My surveyors license needs to be renewed at the end of February. I have to complete 24 continuing education hours in order to renew. Four classes at 6 hours a class.
I can sit in a room and vegetate while some guy lectures us while I look at my phone and pretend to listen. Sadly, this happens on weekdays and it is hard for me to leave the company on a weekday to do that.
So option 2 is to take online classes and then take a test to prove I took in the material. Ironically I do not have to take a test in a classroom setting.
So here I am 2 classes down (got a 95 on one test and 100 on the next) and I am on the notoriously dreaded class. The test sucks, instead of the questions being linear with the course, it is purposefully jumbled up so you have to search around for the answers. It is making me nuts and driving me to drink.
I just downloaded the class transcript and I think I am going to scan that for the answers instead, the online class is boring me to tears.
/rant
My yearly recurrent is no picnic either.
I have to have 80hrs annually for my job. That's just the online portion. There are probably 30 hours of training that I take every year in residence. That's just for my professional certifications in Program Management. Then there's my Professional Military Education (PME) that I must take since I'm an Officer. This is usually not very much per year, but there are 3 major ones that I'll have to attend throughout my career.
Squadron Officer School (SOS) which is 2 months in residence.
Then Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) which is 10 months in residence.
And then Air War College (AWC) which is another 10 months
All of these entail college type courses, field training (at varying levels), and Physical Training. And they all require me to move to Maxwell AFB in Montgomery AL for the entire duration of the class. The classes are highly competitive to be at the top of your class, and are required for career progression.
Oh.. and did I mention that I'm required to get my Masters pretty soon as well? haha
MtyMous - I am indeed humbled I am not 100% sure what you do but it does sound intense.
Dan, having grown up around pilots I know you have a hell of a time too.
I guess my gripe is not the classes, I have no problem with that, it is the way they jumble up the test in order to trip you up. If I sat in a classroom and vegetated I would not be dealing with a test, so why make the test 10X harder than it needs to be.
Classrooms next year...classrooms.
I have quarterly Internet junk and test, but those are non jeopardy. Then year end is the important test you can't fail, which is self study. Use to be 125 questions but they simplified it to 50 this past year. This was due to the fact that 2 days are spent in an oral getting asked questions for 4 hours. Then 8 hours total of simulator evaluation, one day non jeopardy, the other jeapordy. 2 full days of ground school prior to the simulator. Then of course random line checks by company check airmen and random line checks by faa inspectors. Fail any of this stuff and you go on a watch list, get suspended, get fired, and definitely have a ding on your lifetime permanent record for when you apply to another job as you move up through the aviation ladder.
One question Dan, do you get paid while you are being tested?
That is my hang up, smaller companies like mine, I either have to hire in a guy to cover for me while I sit in my classes or close down the place, since, technically, nothing can leave the office unless I have fully reviewed it, my company is shut down which costs me thousands of dollars.
I have complained to many of these course providers in the past to offer weekend classes for us little guys and none do. It is a rare day or in a far away city when there is a Saturday / Sunday offering.
I was about to take off Thursday through Saturday to attend classes in the Tampa area (3 hour drive from here) then decided to just do the online again.
All my stress and I scored a 93 on this test that I just finished a moment ago. My wife was watching me stress out as I researched some of the questions on the test. Hell, I can print out the test and answer about 60% of the questions from the top of my head, another 20% just verifying what I suspect is correct, usually I am just want to be sure. Then there is the stupid crap, what rule # is this covered by etc.. which requires me to scour over the course material and find the exact numbers.
Then you have to be sure to read about 10 questions (75 Question test) very carefully, they switch up or delete words in order to trip you up.
I know it is necessary and I even came away from this course with 3 items I want to change on my surveys. So I am learning and getting better as a result. It is just really stressful, which I am sure all of you completely understand.
Yes but it's only about half of my actual time invested.
My job is..umm... multi-facited. Lol I'm the Program manager for the B-1 Bomber. But there is a lot that that entails. I manage multi-billion dollar upgrades and am responsible for fleet readiness. I don't, by any means, do all of it myself. That's another part of the job. I'm an officer, so I'm in command of other people and responsible for their careers, success, and in combat situations, their lives. So training is paramount.
It's a lot of training, but the Air Force manages a majority of the military's budget and I think it's proportionate to the level of responsibility I'm given.
Still sucks though. Lol
That is right I remember now seeing a pic you posted with your crew.
That is a lot of responsibility, my hat is off to you. When my company was larger (25 employees) I hated my life.
Right now I have 3 people working for me and I LOVE it they are all awesome and there is no bullshit.
I have no desire to ever get that big again.
All that said I got shit done today and finished my last 2 classes. I am so relieved right now, my last class was on GIS mapping and it was like learning a new language.
I am glad that is over. Time to have some beer(s).
Crap, and I thought the 'Child Protection' class I had to take for being a den leader for Cub Scouts sucked...
You guys rawk!
Quote from: Mudhen on January 11, 2015, 07:02:28 PM
Crap, and I thought the 'Child Protection' class I had to take for being a den leader for Cub Scouts sucked...
You guys rawk!
:D
Glad you got it knocked out. Always feels good having it completed... until next time. haha.
Yeah, I posted a picture of a few of the team members. Some seriously motivated hard workers. Makes my job easier.