A career in the digital sector or a career that employs digital skills is almost impossible to avoid in the modern age. The more digitally savvy you are, the greater your career prospects will likely be both now and moving towards the future. So, with that in mind, here are some of the best ways that you can achieve skill growth that will help to benefit your digital career:
Specialise
The digital landscape is massive. Trying to master every skill would be not only difficult, but outright impossible with only one lifetime in which to achieve it. So, specialising in one area is important in order to ensure you are not accidentally spreading yourself too thinly from day one.
Specialise in a sector such as web development, digital marketing, web design, etc. in order to ensure your skill growth is directed in the right way. Otherwise, you may find that you don’t quite have the right skillset to truly flourish in your chosen sector. Ideally, you should develop skills in an area that is up-and-coming or soon to be in demand. As this will then put you in an ideal position to make waves in this sector.
Keep Learning
Being invested in your own learning is important, no matter what stage in your career you are at. Whether it’s your first day or you have been a manager for many years, it shouldn’t restrict you from dedicating yourself to learning.
Learning isn’t always a priority of your employer, so making sure it is a priority for you is the more important factor. Otherwise you may find yourself lacking certain skills, such as app development, having an outdated outlook or simply not having the skills expected of you when you attempt to change roles. This can be especially difficult if you want to move on to something specific or in a certain niche, such as becoming an Alexa developer.
Get Qualified
Are there any qualifications which would help further your skills or look good on your resume? If so, then you might want to consider pursuing them. As, either way, they will be beneficial for your skill growth in a digital career.
Online qualifications aren’t always worth the screens they appear on and paying for them isn’t necessary, but some can be worthwhile. But, it is important that you can determine whether the benefit is for you (i.e. it has a learning incentive) or for employment (i.e. it would benefit your resume and job prospects). Always fully research and consider the decision before committing to a paid course.
Analyse
A skill that is often underdeveloped throughout the digital sector is analysis, but it can be incredibly rewarding. If you have the right analysis skills in place from day one of your career, it could prove to serve you extremely well. You will be asked to analyse a number of things throughout your digital career, so learning this skill early is imperative. Without an analytical mind you may find yourself lagging behind your colleagues and industry peers.
Side Projects
One of the best ways to grow your skills is to utilise them in your own side projects.
If you don’t want to risk crossing any boundaries set out in your employment contract, etc., then consider volunteering with your skills instead. This way, you are not potentially financially gaining from the project and your skills are being developed for a good cause. Developing a website or doing the digital marketing for a charity, then, can be incredibly rewarding; as you grow both skills and a great point for your resume.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, preparing for a career in digital can be an extremely long lasting choice at this current moment in time. So, set yourself up with the skills of tomorrow, today.