5 Smart Ways to Learn While You Earn

As many nations move out of lockdown, are you excited to get back to normal or desperate not to return to the same humdrum existence that bored you to tears before the pandemic struck?

If you’re in the latter camp, it’s probably not wise to throw your PC out of the window, tell your boss where to stick his job and slap him in the face with a soggy cheese sandwich  ̶  as nice as that might feel! 

Instead, stay patient for a little while longer and spend as much of your time at work as possible on activities and projects which provide you with the necessary transferable skills and expertise you need to move on.

Without further ado, here are five smart ways to learn while you earn. 

• Internal training & development

Granted, one of the reasons you want to leave your current job is possibly that your company has a lack of training and development opportunities. However, if you can present an affordable external training package like LinkedIn Learning to your boss, there’s a chance she may sign it off and you can then upskill to move on, using their time and money rather than your own!

• Secondment

If you work in a large enough organisation, securing a secondment with a totally different team for a few months or even a year is an excellent way to make hanging around more bearable and learning useful new skills to boot. Get to know members of your desired teams on company hangouts and look out for internal job adverts so that you can strike when the iron is hot. 

• Volunteering

Another excellent way to catalyse a career migration is by volunteering. If you’ve got the time to spare, you could be working with new colleagues on really worthwhile projects. For example, check out Volunteer World if you fancy working on wildlife projects with wolves, mustangs and more. These types of experiences can take your career in an entirely unexpected but wonderful direction. 

• Podcasts

If you like the intimacy of radio and appreciate the way it doesn’t overstimulate your senses in the way that browsing the net or watching TV are prone to, then you might also appreciate podcasts and there are a few which are dedicated to helping you change career. Check out The School of Greatness, Career Tools, Pivot Podcast and Squiggly Carers for starters. 

• Online degrees 

Studying for an online degree in your spare time means that you don’t need to ditch your job and family commitments, but instead can gently work towards an escape route, then bolt for the blue horizon following graduation. There are lots to choose from, but time-tested educators like ARU Distance Learning offer a great enterprise-focused online MBA which suits solopreneurs. 

These five smart ways to learn while you earn prove that by thinking outside of the box, you can get unstuck from your career rut and move to new pastures̶  good luck!