Quite often when developers go to training sessions they either find it very boring because of study or great because they treat it as a vacation. There should be a perfect balance between study and extra activities.
Studying is Boring
Studying is very hard. Nobody likes to study, very few people are going to list “studying” as one of their favorite hobbies. Already my young daughter knows she doesn’t want to study, and I don’t want to either. If you read my blog regularly you know that I am always saying that we need to be students for life. However, all philosophy aside, if you are put in a room with an instructor to study for eight hours a day, you are going to feel bored, uncomfortable, and unhappy. I was a trainer myself, and I understand that all-day study sessions are no fun – even for the trainer. I always tried to be entertaining, but even eight hours of jokes and laughter is tiresome. Eight hours at a comedy club would be boring after a little while – and if we can’t even enjoy fun stuff for eight hours straight, how can we expect to study for eight hours straight?
Studying for Career or Certification
Even those who have advanced degrees and went to college for years, or even decades, find studying hard. There is a difference between studying for a career and studying for a certification. At least to get a degree there is a variety of subjects, with labs, exams, and practice problems to make things more interesting. You can also choose your major and what you want to spend your time studying. For certification you do not have this luxury. You have to learn and memorize specific parts, and there is no option to change your major if you don’t like it. Your option is to gain your certification, or fail. Many people will find that last option unacceptable.
Studying at Vacation
We have established: eight hours of uninterrupted study is boring. That is why I am so excited about what my very good friend is doing with Koenig Solutions. His whole goal was to make classes that are intensive but not in a traditional format. He adds in aspects of the vacation. It is true that you will study and sit with instructors for six or eight hours a day, but in the mornings and evenings you can go out and see the sights in exotic locations. He has chosen the locations for his training courses for their proximity to tourist attractions like the Himalayas, the Taj Mahal, and Goa, India’s most popular resort town. Every location has access to great experiences like river rafting, safari tours, or meditation. There are five locations to choose from: Dehli, Dehradun, Shimla (close to the Himalayas), Goa Beach, and Dubai. After a day of classes and hours of sight-seeing, you will be more than ready to return to campus tired and ready to study. This is the kind of study I can do!
My friend’s point is that studying and fun can still go hand-in-hand. How many times have we heard a professor say this? But this time it is true. There is great fun in learning in exotic locations. If you want to travel in India and are interested in also taking the opportunity to learn something, let Koenig Solutions know.
Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)
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