How You Can Upgrade Your Skills To Remain Relevant As A Tech/IT Professional
In this post, I will be explaining why you need to upgrade your skills as a tech/IT professional as well as how you can do it.
Given the quick pace of technology, it might be challenging for you as a tech experts to upgrade your skills fast enough. But this is something you must do. Especially if you are looking to migrate from your home country to the US or Europe. No country will give you a visa with outdated skills. You are no use to them that way.
Why Do You Need To Stay Up To Date With Your Skills?
For relevancy and to remain valuable in the industry. Technology is rapidly evolving, and, naturally, skilled technicians and engineers are needed to implement it. If you are not current with skills in your field, you are bound to be irrelevant. You will easily be replaced by people who are deemed more relevant. I imagine what that will do to your income. The reverse is the case when you stay up to date.
This is because, at the rate at which technology is evolving, it can be hard to catch up, so there is a skills gap. The few people who take the time to improve and update their skills become widely sought after, and that means HIGHER SALARY.
This is not only for job holders. If you are an entrepreneur with outdated skills, you might not understand the market and miss out.
Furthermore, if you are someone who is intent on moving abroad with their skills(possibly to the US or Europe), you need to upgrade your skills. It is super important. Nobody will give you a visa if you are not relevant.
Even if you are not looking to migrate, staying up to date with your tech skills has its benefits, e.g. high productivity. It’s a confidence booster for sure because as technology advances every day, you are readily prepared.
With all that in mind, here are 6 ways you can stay up to date with your skills:
- Make Time For It
Yes, I know you are busy and barely have enough time for yourself. But like I said above, if you don’t remain current in your skills, your relevancy will fade.
So it is crucial to deliberately set aside time for learning alone. You don’t need too much. An hour a day for five days a week means that in a month, you would have spent 20 hours developing your skills! How awesome is that?
Set aside time each day to involve yourself fully in something new. No matter what it is—new software, a development tool, a framework, an operating system—whatever you haven’t done before. Poke around and try to figure out and understand it.
Above all else, this will keep your knowledge current, and your abilities keen, and put you on the cutting edge of what is happening in your portion of the world.
2. Take Advantage Of Social Media And The Internet
Twitter is one social media app you should be on. Along with LinkedIn, You can find industry leaders in your field that you can follow and keep up to date with the latest technology.
If you are unsure about who to follow and connect with on social media, you can ask your mentors or people you trust in your space.
Additionally, read blogs, subscribe to emails from websites that specialize in technology updates, and if your company purchases analyst reports, use them.
You’ll gain knowledge about upcoming trends and technology, as well as an understanding of which ones are most popular in your sector. This way you can pick on what to focus on and not waste time trying to learn everything.
3. Attend Tech Events and Trade Shows
Aside from being the biggest source of insights and learning for tech experts, conferences and events are a great way to network and meet other experts in the industry. You can ask pressing questions and get answers. You can learn how people are doing things and solve problems directly from them.
The emergence of COVID has made this event better. You don’t have to go in person. You can attend from the comfort of your home or office. Furthermore, you can watch recorded versions if you missed the event.
One thing is guaranteed for sure when you attend a conference/event, you will learn something new.
4. Utilize The People In Your Network
Talking to people in your network can provide you with a wealth of information that will amaze you. Ask a lot of questions about what they’ve discovered when speaking with friends, coworkers, and subject-matter experts in your network about what they are working on.
Another approach to staying in touch with your network is through social media. Join communities on Facebook or LinkedIn dedicated to discussing technology.
5. Experiment With Personal Projects
I genuinely believe that trying things out for yourself is usually the best way to learn. In my personal experience, there is no greater way to upgrade your skills than experimenting with a personal project on your own.
Try creating a Bitbucket account and using the free private libraries to work on tutorial projects without worrying about having to learn in front of others. You’ll observe that what at first seemed impossible to do becomes understandable after you get the chance to work on side projects for yourself.
If you are a programmer, write code for projects that you really like. This will help you maintain your technical skills at the highest level possible.
5. Read, Read, Read
It may sound simple, but don’t underestimate the power of reading.
One of the best and most effective ways to stay current on the most recent trends and technical skills required is to read technology news and blogs every day.
Follow a few bloggers who write on topics related to your field of expertise.
You can never go wrong with this.
Conclusion
There you have it. These six tips are guaranteed to help you remain evergreen in whatever field you might find yourself in.
Remember, if you don’t stay updated, you will lose relevance. You can check out resources like Codepen, Codewars, and Webmaker for personal projects you can do.
Also, check out blogs like TechCrunch. CNet. GeekWire. Engadget. Recode. Byothefr. Mashable, The Verge, etc
If you are looking to relocate abroad with your tech skills and you need to upgrade your skills, we can help you. We specialize in helping tech professionals become Global Talent.
Indicate interest here.