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IT CAREER TRACKS:

Technical Instructor

Technical Instructor, also known as an IT trainer, technical trainer, applications trainer or courseware designer, is an IT professional who imparts his or her knowledge of technology to others. This rewarding career entails passing on both detailed and high level technical information to students.


technical instructor; technical certification; certified instructor; computer trainer

DUTIES

Duties of a technical instructor include staying on the leading edge of chosen technical fields, getting hands on experience with the latest technology through both lab work and consulting work, preparing to deliver course work and perhaps even creating the course work, presenting course work, and providing post classroom help to students. Technical instruction is a highly technical role. A trainer must have a better than average understanding of the topics he or she is to teach. At the same time, a trainer must have very good communication skills and people skills to transfer that knowledge effectively to students. Some of the requisite talents include very good presentation and public speaking skills, effective classroom management, the ability to keep the course on track and on schedule, a consistent calmness to deal with unforeseen problems in the classroom, a wide variety of real world experiences that can be described in class, and the patience to deal with slower students as well as with those know-it-alls who want to constantly challenge the person conducting the class.


PREREQUISITES

A person may consider entering this field after attaining a Computer Science or Computer Engineering university degree, a one or two year computer diploma from a local technical institute, or most any other post secondary education. Equally important is having the drive to try out the latest beta products, being involved in self development organizations such as Toastmasters International, and taking the time to achieve the latest product certifications.


ADVANCEMENT

A technical trainer generally moves on from teaching introductory courses to more advanced and specialized ones. In doing so, he or she gains the flexibility to teach a variety of courses and thus will likely be blessed with fairly regular pay increases. Technical trainers often continue on in the teaching world or mix in teaching with high level consulting work. Some technical trainers leverage their presentation skills and listening skills by moving into tech sales or marketing.


Certification Examples Include:

CTT+