?
If you're interested in people and what drives them, maybe an NLP course (I can recommend a specific one if you're interested) would add something to your skillset that no one else has.
Project management is super commonly recommended, and Prince2 is like the industry standard in that. I personally think it's a bit over-blown so there might be a scaled-down version you'd prefer.
I recently went on some facilitation training, which teaches you how to manage a large room of argumentative people to get a decision out of them - I've found it suprisingly useful in lots of different ways.
posted by citands at 9:16 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you're interested in people and what drives them, maybe an NLP course (I can recommend a specific one if you're interested) would add something to your skillset that no one else has.
Project management is super commonly recommended, and Prince2 is like the industry standard in that. I personally think it's a bit over-blown so there might be a scaled-down version you'd prefer.
I recently went on some facilitation training, which teaches you how to manage a large room of argumentative people to get a decision out of them - I've found it suprisingly useful in lots of different ways.
posted by citands at 9:16 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hard to give advice without knowing more details of your job, but someone in your company is using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), 3D Modelling (look for whatever software your company is actually using-- they have names like Autodesk Inventor, Solidworks, etc).
I predict a slew of commenters here advising you to get some sort of project management training. I am going to take a different tack:
Get training on the technical systems your company is using. I made some guesses above, and there may be other industry-standard things your transport company does, like working with a metal foundry to design infrastructure components like manhole covers or railroad ties. Learn about that stuff. Say to your boss, "I know I am just in sales (or IT, or whatever), but a better knowledge of the engineering processes and products of our company is going to help me do my job in x, y, and z ways."
If you really just want some general knowledge that will help out in any career, my advice to people is that good in-depth knowledge of spreadsheets (almost always Excel) will serve you better than a project management certificate, and is needed in virtually every modern technical job today. You can learn as much Excel as you want-- I was in the Navy with a Supply Officer who was paid to get a Master's Degree in what was essential modelling complex systems with spreadsheets.
Background: I am a vocational education/STEM teacher, and I prepare high school and college students for technical careers every day, keep up on latest trends, and talk to large multinational aerospace employers about what they want from their new hires.
Which reminds me of something a Boeing recruiter told me a few years ago: "We can teach these kids to do plastics and composites, or metal fabrication or whatever. What we are having the hardest part teaching them is the work ethic of quality-- that no bad part makes it past them on the assembly line."
So maybe think about Quality Assurance training, or Continuous Process Improvement training.
Also more familiarity with Supply Chain Management or Just-in-Time logistics. Or workplace engineering solutions like Kanban, or Obeya. Or Toyota Production System derivatives. Or the ever-popular Six Sigma. Any of them are probably more useful to you than a project management certificate, unless you are actually going to be managing a large project.
My final suggestion if I were you would be to go to your boss and say "I want to use these training funds to spend two weeks in each major division of our company. I want to go out and talk to the engineers, the machinists, the surveyors, the warehouse team, finance and HR-- everybody. See what their problems are. Learn about what they do so that I am knowledgeable about all of our firm's operations. Then I will write up a report summarizing what I know, and offer to train new hires on it. I think that is the thing-- detailed experience and knowledge about every part of this company, and the personal contacts and introduction to the heavy hitters around here-- that will help me do my job better and improve our bottom line."
posted by seasparrow at 9:39 AM on January 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
I predict a slew of commenters here advising you to get some sort of project management training. I am going to take a different tack:
Get training on the technical systems your company is using. I made some guesses above, and there may be other industry-standard things your transport company does, like working with a metal foundry to design infrastructure components like manhole covers or railroad ties. Learn about that stuff. Say to your boss, "I know I am just in sales (or IT, or whatever), but a better knowledge of the engineering processes and products of our company is going to help me do my job in x, y, and z ways."
If you really just want some general knowledge that will help out in any career, my advice to people is that good in-depth knowledge of spreadsheets (almost always Excel) will serve you better than a project management certificate, and is needed in virtually every modern technical job today. You can learn as much Excel as you want-- I was in the Navy with a Supply Officer who was paid to get a Master's Degree in what was essential modelling complex systems with spreadsheets.
Background: I am a vocational education/STEM teacher, and I prepare high school and college students for technical careers every day, keep up on latest trends, and talk to large multinational aerospace employers about what they want from their new hires.
Which reminds me of something a Boeing recruiter told me a few years ago: "We can teach these kids to do plastics and composites, or metal fabrication or whatever. What we are having the hardest part teaching them is the work ethic of quality-- that no bad part makes it past them on the assembly line."
So maybe think about Quality Assurance training, or Continuous Process Improvement training.
Also more familiarity with Supply Chain Management or Just-in-Time logistics. Or workplace engineering solutions like Kanban, or Obeya. Or Toyota Production System derivatives. Or the ever-popular Six Sigma. Any of them are probably more useful to you than a project management certificate, unless you are actually going to be managing a large project.
