Main image of article Why Train Yourself? An 8.6 Percent Raise For One Thing
BooksCompanies don't pay for employee training like they used to, but continuous learning is a big part of the tech industry. So the bottom line is: The more you train yourself, the higher your salary will go. In fact, 80 percent of the 9,500 global technology professionals surveyed by Global Knowledge and TechRepublic say that training has increased their base salary. Those who trained during the year before the survey earned an average of $6,839, or 8.6 percent, more than those who didn’t train. That difference is more pronounced than in previous years, with the gap at 2.1 percent in 2011 and 3.7 percent in 2010. Digging a little deeper, respondents with expertise in networking, communications or servers and storage believe most strongly that training impacts salary. Those in Web or application development aren’t as sure. Still, over 75 percent took some form of training in the previous year. It makes sense, of course. The smarter you are, the more money you can make. But how do these folks find their new knowledge most effectively?
  • More than 80 percent used the Internet to research topics of interest.
  • More than 70 percent downloaded a white paper, and about the same percentage took a lunch hour to view a webinar.
  • 58 percent engaged in an informal training session while at work. Such training could be in the form of attending a “lunch and learn” session, viewing a webinar, following an online community, or downloading an educational application.
  • 47 percent participated in self-paced online training. Informal methods continue to be popular for staying current on changing technology.
  • 44 percent attended an out-of-office training session.
Note that the list pretty much goes from the least expensive to the most expensive option, and it should motivate you to find out to what extent your company will subsidize. Also, keep in mind that you’re competing with some pretty motivated learners out there. Six out of 10 survey respondents undertook six or more activities in their efforts to stay current. Global Knowledge calls this group “Information Seekers,” and says they see the biggest salary bumps. So how is your continuing training going? Tell us in the comments below.