Arcboy,
There are many things you can do if you are serious about learning. Are you currently working in the inspection industry? Some companies fund classes and seminars. Do you have welding experience? There is nothing like learning how to make the welds you will be inspecting, you never forget what IP, wagon tracks, burn through, undercut, etc. look like once you make them yourself. How many welding processes are you proficient in welding?
How about non-destructive testing? RT, MT, PT, UT - There are some great places on the internet to get the basic understanding of NDE:
http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/communitycollege.htmAnd then there is destructive testing and failure analysis, not to mention the advanced NDE like AUT, Phased Array and computed radiography.
You must have a computer, how are your computer skills? Do you have Microsoft Word and Excel experience? Most shops are using these basic applications for everything from reporting, job tracking, weld logs, etc. How about AutoCAD, blue print reading, welding symbols? Report writing is another thing that can be practiced; I wish I would have paid a little better attention when I was in English class after reading some of the well versed people out there. The industry is moving more and more to computers so keep up with that.
How about materials and metallurgy? Do you know where to lookup material specs for plate, pipe, fittings, flanges and forgings? What about alloys? Mild steel, low alloy, high temp, stainless, austenitic, martenstic, 300 series, 400 series. How about dissimilar welds? What about heat treating?
What about in-service damage mechanisms and corrosion or fatigue?
Etc, etc, etc
My point is, you are entering a great field that you can spend a lifetime learning, take it one step at a time, follow what you like and you will have a great career, I think many people get into a kind of rut (for lack of a better word) because they are unwilling to learn something new... it takes effort and time to keep moving ahead and learning new skills and practices! It's easy to get into the "rut" of the same thing day after day. SO... don't stop learning!
Oh, and don't forget to pass on what YOU have learned.
John