Topic 7:

Career Change: Education to Training

Question: I am in the course of trying to change careers. I have been a high school English teacher for the past 14 years. It's been suggested I transfer my teaching skills/experience into corporate training. Based on preliminary research, it's not too clear how one finds employment as a trainer. Does one work for a company that provides training services to other companies? Does one work as an inhouse trainer for a corporation? Or does one design one's own course (curriculum and materials) and then sell it as an independent contractor? What about the course content? Does one have to have expertise in a specific content or will a company train the trainer to teach a specific content?
--Mark, Philadelphia, Pa and vicinity

Answer: The Career FAQ regarding career changes will provide you with some overall information and suggestions to get you started in redirecting your career path towards HR.

To answer your specific questions:

1. Does one work for a company that provides training services to other companies? T&D specialists who work for a consulting firm providing organizational training services usually are senior level experienced professionals. They usually have an expertise in specific training subjects, e.g. management, communications, organizational change or in the culture, terminology, and training issues of a particular industry, e.g. healthcare, banking and finance, manufacturing.
2. Does one work as an in-house trainer for a corporation? The basic entry-level position for entering the T&D field is as a corporate trainer and instructional designer. An inhouse trainer can work for a private, public, community, or government organization.
3. Does one design one's own course (curriculum and materials) and then sell it as an independent contractor? Some basic questions to first ask yourself are:
   -Do you want to establish yourself as an entrepreneur and do you have the resources to do so?
   -What type of training materials would you develop? In what subject areas?
   -Who would be your audience?
   -How would you market your product?
4. Does one have to have expertise in a specific content or will a company train the trainer to teach a specific content? Usually an organization hires a trainer who has specific content specialties, with the expectation that after becoming familiar with the particular operations of the organization and staff needs; new courses will be developed and delivered.

--AR