Educational and Career Philosophy

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Introduction
Career development
Issues in the solution
Using the Web

Once you acknowledge the fact that new technology and constant change are going to be a part of your daily life, you will also need to make adjustments to 'traditional' concepts of education and career development.

I read recently that the 'information worker' entering the job market can expect to be required to relearn their knowledge base every 4-5 years. At first that might seem a little radical, but let's do a little math.

		1994                    2002
	     -  1984                 -  1994 
	     -----------             -----------  
		  10 years                 8 years
 

Reflect on what has happen to your knowledge base in these particular 10 and 8 year periods. 1984 is the year IBM introduced its personal computer. Those 10 years lead to great advances in both hardware and software areas and the knowledge required to use them. The last eight year period has been dominated by the World Wide Web. As intensive as the PC period was to the business world, it pales in comparision to doing business on 'Internet time'. While comparisons are often difficult, I think the contrast demonstrates the fast and faster pace of technological change.
reflect: In 1984, a 'high end' PC came with 10 MB hard disk and a 40-page user manual was BIG! In 1994, businesses wrestled with the question of whether to put their Web address in their ads, pondering if customers would understand what to do with this string of characters starting with 'www'.

The knowledge base that I entered the work force with has been expanded and essentially replaced several time over. In fact, when I introduce myself, I jokingly refer to anything pre-Internet as "in a pervious life". The key point is that the majority of the work I do now, with a personal computer and the Internet, didn't even exist when I entered the work force -- I learned new skills. The pace of change brought on by the World Wide Web shows no signs of ever slowing down.

If you believe what the 'futurists' tell us, that technology is on an exponential growth curve, you might question whether the 4-5 year cycle mentioned above is too conservative. We may have to relearn even more rapidly.

The questions as I see them are simply these: How do I:

1. relearn my knowledge base every 4-5 years or less
2. do productive work (i.e. something someone will pay me reasonable bucks for)
3. have time for personal ambitions
4. spend time with my significant others
5. just plain relax and watch the grass grow

Your career is your responsibility, not your manager's, not your company's. Career development [read: 'ongoing education'] is something you must attend to on a regular basis. If you don't learn something new EACH and EVERY week, take an hour or two on Friday and force yourself DO IT. Follow your curiosity.

Need incentive? As your company evolves, so do its skill requirements and job definitions. If you do not continue to learn and acquired new skills, in approximately 4-5 years you may find that your 'skills' are a footnote to "the way we used to do things", and are no longer required -- pink slip time!!

While you have a job, you need be begin 'learning' and preparing for your next one. Feel guilty about 'stealing' time from your regular job? Just think of it as helping your employer get the kind of employee [you] they will need a few years from now. The added benefit here is that you [not your employer] get to pick how your career will evolve.

30-minute rule: See something new you think you might like to try? Give it 30 minutes of your time right now, not later. In 30 minutes, you will get a pretty good idea whether it is worth spending more time and if so, you can schedule it. The key is to do it now! If you put it on your 'list', it will never happen and your career development will be the less for it. [See #2 for more 30-minute thoughts.]

bottomline: career development - make it a priority!

Your solution will be unique to who you are and where you are in your career. Consider the following as you determine the best career development approach for yourself.

1. Different people learn in different ways
2. Many of your peers feel they have completed their 'schooling' and aren't interested in additional learning
3. Many people are reluctant to admit that they don't know something or can't learn / grasp new concepts quickly.
4. Most companies (despite what they say) pay you to work, not to learn
5. Traditional classroom and packaged self-study approaches to learning often do not mesh well with new technology in a work environment
6. Much of what needs to be learned is very company, job, task, or installation specific. In many cases, on the job learning is the only way to get these skills!
7. When was the last time you volunteer to work on a new project at work that would require you to learn new skills?

The era of the World Wide Web brought with it drastic changes to the business / life equation. It also brought with it the mean for you to enhance / augment your knowledge base to keep up with it. The underlaying mystery to the success of the Interent is so simple it is often overlooked. The key is the ability to gather information, share knowledge, and to do it instantly around the world! The more you share, the more you learn!

The World Wide Web is your best career development tool. Learn to find what you need!