Why Learning To Upskill Improves Your Career

 Despite the fact that such an improvement can lead to unprecedented increases in productivity and ingenuity, many people tend to let go of the idea once they've reached a stable place in their career. Usually, those are the same people who end up wondering why their careers have flatlined. The answer to that, simply, is that they've neglected to work on themselves. In a market that values excellence, high-quality, and expertise, here is how upskilling can improve your career.

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It Broadens your Range

Range is always a sought-after quality in the market. Having a wide skill set can help you within your field, and when switching careers, if you ever consider doing so. By adding only one extra skill, or even a soft skill, you can put yourself on a managerial track instead of a technical track. Even more, if you're someone who likes to spice things up, upskilling will help you pull off any career shift you want. In other words, by having a broad range of skills and abilities, you'll be able to open for yourself a large number of doors in various fields. Don't forget that the markets are always changing. It's always good to keep yourself as versatile as can be.

It Increases your Value

Second, let's look at it from the point of view of an employer. Imagine if you had a team of graphic designers, all with a relatively similar set of skills. Of this team, one goes out and finds themselves a useful site, and after an intensive course. They then manage to obtain a certificate in digital marketing. In this case, even though the skill set of a digital marketer is not the one you require, them knowing how to communicate with an audience through design is a plus. It adds to their value as employees. Not just that, but by learning a new skill while managing to uphold their duties, they'll also be showing you that they are still willing and able to learn new information, that they are determined hard-workers, and that they are capable of effectively managing their time. If you were able to send those messages to your boss, who do you think they will consider for promotions first?

It's a Self-Investment

Aside from the business-oriented benefits, people love to learn about their interests. If you can upskill in a field you're interested in, it means you're choosing to invest time and effort in something you love, and in other words, yourself. Because love and passion inspire creativity, you can trust that the skills you'll learn will make their way into your work and your daily life. Whether you opt for upskilling close to your field or for treading new grounds, the added skill set is guaranteed to come in handy at some point. Just like any piece of information you read, any skill you learn can be implemented within anything you do. If you're a business expert, but you decided to learn music, you can easily become a band manager. If you're a coder who is interested in art, you can use color theory when designing your websites/software. It doesn't matter what you learn, as long as you invest in yourself, you're guaranteed to reap the reward.

New Opportunities

Anywhere you go in life, if you're open to it, you will build connections. After having spent the duration of an entire course with a teacher and a number of students, you will unintentionally build new connections, it's almost guaranteed. If you combine your knowledge and drive with that of your fellow students', you can build a successful side-business. Even if we remove the potential of you working with people. Having a simple skill such as video editing can slowly but surely pull you into the world of freelance video editing. Before you know it, you could be setting your own hours, choosing your projects, and charging over 75$ an hour only for a side hustle. 

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When you learn a new skill, you also indirectly expand other areas. For one, you increase your ability to store information. Two, you build confidence in your ability to handle a larger load of work than what you were previously used to. If you add your indirect skills to the direct skills you'll acquire, an improvement in your career will present itself. With a wider skill set, you can ask for more pay. Even without you trying to, your value will show itself, making you the better option when it comes to promotions. Still reluctant about upskilling? If you are, what's still holding you back?

Isabella Humphrey

Update 15 October 2020