Good morning Peter. When I was a Realtor, I had the alphabet soup after my name and made the decision one day to drop them all, it didn't change my business. The public has no clue what all that stuff means.

it's not the designations....it's the knowledge you get from getting them that is impressive.

A big fan of training. Never use the alphabet soup after my name! Most have no clue anyway. Demonstrate your knowledge! 

 The education and training that I have gotten from "alphabet" designations is priceless.  It is a fact, those that have some, make more money.

Consumers may not know what the letters mean, but they do understand that you are probably smarter than the rest....just like my doctor is.

Eve

I doubt the difference matters much, they are both important for all of us.

Though I dont think the public cares nearly as much about those initials on your business card as the people who sold the designations do.

I have a lot of those designations which I don't put on cards or literature because it is meaningless to clinets. What I got was an education.

I am a firm believer in both education and training as our profession requires on-going knowledge.  My alphabet soup has served me well as my clients find the commitment to stay on top puts me ahead of the pack. 

You can educate yourself or some one else can educate you, but can you train yourself?  Good question.  I've always thought training was something someone did to you.

never thought much about the alphabet as a marketing ploy.  Would only do it if I thought I could learn something new.  I think I can learn a lot  here.  Should I market myself as GARU (graduate of Active Rain University) after I've been here for a while?

So the alphabet soup may not mean much to the consumer, but it does mean something to other agents. I have quite a few designations, but got them in the process of learning. Training and education are two different things. But both can be valuable. 

My broker is older than dirt. He knows I say that about him. I make all kinds of jokes about his experience in the business and he takes it very well. He loves my sarcastic side. His experience is invaluable to me, but years ago when the bank owned properties flooded our market, I was driving the ship.

I came to his office with a ton of knowledge about listing bank owned properties because I was doing it and I had studied it extensively. I taught him a lot about that segment of the market. I learned about that from my own personal experience and also from some well taught classes I took to support my REO listing habit. 

Peter, I used to work in IT which has more abbreviations and designations than real estate could ever dream of.  It was not uncommon to see a speaker with 8, 10 or even 15 designations after their name!  I once saw someone with over 20!  I don't think he ever worked a day in his life though.  Just a professional student.  I call these people "Certification Zombies" because they blindly go after every certification they can find. 

I had two IT certs and plans to get 8 more, except the continuing education requirements would have been a full time job.

I've known MANY people who have certifications and can't do the work.  I've known MANY people who can do the work and don't have the certification.

Does the public know what a GRI, CRS, ePro, Gold, SRS, EIEIO mean?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  They don't even know what a "Realtor (c)" means!  Some certifications, like ePro, are just money makers for NAR.  The vast majority of the course is on youtube for free.  You just pay NAR for the title, login to one or two courses online and swear you took the free courses from Zipforms.  No exam required!  Complete and total joke and NAR should be embarrassed to even offer this crap!

As to education v. training, they are both ways to aquire knowledge and in my book are fairly interchangeable.  Both occur in a classroom but training I think of as more hands on and education more textbook (school).  Both get you KNOWLEDGE which is the key thing. 

Some certifications open doors to guarded networks and some people will only refer to someone in that network.  If you want the knowledge you can get the knowledge through NAR or through other avenues.  There is absolutely no reason why your brokerage can't train you as a SRS, CRS, ePro, etc. just not using the NAR qualifier.

I have many designations but I don't display them. Most of the courses I take are for CE requirements in my state.

I agree with Mike & Eve Alexander : "The education and training that I have gotten from "alphabet" designations is priceless. " I encourage agents to take the classes and earn the designations! Learning the best business practices is a must in our industry. The knowledge you gain is invaluable and net working with agents who go the extra mile to become the best of the best is enlightening. You'll be surprised at what you will learn.

I learned a lot from all the designation courses I took.

 Good morning Peter. I think the alphabets are kind of crazy. It looks good but I don't think it differentiates any one person from the other. It's all a sales and relationship game.

I like the answer from Candice A. Donofrio 

I have some alphabets but don't put them after my name. I gained valuable insights by getting more education.

All professions play with the alphabet in hopes that the consumer is impressed

Theory v. practice, short answer. :)

Peter - I am all about learning and honing my craft, but I could care less about any letters after my name. I don't think the public really knows what all those things mean either, nor do most of them care.

As the education and traing helps me do my job better and am able to help my clients better yes. They do not show on my card or internet anymore, although the present Brokerage wanted to know.

I have earned most of those certifications and have received a great body of knowledge along the way. As for the "alphabet soup" of letters, it's all in how you present it to potential clients. I make hay with my alphabet soup and my clients understand it and appreciate it. 

for me education is class and training is "mentoring".  I prefer the later although the prior in necessary. 

Training can be many things, practical as well as structured.  Education is learning whether in a classroom setting or otherwise.

Education reduces stress.  On the job training can be stressful.  I know I should have some designations after my name, but that is not important to me.