I'll bet I have trained a thousand people over the years. My time was wasted on most of those as they just quit and walk away. They usually say "pump work is just too hard. Nobody in their right mind would do that for a living." However, some of those stayed years and learned a lot. But you have to be careful who you teach and how much, because they will quit you and start their own business. Unfortunately that is how most of my competition got trained. They will even call your customers and tell them "they no longer work for Cary". They now have their own pump business and will beat Cary's prices, which they also studied. So most pump guys will only teach you as little as they have to.
I use to teach classes at the NGWA, and several state and local venues. But you have to be careful there too. Most of those classes are taught by the pump manufacturers. They will only teach you how to sell their stuff. Most of those classes are given to the companies that do the most advertising in the magazine. You can get a few generic classes on rules, regulations, and that kind of stuff. But most are just product training classes designed to show you why their products are better than the next guys. And most of those "teachers" know less than you do.
Most things a pump man knows are learned the hard way. Try something that doesn't work, so you don't do it that way again. It really takes a lifetime to accumulate the knowledge. I helped with my first water well in 1968, and I still learn something new everyday. The best way is to work for a "good" pump man for several years, and do the Vulcan Mind Meld thing on him everyday.
I commend you on your desire to learn about pumps. The Internet is a wonderful tool. It wasn't available when I was learning. Just be careful to read past the "fluff" and question everything you read. There are also a few good books like Boyce mentioned. But the best way is just get out there and do it.
