If you're on your own to get training, courses can get expensive. Take advantage of every opportunity to network with other testers, attend local presentations on testing by test tool vendors, and check out testing sources on the Internet. In addition, many local libraries have books on testing that can start you on the road to gaining testing knowledge. The urgent often takes the place of the important. Sometimes you have to make time to do the truly important things.
Training is an investment that pays big dividends in both efficiency and effectiveness.
If you set personal goals, you will be in a three percent minority of successful people. Success seldom happens without planning. Seek management's assistance in building your testing skills, but don't wait for it. Enlightened managers invest in people and reap dividends in prevented problems. Unenlightened managers focus on cutting costs, do not provide the tools to do the job right, and will instead spend much time and money on fixing problems.