Would you recommend becoming a trainer?

It seems like a decent number of the prominent members on this board, such as dtlokee and keatron (I know there are many others

), spend some, most, or all of their time training others. I would be interested in hearing about anyone's experience as a trainer as well as how they ended up going that route.

It's something I'm considering doing myself. I have some CTT+ materials on the way. It seems like that is the logical place to start, especially since I can apply that towards an MCT as well. I have great organization skills and have no problem breaking down complex topics. I'm more of a one-on-one or one-on-few type of person though. I'm a bit nervous about getting up in front of 20+ people, but I think that is something I'll get over with a little practice.

TIA.

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Comments

BeaverC32

I think the #1 quality of a good trainer is to have a good amount of practical experience in the material being taught. I really feel a person teaching the material should be able to draw from past experiences.

So in other words, I think the natural progression is to learn the material, get real experience using the technology and concepts, and become somewhat of an expert in that area. Only then should you really teach the material...there are too many teachers out there that only teach things "by the book" and lack the real-world understanding of things they teach.

Not knocking on you dynamik, you're a great help to tons of members here. This is just a general opinion about what makes a good trainer.

dynamik

BeaverC32 wrote:

I think the #1 quality of a good trainer is to have a good amount of practical experience in the material being taught. I really feel a person teaching the material should be able to draw from past experiences.

So in other words, I think the natural progression is to learn the material, get real experience using the technology and concepts, and become somewhat of an expert in that area. Only then should you really teach the material...there are too many teachers out there that only teach things "by the book" and lack the real-world understanding of things they teach.

Not knocking on you dynamik, you're a great help to tons of members here. This is just a general opinion about what makes a good trainer.

I completely agree, and no offense taken, of course. I should have specified that I would probably start with the A+ or Network+. I've been tearing machines apart and doing basic networking for well over a decade, so I believe I have enough practical experience to handle those. I need to actually take the exams and brush up on some of the more obscure material, but I have a good understanding of the overall material. Thanks for the feedback.

dtlokee

Pfff, I can't beleive you listed me as a prominent member here

I love being a trainer, it is the best move I ever made (well other than the dot com I worked for but that was sheer luck.). It is far more challenging than most people think and you get to learn things really well (I learn new things all the time when I deliver classes, you can't imagine the ways students can mess things up!). There are a few downsides to being a trainer, first is the stigma of "those who can go out and do it, those who can teach". Although I don't get this from the students, other people in the industry will sometimes hide behind that. You are always working, you aren't allowed to have a bad day (or atleast let the class know). You are the point of contact for the training orginazation and are the product. You will hear everyone's complaints about the way something is done and you need to deal with it. You can't blame the company even if it is their fault. There will be things that will make you look bad even though they are beyond your control (again don't play the blame game). You should consider working in a day care for a couple of weeks to get the feeling for how adult's act in the classroom (yes it's similiar... I can't count the number of times I hear I don't know in response to the question what did you do?) You need to keep the peace between the students and manage the environment... there are other's but a good instructor makes this all happen and delivers the material in an organized and professional manner. There's more but you get the point

I agree with BeaverC32 to a point, some instructors have too much world experience and can become jaded. Imagine sitting through a Microsoft class and talking about NTBackup and the instructor drones on about what a pice of crap it is and you'll never use it in the real world and Backup Exac is so much better... first, ntbackup is on the exam and while it's good to add to the discussion it can't become a distraction. Second if you continously tell people what a piece of crap the product is they're studying for, it tends to turn them against it. One of the worst instructors I ever had was a CNE and MCSE. He would tell the Microsoft classes how much better Novell was and they should be learning that because it never has issues.... it was a mess.

Pash

dtlokee wrote:

Pfff, I can't beleive you listed me as a prominent member here

And yet even in words you train people on here......natural!

I agree with dt regarding the real world experience thing....nobody wants to here an opinionated wise guy who rabbits on rather than teaching the proper material. There again...some real world examples are very very good in teaching.

I think if you show good patience dynamik and good honesty (the best trainer I ever had was honest if he didnt know something but would damn make sure the next day he did), then you are half way there....goodluck mate.