So, a weekend class or seminar would be great, and there are some of those which pop up from time to time, such as the ESC events, but those generally cost about $1000 USD. I'm not opposed to investing that in my professional development, but I want to know that I'm in the best position to get my money's worth out of it, meaning that I've spent the time learning from whatever resources are available outside of the training first.

My company has shown very little interest in sending me to these classes in the past, as my code "works". What I don't have in any kind of objective measure about how well I'm doing compared to others in the industry. We all know that comparisons are fraught with dangers and are of limited use directly, but they are useful for learning and getting ideas which can help a person develop their own craft.

From time to time I have looked for professional organizations here in Dallas, but not come up with much. I'll probably look back at IEEE again.

Thanks!

--David