There are many ways to add to our skills and advance our career. While on-the-job learning is essential, formal learning situations can move the ball forward at a faster pace. Training and conferences fit this bill perfectly. However, the cost of one of these options can be more than our employer (or we) are willing to take on.
Plan For Training and Conferences
Budgeting is critical. This is true no matter if you are paying the bill or you are asking your boss for the company to cover it. There is often a suitable return on investment for taking part in a conference or training. Thus, the challenge is freeing up the funds for it. First, building these educational opportunities into a budget goes a long way towards success. Then, understand that signing up early can often provide discounts and allow for lower cost travel options.
You might even be able to build one of these events into your non-work life. You can travel to non-local events as part of a vacation or find friends and family near the location that can help with housing costs. The event is often just a portion of the costs.
Reduce Overhead
Part of the benefits of planning for these events is the option of lower cost options. Therefore, do some searches for local opportunities or ones that have timing more suitable to your needs (spread over fewer days, out-of-season rates, etc.). There might be remote or virtual options you can take advantage of as well. As with most things in life, the further out you plan it, the more opportunities that will be available.
Alternatives
You do not have to pile your learning into a few days or week. It is often better for your retention if you can spread the content over a more extended period. That means that options like online courses that are self-paced are more likely to “stick” with you mentally. Thus, these prolonged periods of learning can be done in smaller chunks where mastery can be achieved before moving to the next section. Think about your grade school days. You approached education by spending an hour or less a day in a subject over months instead of a week of cramming.
We have to learn and keep up with the changing IT environment. Fortunately, training and conferences provide us a way to optimize our time in those pursuits.
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