Hi everyone. I'm a newcomer to the ASTD web site and had a question on career development or training fundamentals that I wanted to direct here. I've held a job which is part quality assurance (software testing) and part training for a few years now. I've never had any formal training in how to be a trainer, although I've picked up a few things along the way by osmosis (or whatever the absorption technique is). Now I'm thinking more about what kind of education I should have under my belt to go further in training. Can anyone advise me on what kind of program or programs (at the master's level) I should look into for my goals? I checked the archives going back about six months, but didn't see anything on this subject; the closest was a list of recommended books that trainers said were essential (thank you for that post). If I could locate a master's program which included courses which would be useful for a straight education degree, that would be useful, too (I haven't ruled that out as a future career possibility), but that's strictly optional at this point. Thank you!

JohnG

If you are looking into an education for a Masters Degree you should be looking in Human Resource Development. Since you are doing software testing, I am making the assumption you are a computer expert. Even IT guys may benefit from additional education. As a trainer you will need Adult Theory knowledge, Needs Analysis, Instructional Design, Evaluation, Strategic Development, Facilitation and maybe a few other classes.