Staying Current
NOTE: When we refer to “formal training” we mean either “attend seminars and conferences” or “in-house training.”
Methods of staying current
| Read relevant websites/zines/blogs | 95.8% |
|---|---|
| Trial-and-error | 81.2% |
| Read books | 71.8% |
| Work with others at my company | 59.8% |
| Participate in discussion boards | 42.6% |
| Attend seminars and conferences | 35.5% |
| In-house training | 32.6% |
| Participate in mailing lists | 29.6% |
Self-study (read websites and books, trial and error) is how most people stay current (70% or better of the respondents). Formal training (conferences or in-house training), trails far behind (approximately one third of respondents). This result is consistent with the 2007 findings.
Participation in formal training by age group
| 18 and under | 40.9% |
|---|---|
| 19-29 | 51.4% |
| 30-44 | 56.7% |
| 45-64 | 54.1% |
| 65 and over | 37.5% |
| Overall | 53.5% |
Those age 65 and over participate least in formal training (37.5%). Those 18 and under are the next lowest group (40.9%), probably because they are mostly still in school. The other age groups all show over 50% participation in formal training, ranging from 51.4% (19-29) to 56.7% (30-44).
Participation in formal training by gender
| Female | 59.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | 52.4% |
| Overall | 53.5% |
Women respondents participate in training more than the men (59.2% to 52.4%). This finding is consistent with the 2007 results.
Participation in formal training by job title
| Accessibility Expert/Consultant/Lead | 73.9% |
|---|---|
| Usability Expert/Consultant/Lead | 72.6% |
| Web Director | 63.8% |
| Interface Designer, UI Designer | 62.4% |
| Information Architect | 62.2% |
| Project Manager | 60.3% |
| Marketer | 58.8% |
| Creative Director | 56.7% |
| Other | 56.1% |
| Web Producer | 54.8% |
| Writer, Editor | 53.8% |
| Developer | 52.7% |
| Educator | 50.7% |
| Webmaster, Web Master | 50.1% |
| Art Director | 49.7% |
| Web Designer | 47.4% |
| Designer | 46.0% |
| Overall | 53.6% |
Of Art Directors, Web Designers, and Designers, less than half participate in formal training. Accessibility Experts, Usability Experts, Interface Designers, and Information Architects (who, coincidently, represent the leading edge of the field), have the greatest percent participation in formal training. The overall patterns of participation in formal training by job title are consistent from 2007 to 2008.
Participation in formal training by organization size
| Self-employed / freelance | 44.5% |
|---|---|
| 2-5 employees | 52.4% |
| 6-10 employees | 51.8% |
| 11-25 employees | 54.2% |
| 26-50 employees | 56.8% |
| 51-300 employees | 60.4% |
| 301-750 employees | 63.7% |
| 751-3000 employees | 63.3% |
| More than 3000 employees | 66.6% |
| Overall | 55.2% |
As last year, in general, the larger the company, the more likely people are to participate in formal training.
Participation in formal training by salary range
| Less than $10,000 | 44.3% |
|---|---|
| $10,000-$19,999 | 48.5% |
| $20,000-$39,999 | 48.4% |
| $40,000-$59,999 | 54.0% |
| $60,000-$79,999 | 60.5% |
| $80,000-$99,999 | 60.9% |
| $100,000-$119,999 | 60.9% |
| $120,000-$149,999 | 61.4% |
| More than $150,000 | 57.8% |
| Overall | 53.6% |
The higher the income, the more likely people are to participate in formal training, except for a slight dip in the percentage participation for those earning $150,000 or more.