6 Free Resources to Continue Your Technical Education

Why is technical education important?

Your company may stress the importance of continuing technical education and possible advancement. As much as that point is talked about by your boss in performance reviews, ultimately you are the person in charge of your career path. When you have a laundry list of required daily assignments, tasks, and projects, further education is tough to fit in and possibly not a top priority.

Technical education is available in a range of formats.

Traditionally, a formal course on-site or virtually seems to be the only options to learn new skills. Education does not need to come only in the form of a sit-down course with an exam at the end. Education, especially technical education, is any type of information that helps with equipment, projects, and methods. There are many technical resources available to professionals seeking education, and the six below resources have an added bonus. They are free of charge!

1. Your company’s documents need to educate your workers.

Do your company’s technical documents educate, or do they just give the necessary information? Manuals, instructions, procedures, and specifications are great formats to add education and information that is useful to the end user. The initial investment in creation provides continued free education to your employees.

• Creativa Writing and Design can add a “Scope” section at the beginning of the document to explain the entire manufacturing process and how this equipment’s procedure fits into it.
• Creativa Writing and Design can add an “Outline” section which explains how the piece of equipment works from startup to final product.
• Creativa Writing and Design can add “Additional Resources” at the end of the document so workers can seek more information.
• Creativa Writing and Design can add reference and attachment sections which can include graphs, scans, diagrams, and charts.

2. The internet is man’s best friend (after dogs, of course).

It’s difficult to imagine our world without the internet. We can search, find, and share pretty much any piece of information. How much are you using internet resources for your technical education? Suppliers and equipment manufacturers may list data sheets, how-to videos, and technical papers on their websites. One of the best finds on the internet for me are videos. They visually give quick information. Need to see how to replace the check valve seals on your HPLC pump? I bet there is a YouTube video showing the steps.

3. Ask and you shall receive.

Ask the thirty plus year work service veteran Steve about why the company uses this type of additive instead of a more commercially available one. Steve might reminisce about his early days as a fresh grad student working at the company and playing on the company’s recreational summer softball team. Steve might also be able to tell you that at the time the commercially available chemical was too expensive, produced by one supplier, or did not interact well with the end user’s applications. Long standing employees carry a wealth of knowledge about the company they have worked for. Ask them your questions, and you may save yourself from reinventing the wheel.

4. Instrument repair and maintenance technicians are your friends.

Like the technical guru Steve, instrument technicians carry knowledge. When they come in the next time to PM your machine or fix a constant problem, don’t leave them in the lab while you work on your tasks. Set aside the time to be with them while they work. Watch how they maintain your equipment, and you may be able to do it yourself the next time. Look at the inner workings of your machine. Maybe you’ve never seen it before! Ask questions. Ask as many questions as you want. You are already paying for them to be at your work site, so furthering your education on the equipment and method is a BOGO deal. Also, I’ve found that many of the technicians like to talk about their trade and offer help rather than being left to get the job done.

5. Free webinars, meetings, open houses, and tech talks are probably happening all around you.

Over the years, I have been forwarded countless emails for webinars, open houses, and free courses. They are probably happening all the time, and with adaptions to the COVID workplace, most of them probably offer a virtual option. Many of these education gatherings come through organizations and affiliations you are a member of. To cover more ground, talk with your coworkers and ask that they forward any offering they get from their industry associations.

An added note on the benefits of tech talks: One time I was having issues with a piece of equipment in our lab. During the same week as my issues, I was forwarded an email for a technical presentation at a local university, and our equipment technician was the featured speaker. It was free to attend, so I worked with my boss to take the time to go. I sat through the presentation and learned a few new items about the instrument’s capabilities and industry standards. The most important takeaway from the presentation was my ability to walk up to our technician, show him our problem scans, and get a diagnosis without a costly scheduled visit.

6. Instrument manuals are a hard read, but they are a helpful read. 

Every piece of equipment comes with an instruction manual. I can say that I’m guilty of reading the bare minimum to get a new piece of equipment running, putting the manual on a shelf, and only opening it again when I have a problem. Our lab had TOSOH™ GPC units, and I had to figure out what a certain error meant that kept appearing on the home screen. When I opened their huge 3-ring binder instruction manual and started flipping through the pages, I realized there was so much information then just basic operations. Manuals don’t offer a story line, suspense, or a dreamy romance character, but they can offer information about the material you’re analyzing, helpful suggestions, and included graphs and scans.   

Finding and using technical education resources around you will help you drive your technical career.

You are responsible for your career path and continuing education. It’s not easy to fit full courses or traditional education into an already busy work schedule. Using the above resources, peers, and companies can provide helpful, available, and (very importantly) free education.