Here is an interesting tale about learning and how education is rapidly evolving. It's evolving as you read this. It is transforming rapidly into a form that is tremendously evolved from what it once was. Real world expectations are rapidly changing, as are skills requirements. Online learning is giving people an opportunity to keep pace with the radical changes, given this landscape. This story looks at what's different and offers an alternative for those of us who may be frustrated because they have difficulty maintaining pace with the new requirements that employers expect in 2013.
After graduating from college many years back, I had a unusual recognition. Even though employers respected that I was well-educated and considered hiring me because of this, I hadn't learned many of the skills that companies truly value. Yes I could write, I could do math, and I could carry on an articulate conversation. However, beyond the skills I had used to complete assignments when I was a student, anything else I was expected to know, I would have to acquire. I had spent four years in college learning about Literature, Sociology and History, but I didn't know how to set up spreadsheets. I surely wasn't up to speed on the cutting edge business applications that were in demand at that exact moment.
I realized that, although I had learned plenty in my years of study, there was so much that I didn't know and would need to know, in order to succeed. There were quite a few entry-level jobs available that had low salaries. But, what did I think I'd find? I had a lot to learn. I needed plenty of training that these low level jobs would provide. I had to move beyond what I had studied in the classroom, and I had to learn the skills necessary in the industry I ended up in. I worked a few jobs before moving to education. In order to become a teacher, I had to study a whole new group of skills. But I liked teaching, and I became good at it quickly.
As a high school teacher I heard the same thing so many times. A student asks: "When are we ever going to need this?" I would usually give them an imprecise answer about how what we were studying contributed to their overall education, which was important. Naturally, it is important that people understand history, know about science, and are able to do math. But I was kidding myself. I gradually came to see that as an educator, there was not a lot that I was truly teaching them, and there was little that my students were learning in the classroom that was giving them the skills they would need for work.
The students I worked with understood that there are a lot of important skills that they could have been studying. There are important skill sets that can be associated with pretty much any area of interest. These skill sets are valuable in the work world because they can greatly build job prospects. My students understood that there were things that they would have to eventually learn that I wasn't teaching them as an educator. The students knew that there were important things that they could have been spending their time on, along with learning about the events of the past, how the world works, and how to solve mathematical problems. Questioning whether or not they were ever going to need what they were being taught happened to be a mark of irritation, an acknowledgment that what they were being taught was not really preparing them for where they would end up after graduation. I realized due to my own background that it was unlikely that they would acquire too much of this material in college either.
These days things are different than they were when I finished college. Employment is not as easy to attain. Entry-level jobs with relatively low salaries where recent graduates and people changing careers could acquire a new skill set are currently highly competitive. So how does one get a job in this competitive job market, when traditional schools do not emphasize the skills that are most needed in the work world? The key is literally at your fingertips. The key is that you must discover what skills are needed for the career path that you have an interest in. After that you have to do what it takes to learn those sets of skills. Don't just learn them; make sure you master them.
Whether it's project management, music production, sales or law-enforcement, there are new cutting edge skills and new software applications, specific to that industry, that are regularly being launched and improved. In addition to this, there are numerous general applications and sets of skills that are used extensively that employers look for a true grasp of.
Nowadays, job seekers must spend the time and truly learn precisely what new skills are right now being demanded by recruiters. Reviewing companies' websites can inform you. Picking up the phone and calling the human resources department can bring valuable intelligence as well. Making contacts with folks working for these types of companies should lead you in the right direction. The new employment search plan of action must be one that is a bit more skills focused than it used to be and much more skills centered than standard education develops us for.
So how does one learn these skill sets? What does one do to get training when development of skills is no longer the part of the job that it was before? The solution is on the internet. Over the past several years, e-learning has evolved, from what was previously a supplement to what's done in the classroom, to a gigantic industry that provides highly specified training right then and there in the most essential subjects one can think of. Whether the line of work you're looking to achieve requires that you are capable of building websites, editing video or pitching to clients, skills building programs are available on the internet for a significantly lower cost as compared to what you would spend to go to college. Online education programs are also notably cheaper than the same course would be at a a local training center.
A close look at the e-learning courses that are available will immediately reveal that there are a tremendous number of skill sets that one can study. Subjects range from handicrafts and cake decoration to marketing concepts and engineering. Most of these is developed and ready to be studied at a great level of specialization and intensity, right now and from right where you are. The availability and the breadth of the courses that one can log onto goes way beyond what has been on hand through standard education. Although highly particular educational programs have always been on hand, prohibitive time and locational obligations have usually been required. These requirements are no longer a problem in the realm of the internet.
The skill sets you have to learn to do well are indisputably at your fingertips. The only question left is in which way to proceed. These days e-learning is a flourishing field. There are a nearly infinite number of programs, available now. All that is required to begin is a survey of what skills you will have to learn and a bit of intensive learning at a location that is convenient for you, in front of your computer. And you'll definitely be significantly more qualified than before for that all important job interviews.
If you have completed your degree and realize that there is a good deal more that you need to train in, if you are a student right now but recognize that you still have to acquire certain skills to get the kind of job you would like, or if you just never finished college and need to develop your skills, online learning is probably the best approach to develop and improve the skill sets you will have to learn to land the career that is right for you.
