Great blog, Jon. What you're describing is really a state of mind. I can recall engineers in the 1970s who thought finite element anaysis was a monstrous waste of time that would soon disappear (a few of those engineers also refused to give up their slide rules). At the time, I couldn't understand why experienced engineers resisted new methods, but after I gained some experience, I found myself doing the same sorts of things. Once you've found an efficient way of getting the job done, it's easy to resist the learning curve of new concepts. The first step in keeping your skills up to date is getting yourself in the right state of mind.
Good points, Jon. There have been several times in my career where my learning activities (outside of the technical areas I was currently working on) were (I think!) important in opening up design/job opportunities.
I think that it is important to keep an eye out for, and participate as much as possible in, both in-house and out-of-house training opportunities particularily those that involve actually getting out and meeting real people. This certainly includes the many one or two day seminar activities provided by the distributors (e.g. Avnet) and their suppliers (e.g. TI, Linear Tech).
Attending conferences, for me, has not been, usually, a reasonable alternative as that has usually involved travel, vacation days, etc - expensive both in a real $$ sense and in an adverse impact on your personal life (e.g. giving up vacation time with the family).
Internet based activities - very, very do-able these days. It used to take resources beyond what the average engineer had either at work or at home (I remember when we had a special setup in a conference room just for that purpose) but today almost every engineer has access to high speed interent - usually both at home and at work.
Another venue for training is, of course, the local IEEE society and the IEEE itself.
And we have the new social networking 'craze' such as LinkedIN, Facebook, etc although I am a bit skeptical about them.
Great suggestions. Another way to stay up to date is through podcasts where new and useful information is discussed and a lot of ideas are bounced around. The best thing about podcasts is that you can take it on the go. A new way Design News is helping to keep engineers informed is through DN radio. We are having our next broadcast: Next-Gen Factory & Industrial Automation: Time to Go Wireless?, tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT. Be sure to register to here.
Good suggestions, Jon, and a very critical commitment all engineers (and professionals, for that matter) need to make to keep themselves relevant and marketable in today's hyper-competitive job market.
You mention a couple times that you paid for a trade show or training on your own. I think that is a key takeaway--with companies facing tighter budget restrictions and engineers getting more piled on their plate, the idea of a company-paid, week long trip to some vendor or society conference is becoming less and less realistic. Yet that shouldn't discourage engineers from finding the time and money to invest in personal development. Sure it hurts when it comes out of pocket and yes, your company should have a big-picture vision that employee development is a strategic asset, but they might not and that doesn't mean you can ignore it.
Another suggestion: If you can't afford or don't want to travel, the Internet is chock full of content and peer communities and even virtual conferences and Webinars (hello Design News) where engineers can trade ideas, test drive new products, talk to the experts, and brush up their skills. Truth is, today you might not have to pay too much out of pocket and you certainly don't have to leave your house.
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