My point is that appropriate experience and education can come in many forms -- doesn't need to be a certification from a particular entity. If we were in a situation where what we do directly would put someone's life in our hands, then I might agree to some type of standardized certification. The truth is - this aint rocket science -- however it does require knowledge, skill and a creative bent.

I'm simply tired of those who shouldn't have been put in these jobs to begin with expecting those who do have the education and experience (in whatever form) to fill in the blanks for them, and do it for free or practically free.

FF,
When I first started using boards like this one, my primary intention was to broaden my thinking, discuss best practices perhaps, and maybe get the intellectual stimulation lacking in my home office. (Although I bribe my dogs with treats to keep me company they just don't share my quest for knowledge.)

What I found was exactly what you've lamented about in this thread. Some people want to know how to do their job or why something isn't working (which is because they don't know how to do their job).

Many of the posts are to save time and effort researching. I get that. I'm all for sharing ideas, brainstorming, and giving recommendations. I don't believe in reinventing the wheel. But, I also believe something is lost when all we do is give answers. So many of the queries are the same: recommendations on this or that or new trainers looking for a place to start or trainers facing a new topic to deliver or design.

When I read through the comments in this post, I realized that I look for people now, not necessarily topics, in the hopes that there will be enlightening discussion or questions to think about. Maybe I'll have something valuable to add; maybe not. But, perhaps I will have something to think about it.

I guess this is a long diatribe on why I agree with you. I thought this board would be more about an exchange of ideas and sometimes it is, but more often it's free advice.

Hi Michele - I agree in general about not needing to reinvent wheels, however I cannot even begin to fathom the number of times those of us with real-world experience have tried to advise people in a particular direction (because they asked for it) only to be shut down because "it's not what my boss is telling me to do" (in so many words) or "well, I can't do it that way...just because I can't" If one is only going to do what one's boss is telling one to do, why is one even asking for advice here? If one has already made up one's mind, again - what is one looking for here? Validation? If one is truly interested in growing one's skills/knowledge in this arena, why is one expecting to be spoonfed all of the answers?

Was I new at some point? Sure. But I read books and took (and continue to take) classes, attend(ed) seminars, and observ(ed) other trainers with whom I work(ed)...and I have to say that from the time I was about 7 years old, I had a passion for playing "school"... While most of my friends were playing with Barbies and such, I was pretending that the office room in my house was a school room. My dad even put up a chalk board for me.

Do I expect everyone in this profession to be a fanatic? No. Of course not. But I do expect that professionals actually either be qualified for the jobs they're in, and if they're not, I expect them to get the qualifications they need. If they're not sure how to do something, they should *pay* for an experienced person, resource, etc. to help them do it/learn it.

Would anyone here expect ANY other profession to just hand inexperienced people in their profession their hard-earned skills for free? And I have to wonder... do the people who get their info spoonfed to them go back to their jobs and cite their sources?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fanatic Facilitator,

It seems that about 1/2 of the posts on this forum are people asking for research results or sources for doing research. I can not figure out why they don't know how to do their own research, and why they don't do it themselves. It gets really tiresome to see this over and over and over - people wanting someone else to do their work. Time after time, I try googling on whatever topic it is that someone brings up, and voila! - there is an enormous listing of sources to check out - on any topic you can dream up - four year old kids can do this! Something must be incredibly wrong with our educational system over the past ten to twenty years. Either that, or there are a lot of "comfort-seekers" out there who would rather someone else do their work for them.

And then there is the tired old topic of why people take jobs that they know nothing about - and then post on this forum asking how to do their job - or even what their job title should be! I'll never understand it.

Perhaps ASTD should have two different discussion board forums - one for newbees and one for seasoned professionals. The newbees could ask one another these fundamental questions, and maybe together they can figure out how to do research. They'll never figure it out if we keep helping them do their job. And all we're doing by answering most of their questions is spoon-feeding them.

quote:

Perhaps ASTD should have two different discussion board forums - one for newbees and one for seasoned professionals.

An interesting thought, but I'm not so sure that it's a question of new vs. "seasoned"