It can be difficult to feel as though you are stuck in a professional rut of sorts. Being unsure how to progress you career or how even to become qualified enough for advancement opportunities can present a difficult situation that feels like you are fighting an uphill battle in your career.
In many cases, acquiring new skills that make you a better candidate for advancement opportunities can stand you in good stead to orchestrate a break out of a professional rut. That being said, the prospect of going back to school to continue your education might not be a viable or realistic option.
The good news is that you don’t have to go back to school entirely in order to acquire new professional skills. There are actually some simple and practical ways in which you can acquire new skills and develop professionally so that you can finally take the next steps in your career.
Here are just a few options for you to consider if your goal is to acquire new skills so that you can progress in your career.
Professional Development Courses
There are very few full-time professionals who have the time and resources necessary to press pause on their career so that they can go back to school on either a full-time or part-time basis. For this reason, there are a number of organizations and educational institutions that offer professional development courses specifically to working professionals.
Such courses allow you to learn new skills and become certified in certain areas without going back to school. For example, suppose you would benefit professionally from learning the ins and outs associated with cloud-based computing and data management. In that case, you can enroll in a cloud certification training program. Such a course will allow you to learn all that you need to regarding cloud computing without having to head back to school.
Find a Mentor
Another way to be proactive about acquiring new skills is to learn from others who have been where you are now and who have achieved the things that you hope to achieve. A mentor can be a great teacher in either a formal or informal manner and can help you to identify your areas of professional weakness as well as the best ways to fill in the gaps.
A mentor is someone that you can go to for advice and counsel regarding your career. They should be someone that you look up to and who is ready and willing to help guide you along in your career.
The company that you work for might already have a mentorship program in place that you can enroll in. If not, though, there are other ways of finding the right mentor. There are third-party professional organizations that are designed to match mentors with mentees. You can also approach things in a much more informal way by simply asking someone you are acquainted with to be your mentor.
