Wednesday, April 24, 2019

It's Official!

Earlier this month, I made a decision.  When I retire in 2033, I would like to work part time as a Professional Genealogist.  I have been watching webinars like crazy and some of them were about creating education plans for both yourself and a society that you are a leader of. 

So I started a new doc on my iPad and just starting brainstorming a Genealogy Educational Plan for myself.  Here is what I came up with:


Genealogy Educational Plan

Goals
To become a certified genealogist 
To become a professional genealogist

Conferences 
To attend at least one National, State, or Regional Conference annually

Institutes 
To attend a genealogy institute at least every other year

Memberships
To be a member of the following local societies: NCGS, WNYGS
To be a member of the following state societies: PGSNYS
To be a member of NGS
To become a member of APG & NYG&B

Education
To listen all new genealogy podcasts as they are published
To watch at least 10 webinars a month
To read at least one genealogy book a month
To attend at least 5 local presentations a year
To read Periodicals

Writing
To write at least 1 newsletter article for NCGS each year
To write weekly blog posts for NCGS

Speaking
Give genealogical presentations to at least 3 different societies/groups/libraries each year

Mentor
Obtain a mentor 
Offer to be a mentor?

Study Groups
To join the ProGen Study Group
To join the Mastering Genealogical Proof Study Group (request sent 4/9/19)
To join the NGSQ Study Group

Books
To build up my reference library

Certificates
NGS American

Brand Myself
To create a website

Create a Resume

ProBono Genealogy Clients
I have already asked Jen, Geoff, and Allyson and they all said yes, I could use them as practice clients


So, to start checking off some of those goals, here is what I have done in the past few weeks:

I booked a hotel for FGS but I haven't yet registered for the conference.  I believe that I will after I talk to Sunny this weekend.  So that will be my one National Conference for the year.

Last month I registered for a GRIP class (Mastering Genealogical Documentation with Dr. Thomas W. Jones) so my attend a genealogy institute at least every other year will be taken care of.

I joined/renewed memberships to the following societies: NCGS, WNYGS, PGSNYS, NGS, and NYG&B.  I'd like to add joining DAR and Mayflower to the list.

For education, I am listening to the podcasts and watching webinars all of the time.  I did some new searching and found some podcasts that I wasn't familiar with so I have added those to my subscriptions.  I have really enjoyed listening to Research Like a Pro and very much enjoyed the episodes where they talked about creating a Locality Guide.  I would like to do this for both myself and NCGS as I learn more about the library and the sources that we have for Niagara County.  In my head, I see a binder with various tabs, but on the podcast they suggested a google doc so that you can click on links to take you to websites.  I'm not sure which I will end up with or maybe a version of both.

I read the book The Stranger in My Genes by Bill Griffeth that Dawn loaned to me.  It was a quick read and gave me some insight into what people may feel when they learn that one of their parents is not their parent.

I wrote an article for the upcoming NCGS newsletter that is themed around adoption.  I talked about watching the TV shows Long Lost Family and Relative Race.  So that will be my one article for 2019 but I won't limit myself to one article if I can think of more for the future.

I am current with my blog posts for NCGS and already have submitted ones into next month.

I gave a presentation yesterday at the Amherst Senior Center for their Genealogy Club.  The topic I spoke on was Death Records with my The D in B-M-D presentation.  Two weeks ago I did an ALE presentation at the Lockport Library and I have already given three presentations for NTLGC, so my minimum of three different societies/groups/libraries has already been fulfilled for 2019 and I haven't yet spoken for NCGS which I am scheduled for two presentations this year.  I will also be speaking at the FHC Fair in October.

I have not found a mentor yet or joined any study groups.

I bought many genealogy books to build up my reference library.  Some were new, some were used on Amazon, and some were from NCGS's book sale boxes.



I started the NGS American Studies course and am half way through the first class.

That's all for now!

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