Want to Develop Style? Add to Your Repertoire
The Internet of Things, smart technology, cloud computing, and even drones are some of the growing trends in our knowledge-based society that call for a technology-proficient workforce that probably needs different job skills than those from even a few years ago. Whether it’s developing new proficiencies, acquiring professional certification, looking for a raise or promotion, advancing in a career, or adding a boost to a job search, approximately 63 percent of professionals have upgraded their skills within the last year according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
The recession of 2007–2008 prompted lingering job insecurity for some, and globalization and outsourcing were mentioned as factors. People interviewed by Pew also said that besides expanding skills, getting out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves were motivation for learning.
The late blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown is described by All Music as “A blistering Texas guitarist, who also pioneered swamp blues by being just as likely to pick up a fiddle and play country, jazz, or calypso.” In the excellent documentary/concert “Lightning in a Bottle,” Brown offered up some wisdom: “Stickin' with what you know is one thing. But don't stick with it the rest of your life. Go to something else. Then add that to your repertoire. That's how you develop style.”
Whether it’s job security or developing your own personal style, here are a few resources to consider—in addition to live events, such as TechWell conferences!
Massive open online courses (MOOC) provide distance learning via the web. The Georgia Institute of Technology offers the first online Master of Science in Computer Science through Udacity, a for-profit MOOC platform.
Founded by Harvard University and MIT, edX is both a nonprofit and open source MOOC provider for online university-level courses. Coursera will offer the Master of Computer Science in Data Science (MCS-DS) through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
And if you want to sharpen your photography style, Getty Images is offering a free class: “Exploring Photographic Style: The Power of Wonderlust Imagery.”
Finally, in the commencement address he delivered at Stanford, Steve Jobs reminisced about dropping in on a calligraphy class that he found fascinating at Reed College. At the time, it was learning for learning’s sake, “But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”
If you haven’t seen it, or would like to revisit, watch Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. It still inspires.
