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What is the most effective form of Technical Training for professional engineers?

Some colleagues and I were discussing the most effective form of Technical Training for professional engineers.

 

When discussing the different training methods, we were considering different trade offs like time taken, cost, benefit, etc. We've come up with this list and we each have our preference.

 

We'd like to increase the sample size and see what other people think.

  • in reply to dougw

    Hi Douglas,

     

    You are correct.  The best skill that an engineer can develop is how to apply information from many fields to tackle problems with new solutions.

    I would often pull knowledge about hydrodynamics to look at air flow and pressure issues.

    In my new book, I show how thermal conductivity occurs just like electrical conductivity.  It is all based upon the difference in energy potential.

    I see these same themes repeat time after time in each science domain, its just that few people bother to look at the similarities and connect the dots.

     

    DAB

  • Learning is always a process that starts with exposure to new material or extrapolation and synthesis from previous knowledge. For engineering, new material is generally visual, sometimes with audio support. New material must be remembered and integrated with, and related to, existing knowledge. Gaps in knowledge and relationships can sometimes only be discovered by trying or testing. The methods in the poll all use the same process, just with slightly different weighting to the various stages. The most effective method is generally the one that makes the most linkages to previous knowledge, thus providing the best retention and highest understanding. This will usually be a combination of methods. As mentioned, there are numerous factors that dictate how effective a method will be and which one is most effective for given starting and ending conditions. However it is still a good question to ponder as the most important thing engineers learn is how to solve problems - which is either an exercise in memory or an exercise in learning.

  • I think the answer to this question, and all great questions, is: it depends. It depends on the quality of the material/activity being learned, the learner's style of learning, and the task at hand. I know engineers who can learn everything they need from an informed conversation with a colleague, and other engineers who cannot follow a conversation and need hands-on training. I know engineers that can glean every piece of information from a textbook or white paper, and others who require video tutorials. The most important kind of training is the training of yourself that lets you know what kind of learner you are and ultimately how to teach yourself.

  • I have found off-site single-day training sessions to be very effective.  It's rare that I can justify more than a single day away from projects, but I find that I can pick up a great deal in a well-run single day of training.  Anything that needs more depth can usually be done by getting tech ref manuals and/or development boards from the vendor(s).  The single day of training generally tells me what's worth looking into further.

     

    Of course, "off-site" needs to be close enough that it doesn't take more than 2 hours to get there.