Skill Building

One of the principles and ideas that caught my eye this week was using your career and job choices to help you fill gaps.  If you pay attention, you can use your job choices to fill in areas of least experience.  This got me thinking about my own choices in career and school and what I've learned and what I still need to learn.

My first job as a teenager was working for an OB/GYN as his medical assistant.  Being just 17, I learned a lot of things about physiology that I had never known.  I was asked to do things that were new to me and sometimes scared me.  But I did them and I learned that I could do hard things.  I learned to listen to directions and observe the unspoken things.  I learned that some employers are very self-centered, having their own ideas of what is "best" or "right" which may not be in agreement with my own thoughts, but they were paying me and I needed to respect them.  I really did learn a lot about the world of work in that little office.

I worked through a few short-term jobs in college and early in my marriage.  I learned that I had the drive to do whatever it took to help myself and my family earn a living.  Getting up at 4:00 in the morning to call substitute teachers was NOT a favorite, but I was proud of my strong sense of duty and my sticktoitiveness! While doing these jobs, I was learning about myself and what I was made of.

Once I went back to work full time, I attached myself to the world of education.  I was lucky enough to work with people who believed in my skills and let me run with ideas of how to make things better. I have become a trainer, a manager and a business analyst, all in the same job.  As those of us who are more mature often do, I have stayed in the same basic job for over 20 years, but am very happy with my opportunities for learning.  I have built trusting relationships and earned a reputation for being smart and well organized.

As I look to the future, I am thrilled to be highly thought of and to have expanded my responsibilities. However, there are definitely areas in my work experience that are incomplete.  I have very little experience in raising money.  I know how to manage it, but I don't know how to get it.  As I anticipate starting my own business, this will be quite important.  I also have a need to learn more about marketing.  Because I am so close to retirement, it is highly doubtful that I will change careers to fill those holes.  I am very hopeful that these last 12 or so classes will help me fill them.

I see a bright future, well past my current employment.  I am excited to get there and to, hopefully, have more tools in my belt when I do.