How do you construct a personalized curriculum for your career advancement and do it consistently?

AmberL·Dec 13, 2021

I'm looking to build my personal learning roadmap for 2022 and I realized there are just so many subjects I'd like to learn, from new technologies, climate change to policy-making, international relations, and more. At the same time, there are plenty of online courses and resources to tap into; it can be overwhelming for learners to pick a course and stick with it. Hence, do you have any advice on how to build your own curriculum for career advancement and how to do so continuously? Do you use any tools or apps to track your progress? Thanks!

alextaylor·Dec 14, 2021

Love this question - I'm 100% self-taught and happy to share my insights about what has worked for me!I've tried a couple of different types of studying and had success with both - you'll know best what might work best for you based on your perception of 'done'. Most important thing to remember is that there is limitless content out there and it will still be there in a month or a year, so just pick one thing at a time! It also depends on your field - if you're trying to level up technical skills to be ready to use them at work, obviously those should probably be higher priority. If there's no rush, even better!1. Pick one topic a month and study as much as you can - I did this successfully last year and a few other years - I find it really helps for validation purposes to keep track of the resources I read/watch (I just use a spreadsheet) and list out a few point form notes for each one as a refresher. Some months you'll absorb more than others, but at the end of every month, you'll come out of it with more knowledge than you had going in!2. Do it course or cert based and go in order - This was my method this year. I chose a handful of certifications and courses that I wanted to complete and made a list with estimates of how long each one would take (leave a little bit of buffer for bigger ones). This took a lot of that indecisiveness out of it because I just followed the schedule as if it was a university program - did each one in order and didn't have to spend time 'choosing' what I wanted to learn next.I track most of my learning in a spreadsheet so I can refer back to specific resources if I want to review them or share them later. Discipline-wise, I use the Pomodoro method and pick one hour a day (7pm-8pm in my case) where my studying is 'scheduled' and my people know I'm not available. I sometimes increase that if I'm studying for a certification but in general, an hour a day has been enough to move my knowledge forward without feeling like all I do is study.

AmberL·Dec 27, 2021

@alextaylor thank you for the tips! I also started using the spreadsheet and set up a Trello board to track progress.

rachelserwetz·Dec 21, 2021

Hi! When you're considering upskilling, further education, or any learning opportunities, here's what I'd suggest:- Ensure you feel 100% clear first on your ideal career direction i.e. role, industry and environment- By pursuing career exploration until you feel 100% confident, it will make it much easier to feel confident in which, if any, upskilling experience/opportunity/program would be worthwhile for you - You want to clarify your goal first, so that the pathway to reach that goal is much easier to define and determine- Upskilling is not meant to be used as a "test" of if you'd like that job -- that is what career exploration is for- There's only so much time or money you have to devote to additional learning, so be sure you're being intentional with any choice of course, certification, or any further education opportunityBTW, I'm Rachel, a Career Exploration Coach (iamwoken.com), and I'm happy to chat further if you'd like! (calendly.com/woken/demo)

AmberL·Dec 27, 2021

@rachelserwetz thank you for the insight!