knowledge is key to success -expansion of ideas
Answers
Knowledge is key to success. Whether it is from high school, college, a trade school, or even job experience, all are stepping stones to developing a well-rounded understanding of the real world and all of its institutions. From personal experience, school was the time of my life and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. However, when the time came, and my schooling came to an end, I became a little nervous and confused as to where I should be taking my next few steps. Thankfully, you have me to help guide you and ease your stress.
First Step: Choose Between Applying for Jobs or Continuing School
Both are great choices and both can lead to a successful future! It’s up to you to decide which of these is ideal for your current financial and personal situation. If you have the time to dedicate, and you’d like to develop more specialized skills, choose additional schooling as your first step. If you’re ready for a more hands-on and resume-building experience, then start applying for jobs that fit your interests. Either way, you’ll be learning valuable information and meeting colleagues in similar situations as yourself!
Another option is continuing your education while also working. This can be a challenging, but very rewarding path to take. You will get the benefit of both types of experience above, specialized skills and hands-on experience. If you take this path, be prepared for the amount of work you are taking on, because both will require a lot of time. Jennifer Cruse, Senior Social Strategist here at Sutherland, has done this, and gives this advice for people choosing to do both at the same time: “You have to be completely committed to both. Working a full-time job and earning a graduate degree at the same time is like working two full-time jobs at once. You must have great time management skills, self-motivation, and be very hard working.” This is a challenging path to take, but if you’re up for the challenge, you will definitely come out ahead.
The Next Step: Preparation and Opportunity
Whether you’re starting a new career or starting classes at a new school, or doing both, they all require preparation! Getting ready to start a new job requires building an understanding of the responsibilities you’ll be undertaking and having a general knowledge of the type of industry you’re working in. It can be very difficult and frustrating if you start blindly, and have no idea what’s going on. If you’re looking to learn more to help better you in your current position, I recommend talking to your manager about the possibility of signing up for training classes. At Sutherland, you have the opportunity to take LEAD classes to build leadership skills and additional technical skills in real time! By taking LEAD classes it offers you a chance to ask questions to fellow peers and participate in group discussions about developmental skills in the workplace.
When starting school, it is important that you’re organized and have great time management. You never want to bite off more than you can chew and become overwhelmed right off the bat. I recommend starting yourself off with a couple classes at a time, to help get the feel of college life. This is especially important if you plan to work while earning a higher education.
Last Step: Work Hard or Move On
Now that you’ve started working or studying your new career, do you feel comfortable with your path? Do you feel that the path you’ve chosen is offering you valuable knowledge? These are important questions to ask yourself regularly, because the key is to continue learning and to work towards becoming more well-rounded! If you answered no to either of these questions, then perhaps you are better off starting over. That may sound scary, but know that every new beginning brings new opportunity and new knowledge. If this is the case, start back at Step One. If you answered ‘yes’ to the questions above, then keep working hard and doing what you’re doing. Take advantage of any opportunity worth learning from and ask as many questions as possible!
Regardless of which path you take, or how you start, it’s important to always remember that the key to success is knowledge and experience. Whether you choose schooling or going straight into the workforce, both will offer you the opportunity to learn! Never fear starting something new!
KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. BUT IN OUR RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD, IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW THAT MATTERS. IT’S HOW YOU KNOW!
Now for the good news. You can do better than that. By changing the way you approach knowledge you can learn to avoid the pitfalls responsible for 80% of business failures, while at the same time identifying opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage.
The key to success in changing times is pretty straightforward. Never bet the farm on an idea that you haven’t tried to kill first.
Here is the key. Reliable knowledge doesn’t come from looking for reasons to think that you are right. The kind of knowledge that you need comes from looking for reasons that you are wrong!
Think about it this way. If an idea is strong, then challenges will only make it stronger. On the other hand, if an idea can’t withstand that kind of scrutiny it is better to find out now than to wait until it matters.