Badges, Certifications, MOOC's -- Oh My!
Develop A Training Path
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Have you already started modifying your career resolutions for 2016? Guest author Thom Lowther, Ed. S, CEO/CLO,
Lowther7.com provides helpful insight into making better learning choices for a successful career.
Professional, don't wait, take charge of your own career learning paths now!
Typical of the A/E and design professionals - you likely began your career with a BA or MA in your chosen field of study. The majority of design professionals will not add additional formal academic training to their resumes after graduation. Most interns and newly minted architects, engineers and designers hope and expect that they will start with a firm and participate in their in-house training activities. Reality, the typical professional development path starts with a lot of web surfing and self-study. For the chosen "structured learning" will be a mixture of in-house lunch sessions, on-the-job training, webinars, and for some, association chapter events or occasionally a conference. Some lucky emerging professionals will have the good fortune to connect with a mentor willing to assist them in designing a career learning path. In time, a few may be selected to participate in specialized workshops or seminars. A small percentage of young professional are sponsored to receive specialized certifications to meet specific firm needs.
Unfortunately, results rarely match expectations. A major obstacle that is working against finding that perfect training firm is tradition. In the A/E design field only a handful of firms have well organized, structured learning opportunities, academies or universities. A/E firms were progressing well in developing their training centers until the Great Recession of 2008 forced staff reductions. Among the first staff to be released and benefits to be cut back -- anyone or anything that was not billable. Training in the A/E industry falls under that category. The industry has been slow to recover. A second obstacle to overcome is trust. That is, trust among some firm leaders about training staff and then losing them to their competition.
Would you erect a building without a foundation? Why expect that your professional education development would be any different? Consider the following:
- Few companies provide a "what you need to learn" outline for you. During your annual job performance appraisal you may be lucky enough to have a manager who is willing to take the necessary time to work with you to outline a one or two year training plan.
- If at all possible, find two, three or more trusted leaders or mentors that will advise you on the development of a career learning path. If you were making a life altering medical decision wouldn't you seek a second or third opinion?
- For established awareness, practitioner and mastery content do not overlook your professional associations. Some associations such as AIA, ACEC, CSI and USGBC provide recommended curriculum that you can use as a guideline.
Distinguish yourself at your convenience by earning:
- BADGES have emerged as a recognized way to document your achievements in professional development. They can support and enhance your career portfolio and may help illuminate a learning path.
- CERTIFICATION is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Industry examples include ASQ, CSI, LEED, PMI.
- MOOC's (Massive open online course) There is a growing list of free college and university courses available . For various fees, some of the courses provide digital badges, certificates, and/or college credit. These can be a great opportunity for when it applies to your professional interest or job. These college courses do require work. The completion rate is around 5-10%, being highest in the business sector.
Badges, Certifications, and MOOC's -- Oh My! How do you stay organized and keep track of your valuable assets, your professional credentials? AECredentialing can help you save time and money with our groundbreaking credentials management technology solution. Visit our website
AECredentialing.com to learn more.
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Facts, Fun, Quizzes and Quotes
Happy New Year!
From MATHCOUNTS®, a number quiz to challenge you.
Now that 2016 is here, let's have some fun with this number!
What is the sum of the first 2016 integers?
Look for the answer to this quiz in "The Credential" February 2016 enewsletter.
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Info@AECredentialing.com
Join us in our efforts to go "green". Think before you print.
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Architects: Jurisdiction License Renewal Due Date
01/2016
Delaware,
New Mexico
02/2016
(None)
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Engineers:
Jurisdiction License Renewal Due Date
01/2016
Connecticut
02/2016
(None)
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Landscape Architects: Jurisdiction License Renewal Due Date
01/2016
Colorado, Louisiana,
Massachusetts
02/2016
(None)
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If your license renews on your date of birth this month, or by state requirement when your license origination occurred, it's time to renew.
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