My final suggestion if I were you would be to go to your boss and say "I want to use these training funds to spend two weeks in each major division of our company. I want to go out and talk to the engineers, the machinists, the surveyors, the warehouse team, finance and HR-- everybody. See what their problems are. Learn about what they do so that I am knowledgeable about all of our firm's operations. Then I will write up a report summarizing what I know, and offer to train new hires on it. I think that is the thing-- detailed experience and knowledge about every part of this company, and the personal contacts and introduction to the heavy hitters around here-- that will help me do my job better and improve our bottom line."
posted by seasparrow at 9:39 AM on January 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
In terms of finding certifications, professional associations are often the ones offering/administering them (CIPS, APICS, CSCMP are a few supply chain associations).
Small conferences where it's easy to talk to and meet the speakers have been some of the more valuable training I have gotten sponsored because it has given me people to read and follow throughout the year.
posted by typecloud at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2018
Small conferences where it's easy to talk to and meet the speakers have been some of the more valuable training I have gotten sponsored because it has given me people to read and follow throughout the year.
posted by typecloud at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2018
I'm a transportation demand modeller (please feel free to MeMail me with gory nerdy detail anytime, by the way). I think there are four broad themes I'd think about, in no specific order:
1). Technical tools -- specific training and support for technical packages, especially those that your company uses or that are otherwise relevant. A GIS (we use QGIS), a programming language (Python), modelling package (Emme), analysis-enabling software (R, Tableau, SQL). The more generic ones (R and Python especially) are more broadly useful. This helps you take on more technically focused tasks, and could enable movement into other technical roles in similar fields.
2). Management skills -- project management, leadership and so on -- if you are interested in that particular tack. Perhaps another variant on this is looking into the specific skills around cost-benefit analysis and the like - often taught in similar venues.
3). Parallel worldviews -- I don't know about your specific educational background, but when I did my Master's two of the courses I found most valuable were in somewhat orthogonal fields; a practical overview of public transport operations (taught by the long-term manager of the local transit authority), and an introduction to urban design. These were valuable in terms of changing my worldview, giving me new ideas, and so on. They were not valuable in any way in terms of career, employability, etc. I suspect learning more on economics or econometrics may fall somewhat into this category. Imperial College, UCL and LSE all have relevant programs, and I'm sure your colleagues have ideas here.
4). Conferences -- It can be tricky to find the right blend of academic vs. practical, but attending conferences is a very legit use of training budget in my view. You get a bunch of good ideas, you can talk shop with people, you make contacts which can also be useful to your career. Ideally, there will be a list of speakers and abstracts so you can gauge the conference beforehand.
For instance, on the travel demand side, IATBR is a fairly academic conference - lots of students presenting thesis work - but it draws people from a worldwide perspective. (Unfortunately, it was in the UK back a few years ago -- this year it's in California.) If latent class models or Halton draws or multi-modal route choice is up your alley, it might be worth going. I have previously used my own money along with my employer's to go to particularly distant conferences, then added a holiday as part of the trip.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 1:26 PM on January 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
1). Technical tools -- specific training and support for technical packages, especially those that your company uses or that are otherwise relevant. A GIS (we use QGIS), a programming language (Python), modelling package (Emme), analysis-enabling software (R, Tableau, SQL). The more generic ones (R and Python especially) are more broadly useful. This helps you take on more technically focused tasks, and could enable movement into other technical roles in similar fields.
2). Management skills -- project management, leadership and so on -- if you are interested in that particular tack. Perhaps another variant on this is looking into the specific skills around cost-benefit analysis and the like - often taught in similar venues.
3). Parallel worldviews -- I don't know about your specific educational background, but when I did my Master's two of the courses I found most valuable were in somewhat orthogonal fields; a practical overview of public transport operations (taught by the long-term manager of the local transit authority), and an introduction to urban design. These were valuable in terms of changing my worldview, giving me new ideas, and so on. They were not valuable in any way in terms of career, employability, etc. I suspect learning more on economics or econometrics may fall somewhat into this category. Imperial College, UCL and LSE all have relevant programs, and I'm sure your colleagues have ideas here.
4). Conferences -- It can be tricky to find the right blend of academic vs. practical, but attending conferences is a very legit use of training budget in my view. You get a bunch of good ideas, you can talk shop with people, you make contacts which can also be useful to your career. Ideally, there will be a list of speakers and abstracts so you can gauge the conference beforehand.
For instance, on the travel demand side, IATBR is a fairly academic conference - lots of students presenting thesis work - but it draws people from a worldwide perspective. (Unfortunately, it was in the UK back a few years ago -- this year it's in California.) If latent class models or Halton draws or multi-modal route choice is up your alley, it might be worth going. I have previously used my own money along with my employer's to go to particularly distant conferences, then added a holiday as part of the trip.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 1:26 PM on January 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
Another vote for technical skills, project management is something you're born with or you're not and no classes will change that. Optiminzation models are having a moment, look into that. Broadly useful, lots of tie ins to economics, field is not saturated. We are using them to identify the most cost effective way to reduce bottlenecks in branched systems. Interesting stuff. It's mostly buying existing software and learning to use it unless you have a strong enough math background to make your own. Which most people don't.
posted by fshgrl at 1:50 PM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 1:50 PM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Data analysis work --> applied statistics. Analyze data correctly, communicate it clearly. Hands down, an amazing skill to cultivate.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:04 AM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:04 AM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by solotoro at 8:09 AM on January 30, 2018