Hey Kal - I think this is exploring possible, logical pathways, not excluding the professional development necessary to get to those points.

Very true - hopefully professional development is sought at the appropriate time so that one is qualified for the job before acutally being hired.

In this field it doesn't always work that way though. Hence, very little ROI.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KaliKo,

Thanks, Fanatic and Kal. My personal experience taught me that the best "training" is on-the-job training. It seems no matter how much I learned outside work environement, when it comes to real work, I still have a lot to learn in order to get the job done right to fit the company culture. Therefore my opinoin is that as long as the fundermental knowledge base on "training" is there, the "real" work can be learned at work.

Am I the only one who have this feeling?

Depends on what kind of experience you've had, Maple. The only way I could hope to begin to give you an even remotely educated opinion on your question would be to see your resume and know exactly what types of positions you want.

MapleIN,

If by "on-the-job training," you mean STRUCTURED OJT where you have 1) a trainer who has been trained to deliver structured OJT, 2) written training procedures and materials, 3) defined performance objectives for each training task, and 4) if the training is scheduled and delivered in a systematic process amenable to training on the job - then yes - that is one of the best ways to be trained.

However, I suspect that you do NOT mean structured OJT - simply because HR jobs are not typically learned that way. What I am guessing you mean is the informal, "watch what Jane does, and copy her," UNstructured, degenerating buddy system of OJT - which is the WORST thing you could do if you truly want to learn a new field. Not only is it haphazard at best, but it puts an incredible strain on the poor people that you are burdening with trying to teach you the ropes. It does nothing but waste your time and the time of those trying to help you.

Yes, every job has elements specific to the company culture that are picked up on the job - that is NOT training, and that is not what you seem to be talking about. I understood you to mean that you can learn how to do OD, QC, and any other variation of performance consulting by learning informally and inefficiently on the job. Again that is not training.

Just out of curiosity, how do you plan to "learn" to do OD? Who will be the trainer?