The Power of Lifelong Learning in Career Development

The importance of lifelong learning in career growth has important implications for you as a professional. The world changes, often rapidly, and you need to keep up with the challenges. Lifelong learning helps you thrive during the challenges that change poses to your career.

ThePowerofLifelongLearninginCareerDevelopment

What Is Lifelong Learning?

Lifelong learning is ongoing educational and professional development for your job. Learning experiences help you improve your skills and teach you about industry trends. Professional learning comes in various formats, online or offline. Learning can be formal instruction or informal personal education. Read on to learn more about some forms of lifelong learning.

Post-secondary degree programs

Post-secondary degree programs are traditional, formal aspects of lifelong learning. Universities or community colleges administer post-secondary degree programs, including associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees. While a post-secondary degree can be key to your professional growth, you need to balance the benefits against the financial cost. The second important consideration is whether a post-secondary degree is required for your current and future career goals.

Certification programs

Pursuing a post-secondary is a long-term commitment. Short-term and often less expensive options are certification programs. Unlike post-secondary degrees, certification programs keep up-to-date with the latest technologies and skills in your industry. Continuing education units (CEUs) are credits in certification programs for professionals who need licenses or certifications in a specific knowledge domain. Certification programs are especially useful for technical and healthcare professionals where knowledge changes quickly, but certification is still beneficial for any professional to keep pace with skills.

Extension courses

Extension courses are classes that colleges and universities offer to people who are not enrolled as students in a degree program. While these courses may not always offer credit for the classes, the knowledge you take from learning is still valuable. Extension courses help further your career by learning new skills or improving your personal development.

Professional events

Attending professional events helps you continue your education. Professional organization events include conferences, seminars, and professional development workshops. Webinars and in-person events help you keep up with what is innovative in your industry. Professional events sometimes offer continuing education units or other professional credits toward certifications.

On-the-job training

On-the-job training is directly beneficial for your career because you learn the knowledge and skills necessary for your work and career in your chosen industry. Lifelong learning comes in such formats as weekly training seminars and mentorship programs.

Independent study

Independent studies are courses, books, magazines, research, and webinars you use for your specific interests and goals. You can work alone or with other people with the same goals. Performing research, for example, is a valuable lifelong learning component for your career and can include publishing a paper or implementing new processes. Engaging in research helps you improve your career credentials and visibility to position you for more leadership opportunities.

Volunteering

Volunteer opportunities help you learn more about your industry, practice skills, and gain experience. As a volunteer, you see professionals and what they do each day and learn more about their careers. You have opportunities to practice your skills and gain experience. Volunteer work also places you in contact with people in your chosen area, making future career contacts. Volunteering at not-for-profit clinics, blood drives, and not-for-profit pharmacies is a way to gain experience and make professional contacts.

Benefits of Lifelong Learning for Professional Development

Lifelong learning is important for several reasons. Improving professional skills, enhancing employability, creating new career opportunities, and mental health are reasons for being a lifelong learner. Productivity and job performance are also enhanced with lifelong learning.

Improved professional skills

The primary reason lifelong learning is essential is to increase your professional skills. In developing professional skills, you become a better team member and leader in your workplace. Your output and the quality of your work improve, making your role in an organization more valuable. Lifelong learning helps you adapt to industry changes and thrive in a rapidly shifting global economy.

Enhanced employability

Employability is a concern in any career. As a lifelong learner, you enhance how employers view you as a potential job candidate. People who invest in their professional development have in-demand skills and knowledge employers seek. Lifelong learning increases your skill set and role-relevant qualifications to give you advantages when being hired.

Career progression

Lifelong learners advance in their careers over those who don't pursue lifelong education. The skills and knowledge you use in the workplace improve your standing within teamwork. Employees who produce results more often qualify for bonuses, promotions, and leadership roles.

Lifelong learning and mental health

Being a lifelong learner has mental and emotional health benefits. Learning boosts self-confidence, improves memory, and aids cognitive function. Engaging in cognitive challenges helps reduce stress while creating accomplishment and purpose. Your positive outlook on life is valuable for good work relationships with your team members, influencing them to make changes with positive outlooks about their work.

Job performance and productivity

Lifelong learning enhances workplace performance. You will improve your decision-making skills to collaborate with your team members. Innovative skills and knowledge can make work processes more efficient, shortening the time you spend on projects with better outcomes for your business.

Strategies for Incorporating Lifelong Learning

When you begin your journey as a lifelong learner, you may not know where to start. Important elements of your learning journey are learning goals, creating schedules, and learning how to embrace failure.

Set learning goals

Setting goals is a great way to stay motivated during your lifelong learning journey. You should identify what you need to learn and why. Are you learning for work or other reasons? Identifying your reasons for learning helps you make a plan for achieving your goals. For example, learning a recent software program for work would be a career-related goal.

Consistency

Establish a consistent learning schedule to fit your work schedule and life. A daily schedule is key to keeping on track with your learning. Dedicate a specific time every day to learning activities. Use a calendar to remind yourself about when you need to learn.

Embrace failure

Failure is an innate part of learning. Setbacks, mistakes, and failures are opportunities for learning and professional growth. Accepting failure helps you develop professional resilience and motivation in your career.

Whether your work role in the medical profession is new to the field or mid-journey, lifelong learning is essential for your career. At ChenMed, we help provide you with lifelong learning opportunities to advance your career. To learn more about open roles with us, check out our talent community.