When you have a career and it is going well, it can be tempting to ignore continuing education. It doesn’t seem very important to gain new skills when the skills you already have seem sufficient for the job that it seems like you will have for the foreseeable future.
There are several reasons why continuing education is equally important for those in a satisfying career and those who are in need of new skills to get a new job. Becoming a lifelong learner comes with benefits both for your career and for your personal development, no matter your level of satisfaction or job security in your present career.
Reasons to Invest in Continuing Education
One reason to take continuing education courses is to excel in your current job. Even if you have good performance reviews, there is always more to learn and ways to improve, and continuing education can help you find out how to continue advancing your skills beyond their current levels. The highest achievers never stop learning and take every opportunity to learn more so they can do more.
When you take continuing education courses, you will likely learn skills and knowledge that will make you stand out from your competition–both in your current job and across other jobs or companies. Continuing education can help you develop a reputation for excellence in your field that others will begin to recognize, admire, and want to emulate.
You may have a goal to advance in your career or get promoted, even if you are happy in your current career field or position. Whether promotion is a specific goal you have right now or not, you may find that advancement opportunites come your way because you have continued your education beyond its current level.
Keeping Your Skills Updated
The fact is that you never know when you will need to have the most up-to-date skills possible in your current position or career. Many fields are now undergoing a period of rapid change due to new automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that could impact up to half of the world economy, much of which is concentrated in the United States.
All this means that there is a 50-50 chance your current job will eventually be automated or replaced by AI techology. Even if your job is not replaced, it is bound to change in significant ways, and continuing education can prepare you for those changes so you can adapt to them instead of being left behind. Many of these changes may be sudden or unexpected, so having continuing education skills can quickly become a necessity rather than just a way to achieve more than might be expected.
CCSU Continuing Education offers courses that can extend and update skills for many careers and fields, keeping you prepared for all the changes that may be just around the bend. Join our mailing list to see the many courses we offer and find the ones that can help you keep your skills current.