How to Build Skills?

We are confronted with new technologies every passing day, regardless of whatever field one is working in, right? I assume no one will be having any second thought on this particular topic. To keep ourselves in alignment, we have to keep ourselves skilling up.

In my personal opinion, gone are the days where a person got a job or started a business and then keep themselves occupied in that particular domain and retire. Obviously, with experience, and with time, they get better and better in that domain. The experience point still holds true. One can not disroot the fundamentals.

I have seen people aged around 40 years, changing their careers multiple times, trying to explore different areas, reshaping themselves, building skills, and becoming quite successful.

However, this doesn’t mean you quit your job today and try to follow your passion and end up regretting your decision quite possibly. Most of us misunderstood, building up skills which are for you with your passion. Passion is something you will acquire with time and experience. We cannot judge any specific domain to be good or bad for us in just a matter of days or even months.

So, what to do then and how to do it? The what part should come from your side. I will tell you how to start in this article. Let’s suppose you are currently having your dream job, doing what you love, making a good chunk of money, meeting all your needs, saving, and investing regularly, and have a clear path for attaining financial freedom in a few years. But still, you guys need to upskill, in your domain, because, as I said earlier, the technologies are advancing so rapidly, it is possible that current things which you are doing may not be significant after a few years.

As I have read and observed, most people who are doing great, not only in terms of money but with the colleagues they are working with, the followers they have gained, have been following a T-shaped approach.

You must have heard the phrase “Jack of all trades and master of none”. The T-shaped one follows “Jack of all trades and masters of some” which in my opinion, is very much relevant in the modern era. Let me explain to you more clearly. The horizontal line in T denotes that you have knowledge about so many technologies and skills that you can take part in most of the discussion. However, the vertical line denotes, the areas in which you are having expertise.

It is simple to understand, but difficult to follow as it requires brainstorming, patience, time, and, consistency which most of us lack. You have to sit down with yourself, spend as much time as you can with yourself, and try to figure out these things.

I have some methods which I have tried and they are working well for me with which you can start with. I am still very early in my career but at least one can start and eventually you will figure out your own way.

• If you are very early in your career, try to explore as many fields as you can. Writing, Painting, Music, Coding, Designing, Speaking. If not a yes, you will definitely, come to know, what is not made for you.
• Try doing more and more internships. This is hard. But you will learn a lot. Even in the process of applying, you will learn the art of cold-emailing.
• If you are currently doing any job, do not quit randomly. Try to work on the upskilling on weekends, holidays, and after-work hours. This is the most common suggestion you will get, but trust me, 90% of people or even more, do not act upon it.
• Speaking and Writing are the only evergreen skills. They will last forever. Try to get better in at least one of these.
• Try to connect with more people with similar interests and with some experience in the fields. You will learn a lot of things.

The above methods, which I listed is having a huge plus point. Even if you are not able to find anything which you love doing, you are gaining knowledge about so many things. So the horizontal line itself is covered, and if you still are unsure to get which skills to get expertise in, follow the market, and for the time being, try to get yourself a level up in those which are trending high like coding as of now.

You can’t remove the aspect of finance, right? After a while, you have to bear your expenses. You have to fulfill your wants, needs, savings. So, for the time being, focus on the trending jobs, attain financial stability and continue trying in your free time.

Meanwhile, I remember a quote from Warren Buffet, “If your salary is the only source of income, you’re one step away from poverty”. Following the T-shaped approach, one can try to build an additional source of income with the extra skills they have learned. The basic idea is to build habits, everything will take care of itself.

As Albus Dumbledore said, “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be”.

Have a good week and try to be consistent!!