I decided to talk about the bad side first because that was what was asked about. I do want to say from the start though that I do enjoy teaching. It has its ups and downs but in the end, it works for me. I think everyone needs to decide for themselves if training is right for them. If you have the right personality and opportunity, training can be a great career. If it doesn’t mesh so well though, it can be horrible.
It is very isolating to be a trainer. This is one of the biggest difficulties for some people. Yes, you are around students all the time but they aren’t colleagues. It is tough to be on your own most of the day. Most people are surrounded by their “equals” and can have lots of interaction throughout their workday. Trainers don’t. We work with people but they are usually looking at us in a serving capacity….we are there for them. That is not a coworker. Some students put us above them. I guess because we have the “knowledge they seek” and don’t consider themselves on the trainers level.
You have to be able to take charge of a room and be the center of attention all the time. It is very easy for someone to send the class on a tangent and the trainer needs to be able to guide the students back to the point without offending. Time is always a concern and balancing interesting tangents and getting material completed is always difficult.
In response to the comment about the hours and staying current, the hours can definitely be long. Depending on how many different courses you teach, you may be spending a lot of time and effort trying to keep the information in your brain. This is especially true training is your primary job and you aren’t working with the products all the time.
I don’t see it as a given that you won’t be up on the latest technologies. It depends a lot on your specific situation. If you are an independent contractor and don’t have access to the latest and greatest then it would be true. If you work with a training center, it revolves around the mindset of your location. Some schools are very proactive and will always be looking ahead to the next generation of courses. They will make sure you get beta software and time to prepare well before the courses are out. Other places may not put much of an emphasis on new material until the demand presents itself. One thing that is true no matter what your specifics are, there can always be a demand for OLDER classes. That means you need to be well versed in multiple generations of products and courses because you never know when you will have an opportunity to teach an older version.
I think that’s enough for now. I will post more on this subject in a day or so. I look forward to more questions on this subject so I can clear up anything that is still a mystery.
