Not only did I successfully complete my MBTI Step I and Step II Certified Practitioner qualifications, I paddled in the sea and walked along Clearwater Beach, took out a canoe in a State Park and met (and rubbed the nose of) a wild manatee, and visited all 4 Disney theme parks in a day. You have probably already worked out I didn’t do it in England.
I took the qualification in Gainesville, Florida, in early November 2011. Having encouraged others to follow this route in the past, I thought it relevant to check it out for myself (I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you, dear readers!).
The main reason I encourage others to take a trip across The Pond is the cost saving. The base cost to undertake the qualification in Gainesville was £758. To undertake it in England it would have cost me over £4,500. I find the financial saving both staggering and irresistible. And that’s before comparing the weather and leisure opportunities!
Obviously, if your base is in the UK it will probably cost you more in travel costs to undertake the qualification in the US, but there will still be savings. The table below shows what it cost me. You can then work out what your own costs would be and so undertake a comparison should you wish to.
Item | OPP, Oxford | CAPT, Gainesville, Florida | Notes |
Step I | £3,234 (4 or 5* days, split over two periods of time) *OPP website was unclear on exact duration | £758 (3 Days) | The £ rate fluctuates due to exchange rate. The actual price is $1195 ($1295 if booked less than 4 weeks before start of course and $1495 anywhere else in the USA) |
Step II | £1,452 (1 day) | Cost Included in above (1 day) | |
Total cost of qualification | £4,686 inc. VAT (5 or 6 days spread over 3 periods of time) | £758 (4 days in a row) | Cost difference partly because OPP are sole provider in Europe, and there are 3 providers in the US |
Qualification process | Not sure | 5 ‘exams’ – a total of 70 questions. Need to get 80% across all 5 (not in each). | If you are in the less than 5% who do not pass the exams, you can complete the course by submitting an essay once you get home |
Postage for manuals to be sent to UK | Not sure whether this is included in OPP’s price | £85 ($125) | I went with another person, and they were happy to send the Manuals together, which reduced the cost here to £55 each |
Flights | n/a | £450 return | |
Rail fare to airport | £30 | ||
Car hire (US) | £104 (for 1 week) | ||
Fuel (US) | £37 (for 458 miles) | Some of this was ‘pleasure mileage’ | |
Accommodation (US) | £30 per night | ||
Food (US) | £20 per day | Breakfast free at hotel, CAPT provide great snacks and drinks all through the training day |
I went for a week as I was only able to get flights for less than £1,200 by staying for 7 nights. Consequently, I had an additional 3 days of very enjoyable rest and relaxation – as outlined in my opening paragraph.
Whilst the cost savings can be persuasive, I accept that this is only one aspect that people consider when undertaking learning. Encouragingly, I found that all the other aspects were positive.
The Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) is the provider and they appear to be closer to Myers and Briggs ‘origins’ than some of the other providers. For example, in their ‘Library’ where breaks are spent, they have Isabel Myers’ writing desk which she used for much of her work.
Our trainer was the ex-CEO of CAPT who now delivers these courses all around the US. He was very, very knowledgeable with 37 years’ experience of using and developing the MBTI instrument, although he was more of an instructor than a trainer.
There were 11 people in our group – 8 from the US, 2 from the UK and one from Belgium. I both enjoyed and benefitted from the international mix – and from the feedback we received, our US colleagues also found it beneficial – and found the language differences very amusing! The international mix really did add an extra dimension to the programme which would certainly encourage me to undertake further learning in America. As examples , there were participants from the private, public and third sectors, and one person on the course was the Head of HR Administration for President Reagan’s adminstration.
One of my concerns prior to undertaking the programme was whether I (or how easy it) would be to then register with OPP in the UK so that I could purchase materials and reports. It has been very easy – I sent them a PDF of my certificate and they added me to their database within 48 hours. They have been very helpful.
I realise that some readers may not know what the MBTI instrument is – my next post will address this.
Gaining the qualification was an achievement, and visiting all 4 Disney theme parks in a day was also an achievement – and combining the two together made it a truly memorable event!
Paul