Topic 5:

Career Change: Sales Engineer to Training/ Education

Question: I am a recently laid off sales engineer for a small network consulting firm. Upon reviewing my career history, I noted the most enjoyable experiences I had were when I trained up to50 resellers at a time, educating them on our product lines and opportunities for sales. I would love to make the transition into HRD - training and education - but lack significant experience. As an intern in 1992, however, I served as a facilitator in a T&E department of a large HMO in Texas. Unfortunately I did not pursue the career field until now. What advice can you offer to an extremely interested individual?

--Jonathon Davis, Denver

Answer: Many T&D/HRD practitioners are career changers, having worked in one or more professions/industries before deciding to make this career move. As a start, technical sales training and customer service would seem natural subject matters for your training courses. Think about other learning topics that you would be interested in developing and delivering. At this point, you lack the technical credentials to be competitive in the job market. Consider going for certification or a Masters Degree in T&D/HRD, one that would such basic courses as facilitation, instructional systems design (ISD), adult development, workplace learning, e-learning, and performance assessment and improvement. To research your options (both in real time and online), Link to Information Resources for Education and Continued Professional Development Resources.

Join your local ASTD Chapter to become more aware of current practices and strategies as well as for networking purposes. Talk with members who are trainers with engineering/technical/IT organizations to learn about how you can focus your transferable skills and expertise for job search purposes. You can create your individual professional niche by combining your engineering and sales experiences with your T&D professional development learning activities. Given your experience in a consulting firm, look into the possibilities of joining a HRD consulting firm with a engineering/technical clientele.

--AR