Since you don't have a CC near you, I'd really go with getting as much experience with good behaviorists and trainers as you can. You can still read and familiarize yourself with operant conditioning & animal behavior, and getting hands on experience is just as important as being educated. I like working with as many trainers as possible (even those that I don't completely agree with) so that you don't just get one perspective, you get many... and form your classes & training style based on what you personally like and feel works the best. Trainers who really care about helping dogs & people are more than happy to take on apprentices and LOVE getting a volunteer to help them out... trainers who are focused on making a profit and don't really care about their impact on the dog world as a whole are much less likely to take on an apprentice, they just want to brainwash you to their exact way of training and hire you as an employee. The former type of trainer is almost ALWAYS exclusively using compulsive or dominant methods in my experience. I met with a local trainer to possibly apprentice for him, and he bluntly said "Look, I have my own way of training dogs, and I want some one who knows NOTHING about dogs that I can mold to my exact program. You have too much experience." He was an alpha obsessed jerk, so I'm glad he cut our meeting short!
I would not have learned anything of substance from him.
I'm learning from a few great behaviorists, but I really want to go to KPA because it would be an amazing experience for me personally and I would be so juiced to work with my heroes. I feel it would help me figure out the kind of trainer that I want to be, and I love the idea of raising a dog in such an inspiring and motivating training environment.
You should definitely look into any upcoming seminars around you. Sometimes you'll have to travel a distance, but when they're held be really skilled trainers & amazing authors, it is so worth it! I went to a 4-day seminar last year held by Ian Dunbar, which outlined his own training classes, promotion and how to work with dog owners. It was AMAZING and only cost $300 for all 4 days. Totally affordable and a great place to start. Most seminars are only one day and are much cheaper, I love seminars that address specific types of aggression. My favorite seminar was one the debunked everything that Cesar Millan is about, I almost cried tears of joy!