Commitment to lifelong learning

I used to think that learning stops when you leave school, college or university. This misconception I had appears to be quite common amongst my family, friends, colleagues, etc. I left the education system earlier than most, but I was never taught how to learn, which isn’t a result of choosing not to go into higher education.

Throughout my chosen career, acquiring different certifications, while not necessary, has been a cornerstone of my progression. My previous blog post touched on my usual approach to preparing for the exams needed to obtain the certifications. This served me well until the exams were refreshed and the learning materials I would usually use were unavailable. In hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise as it enabled me to become more self-aware in learning and personal development.

“By far, the best investment you can make is in yourself."

- Warren Buffett

My mindset changed from going through the motions of almost cramming enough information in readiness for an exam to wanting to understand and retain information for future applications in my working life. Climbing the certification pyramid resulted in progression in my career, going from roles in support and operations to engineering and design.

As I progressed, there was more of a requirement to learn on the job proactively. This helped me develop more self-awareness, meaning I now had a baseline understanding of what materials I would need to look for as aids to learn on the job more quickly. I realised that I tended to deep dive unnecessarily in some cases, and the Nth degree of detail was not always needed.