I'm writing this from a conference room in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I'm thrilled to be attending the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference as well as the Federation of Genealogical Societies national conference. Both are part of my goal/focus to continue my genealogical education this year. In addition I'm reading more scholarly genealogical journals, and was also honored to attend Elizabeth Shown Mill's outstanding Advanced Methodology class at the Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research this past June.
Given finances, three busy children, time off of work and my husband's busy work schedule as well, I know it is not always easy to attend conferences, workshops, institutes and the like. But I listened this year to the wisdom of certified genealogist Elissa Scalise Powell who has the same challenges and has said many times on various genealogical mailing lists that making the commitment, no matter how much juggling is required, is always worth it. and boy, is she right!
Many options for professional development exist in addition to national conferences. A number of onsite and online offerings exist for genealogy classes and certificate programs. A genealogical society near you likely has an upcoming regional or local conference, workshop or seminar. Even if you can't make the conferences, you can often purchase taped recordings of the lectures. Most professional genealogists regularly read peer-reviewed research and case studies in scholarly genealogical journals, such as NGSQ, TAG, NEHGR, etc. Similar journals exist in countries around the world. If you're interested in pursuing a career in genealogy, then a free mentored study group called ProGen may be the answer for you. Networking with other genealogists through mailing lists, Facebook, Twitter and Second Life offer additional opportunities for professional growth.
No matter your financial and time constraints, I challenge you to make a commitment to your continued genealogy education. You won't be sorry!
What can I say. I wish I was there. My wife and I went to a great regional conference in New York years ago. We had a great time and learned enough so everyone at church treated me like I was a professional genealogist (I’m not).
I am a current participant in the ProGen 8 Study Group and I highly recommend it. Even though it is an online group we learn a lot from each other. This is also a great option for transitional genealogists as this study group addresses issues that affect the professional genealogist.
Gwynn