Hello CMX Community!

How did you get into Community?  How did you become a Community professional?  Many of us "fell" into this industry and learned on the job, without formal training. 

But, did you know that there are now over 15 online courses on Community Management? 
9 were born in the last 18 months! The community sector is hot!  Let's discuss how courses can impact your work and our industry.

Courses include the CMX Community MBA and those from The Community Roundtable, Feverbee, Commsor C.School, On Deck, Greg Isenberg, among others.  In Australia, two universities offer online certification courses.  And of course, vendors like Khoros, Facebook, Vanilla/Higher Logic have courses for their users.

So many options! 

WHAT:  Discussion & Q&A - Which Community Management course is right for you?  
And, should you even take a course when you are already working as a Community Manager?
Join us for a lively discussion about this topic!

If you want to work in community, taking a course is useful. You still have to learn/grow on the job.  For experienced CMGRs, training broadens your toolset & widens your network of support.

WHY:  Our industry is on a meteoric rise and we need to be ready to ride this fast-moving spaceship.  Taking training courses is one way to grow one's skills and capabilities. In addition to continuous learning on the job and having a supportive network around you.

Many community professionals have a hectic workload. Hopefully, fun and engaging work as well  We need all the tools we can get to flourish as Community Managers.  Because thriving Community Managers foster thriving communities.  Win/win!

PANELISTS:   

David Spinks, CMX Community MBA
Noele Flowers, C.School

Your CMX Office Hours co-host, Tina Amper, has conducted research on Community Education.  She will be sharing some of her insights during the call.   We are also trying to invite Course Providers to join in.  And, if you have taken any of these CM courses, we'd love for your to share your experiences in the panel, please contact the hosts.  Thank you.

Related ARTICLES:
List of Community Management Courses, compiled by Tina Amper

A Guide to the Community Career Path by David Spinks

Foundational Skills Required for Community Management by The Community Roundtable

#OfficeHours is the term we use so you can ASK US ANYTHING ABOUT Community topics:  

This is your chance to ask us anything related to #community.  Whether you are new to community or an experienced professional -- tell us your challenges, concerns, questions about community management!  We pick one topic per month and we invite experts to discuss these topics with you during Question and Answer format.  Consider this a short group-mentoring session. We want to help you flourish and succeed at work, so join us!   If you have other questions, feel free to message @TinaAmper or @Claire Smith. 

VOLUNTEER:  If you are an experienced CM professional with knowledge of this topic, please join and volunteer to help answer questions.   We don't always know the answers but we sure can discuss our way out of trouble.  Right? Let's go!