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ISE Columnist Sharon Vollman, Editorial Director

I’ll NEVER Use That!

June 1, 2017
Remember when you were in High School and you were required to take useless courses? My favorite was evil trigonometry. It tormented me with formulas and concepts that made my […]

Remember when you were in High School and you were required to take useless courses? My favorite was evil trigonometry. It tormented me with formulas and concepts that made my brain hurt. (Yes, I was gifted in mathematics. Riiight.) Still, I would study diligently and get tutoring help just hoping to pass the darned class. After each painful session, I would grumble, "When am I EVER going to use this information in life?!"

Maybe your nemesis wasn’t trig. Maybe it was the required reading of To Kill a Mockingbird. Or, how ‘bout that upbeat book, A Scarlet Letter? Did you ever think Is my future employer going to ask me about Puritan Boston in the 17th Century or how Hester Prynne’s inner strength relates to how I’ll handle myself in awkward client meetings? I’m guessin’ not.

Ah, those were the glory days, right?

Fast forward to now. High School report cards no longer grade you on classes that are useless. Instead, you likely have a love/hate relationship with all the data-driven reporting mechanisms telling your manager how you’re performing on the job. And instead of after-school activities, you have NO time for anything after work. You live, breathe, and dream what someone ELSE says is important — once again.

But, there’s a way to stop that vicious cycle. It’s time to take charge of your own education and professional development. Check out ISE EXPO’s 2017 Attendee Guide on page 32 (in the June print issue and the June digital edition) and see more than 35 accredited seminars and workshops tailored just for you. Then, send a persuasive email to your boss sharing the exact seminars and workshops you plan to take and how your team will benefit from that targeted learning. Tell him/her that you’ll bring back 10 new nuggets of information that will contribute to the group’s overall objectives.

That’ll be a piece of cake! After you attend seminars and workshops, visit the exhibit floor, and network until you lose your voice, it will be hard to get you to stop sharing all the network evolution learning you gleaned in Orlando.

Who needs to reminisce about high school glory days when you can take charge of your future with the new learning opportunities at ISE EXPO 2017?

Register now and discover the knowledge that you’ll use countless times in your career. Go to www.iseexpo.com.

About the Author

Sharon Vollman | Content Ambassador for ISE EXPO

Sharon Vollman is the Content Ambassador for ISE EXPO. She is passionate about collaborating with thought leaders, SMEs and hard-working doers who design, plan and deploy ultra-reliable broadband networks. Vollman is committed to creating a variety of educational offerings for ISE EXPO attendees that inspire them to connect every U.S. citizen with the broadband networks we all want for our children and grandchildren.

Vollman has created educational partnerships with Broadband Service Providers including  AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Frontier Communications and others. She has covered the telecom industry since 1996.