Recently I’ve been browsing through the corporate website and discovered a Training Calendar detailing certain courses that are held each month. A lot of these courses are (only recently) mandatory for Graduate Engineers to attend. Other people who have been there a while (like myself) have to get approval. But I think they are available to anyone, provided they have a signed Training Request Form from their boss.
I actually applied for a few of these courses during June/July in advance, taking the window of opportunity available at the time. In the last couple of weeks I’ve done some Excel courses (advanced and macros) which was good for a number of reasons:
- I’d never had any formal training in Excel before, everything I know is self taught
- I got to learn about Macros and Pivot Tables which I never really used before
- I discovered I am actually working at a level above “Advanced” (sweet)
- It meant I could get out of the office for 2 days each time which meant I could actually stay awake during work hours for 2 days in those weeks
- I could meet new people at the same time.
This week I’m attending a Contracts Management course. This lot of training will be the first proper study I have done since uni and while it may not be particularly exciting, at least my career will be advancing for these 2 days and not “going backward” (as I lose more and more brain cells and begin to forget knowledge – why does the office do that?)
By the way, thanks for the email Steve! I feel your pain! I no longer work any more hours than I have to. I might have even walked past you in Borders, I go to Boffins as well a lot. I need to get out of there for an hour a day! 
Here’s an interesting video on How To Stay Awake, it’s presented by a good looking female (probably like someone in your procurement department) and it may assist you in staying awake. I’ve watched it twice, but not for the content, haha.
Be proud of who you are. Get yourself a “World’s Best Project Engineer” Mug.
