Training Yourself: The 21st Century Credential

Charles D. Hayes

Autodidactic Press, 2000

This book is a pocket-sized powerhouse of good

information! The author, self-educated and

successful in a number of careers in his lifetime,

shows you how to acquire on your own what you need

to compete in the job market and earn a good living.

He says it all succinctly in a catchy phrase I really

like: Earning a living is tantamount to learning a

living. Whether you have a wall full of degrees and

credentials, or none at all, what is important is to

see to your own education and training to ensure your

future employability.

Mr. Hayes makes the important distinction between

education and training. Education is the theory

side of your enterprise, learning is the technique.

Formal education is learning followed by a test,

training is an open book test---your ability to

demonstrate what you know by utilizing your job

skills.

Credentials don't guarantee competency in a field.

They indicate only a textbook knowledge of a subject.

Some credentials are even earned without merit, or can

be forged. Experience, aptitude, and ability can not

be faked. It is demonstrable training, in the end,

that is important in the business world, and where

we should place our emphasis.

When we take an autodidactic approach to living,

we educate and train ourselves in an active, not

passive fashion. Learning becomes a process, not

a passive exercise, and what knowledge we gain from

study is practically applied. We learn how to think,

problem solve, troubleshoot, improvise, and adapt in

real work situations, instead of just reading,

memorizing, and regurgitating standardized knowledge

on a test. It is those abilities that make us

employable and our jobs and lives interesting and

enjoyable. As the author so nicely puts it, we

can both earn a good living and live a good living!

There are 11 short, very readable, and helpful

chapters:

Seize the Initiative

Think of an Education as Something You Take

Understand Workplace Knowledge

Learn How You Learn

Capitalize on Strengths

Show Interest in Your Work

Build Your Own Resource Bank

Look to the Future

Expect Change

Meet Your Objectives

Read More Books

You could read this little book in one sitting,

but I suspect that once you do, you will want to

carry it with you and refer to it again and again.

It is full of bite-size pieces of practical wisdom.

I highly recommend this book!