7 Ways to Hack Your Education and Further Your Career

When we are young, we are taught that the path to success is pretty straight -  picking a major, progressing through college, then moving into your chosen career has become a rite of passage to almost everyone.

However, one you are in that chosen career, many people choose to coast along despite having the capability to achieve so much more at their field. Many of us have greater destinies than what we opt to settle for. That, unfortunately, is a limitation shared by the human race. Yearning for greater heights in education and our careers should be an ingrown reminder.

The question haunting most of us, however, is how to reach those greener levels. Whatever level your career or education is stuck at, here are seven sure ways to kick-start that again.

1. Supplement your knowledge

It is in the business of employers nowadays to scrutinize the academic background of job seekers. Statistics have shown that those with broader academic backgrounds edge out those who don’t.

Supplementation of knowledge here refers to additional courses that one can take which fall in line with their career paths. In the pursuit of these additional courses, one eventually develops an attitude of digging deeper into issues.  Attend live learning events like seminars and conferences and enrol in certificate courses related to your field to continue expanding your knowledge.

2. Find the best resources

In the present age and time, it is possible for you to learn from a vast array of great resources for free. A good number of these resources are identical to the normal college curriculum and education or sometimes even better. Strive to find the resources that are the easiest to make your study life much more bearable and effective.

Some people grow their knowledge by building relationships with authors, by reading books in great detail and asking follow up questions based on the material they have interacted with. In addition to seeking knowledge from books, there are other resources that can be of equal assistance to you. Seminars and workshops are good examples of such resources as they are gold mines of great knowledge.

Finally, in this age of technology, it would only be logical for you to find websites that can help you advance your learning process much further and faster. Sites such as MIT OpenCourseWare offers all of the MIT courses online, which websites like Khan Academy offer a wide variety of courses and subjects.

3. Learn to learn

A good number of college students have terrible learning routines. Oftentimes, the majority of students rely on the popular strategy of cramming the night prior to examinations. However, anyone who has done this knows that it isn’t the best method for retaining knowledge and acing your exams.

If you would like to further your education as well as advance in your career, you should strive to acquire effective learning strategies. Put these strategies to test and experiment with them as you co-currently seek to better them in order to have a more competent outcome.

One of the best books that can help you to put things into better perspective is “How to Become a Straight-A Student,” by Cal Newport. This book dives into the depths of how to give your learning techniques a change for the better. Based on an analysis of the manner in which the best students in America can learn and still get a great deal of spare time, the book gives insight into how you can have effective learning and have tons of spare time to yourself.

4. Make it your hobby

If you ask a bus driver what they saw along the road on their journey, they will probably tell you nothing or just say a few unusual occurrences. This is because their brain has become accustomed to that route, it is integrated as a normal part of their scope. Similarly, most of us will attest to hardly failing in a hobby quest. This is because when doing an activity you truly enjoy, you free your inner person. Your creativity wanders in search of more knowhow. You end up doing whatever your hobby entails almost instinctively.

If you treat your job as a hobby, you end up achieving better results with little effort. The best thing about hobbies is that they imprint on a person’s memory, holding all associated events or environment to a state of normalcy to the brain.

5. Build an admirable personality

My professor once told me a story of a frustrated man who yelled to another on their way to work over a tiny disagreement. The second man just smiled and went away. My professor explained that the man’s argument was that the world has many frustrating factors, standing tall every day. The only way to beat them and survive is to put on a smile and make harmony with oneself.

For you to have influence in your workplace and for your enterprise to sprout, grow and bear fruits, it must be nurtured in a peaceful environment. That environment is only achieved through a personality. Make friends with the world and the power of the smile will take over.

6. Have a mentor

Life challenges are sometimes hard to comprehend. They can give you a mental block if you persist in solving them individually. Most successful people will agree that it is almost impossible to make it without a mentor whom you can consult when situations go south. In fact, studies have shown that 130% of young adults are more likely to be future leader after going through mentorship programs.

Advisors/mentors are an integral part of the thriving business community. Their ideas and insight have been responsible for the run of these enterprises since inception. They put you back on your feet when your resources can not.

Reach out to someone you know and admire, such as a professor from college or successful family friend. Or hire a professional career coach or counselor to guide you.

Conclusion

Often times, people who have worked in a single industry for myriads of years hit a plateau in their learning. This also applies to students who normally have only one way of studying and carrying out their day-to-day activities. This plateau is one of the most counterproductive phases that anyone could have, as it hampers a person’s growth in many ways.

As much as we don’t like to admit it to ourselves, when we stop learning new things in our career, many times it ends up turning sour and becomes less and less appealing with every fleeting moment. Finding new ways to break through and learn more about techniques and ways to further your education and career can be challenging. However, you should not worry about that especially with the tips that have been listed above. Go ahead and try each one of these revelations and find the ones that work best for you as you seek to advance your education, or even in changing your career.

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