Adult learning is no walk in the park. Going back to a formal learning environment can be daunting for working professionals even if they’re top achievers in their jobs.

At Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE), we support adult learners as they build their expertise to pursue their career goals. Our staff are adept at serving the needs of adult learners because they understand their challenges – they’re lifelong learners themselves. Here are the top tips from GTPE staff based on their personal experiences as adult learners.

1. Choose the Right Learning Opportunity

Your time is valuable, so it’s essential that the program you choose is worth your while. Chris Walker, assistant director of marketing, found that deciding whether training would truly benefit him to be one of his primary concerns. He advises conducting research before committing to a program of study. “See if the school you’re interested in will provide contacts to their graduates who can offer references,” he suggested. “It’s so important to know if you’ll get a return on investment before you make your decision.”

Brenda Sanders, graphic designer, mentioned other ways to research potential programs. “I went online to see the reviews from other students about what they learned and how they felt about the assignments and instructors,” she said. Getting recommendations from friends and colleagues is also an effective way find out if a program will be a fit for you.

2. Prioritize Your Learning

Balancing work, life, and learning is always a concern for working professionals. And for Najla Lewis, marketing manager, it was no different. “One of my top challenges was managing my responsibilities – work, family, and homework,” she said. She overcame this obstacle by completing as many tasks as possible before her course started. During the course, she tried to make use of short bursts of free time to minimize her workload in the office, such as answering emails during her lunch breaks and in the evenings. Her advice to others is to prioritize learning. “Plan to make short-term adjustments to your life pattern because they will benefit you in the future,” she said.
Lindsey Laney, academic program manager, found that she needed a dedicated learning space when she worked on her second master’s degree. “I knew I needed a quiet space to work, so I transitioned our guest bedroom into an office dedicated to school,” she said. “I had a dedicated school computer, school desk, and an understanding that when the door was closed, I was working on school and couldn’t interact at that time.”

Fatimah Wirth, instructional designer, pointed out another aspect of planning ahead: reviewing the syllabus and course structure. “If you’re taking an online course, make sure to set aside enough time to watch lecture videos, complete assignments, projects, quizzes, or exams and take part in discussions,” she said. “If you’re taking face-to-face classes, allow enough time to attend classes and complete assignments or projects outside of class time. Take into account travel time and travel conditions.”

For Patrice Miles, assistant dean of business operations, prioritizing her learning also means being fully engaged during class. ”I focused on being ‘in the moment’ and avoiding distractions when I was in class,” she said. “The phone stayed in my purse!”

3. Don’t Let the Big Picture Overwhelm You

Laura Haynes, assistant director of operations, experienced three major life events while working on her doctorate. She got married, had a baby, and suffered the loss of her father. She also had a full-time university teaching position during this time. It’s no wonder she considered abandoning her studies. However, one comment gave her the will to keep going. “I shared my thoughts with one of my mentors, who was a university president. He advised that I would ‘never regret completing a Ph.D. program.’ I credit his simple remark with compelling me to persist and complete the degree,” she said.

Her recommendation to other adult learners is based on her mother’s advice to focus on the manageable tasks at hand and take one day at a time. “Take bite-sized morsels of study digested daily to avoid choking on the potentially overwhelming number of assignments required to complete each course,” she said. “I highly recommend this approach, without which I may have become overwhelmed and disengaged.”

4. Believe in Yourself

Georgia Tech is known for its rigor and the strength of it STEM programs. This reputation can lead working professionals in non-technical fields to wonder is they are able to succeed in our programs. Najla Lewis, marketing manager, found herself questioning if she would be able to manage the rigor of a course at GTPE and whether she would be a fit for a project management program with her non-technical background. “Even though many of our learners are from technical fields, there are also learning opportunities for people in non-technical fields,” she discovered. “I found that the project management certificate program had a good mix of adult learners from all industries, career levels, and disciplines. I fit in well and was able to lend my individual talents to the group activities and discussions.” Her advice to others is to believe in themselves.

5. Focus on Long-term Benefits Not Short-term Obstacles

Chris Walker, assistant director of marketing, considers taking time off work for professional education to be a key challenge. Being out of the office to take a course means that the work piles up while you’re away. Rather than focusing on the consequences of missing work, Walker suggests keeping your long-term goals in mind. “Try to focus on the value of the long-term benefits of training versus the short-term inconvenience of taking time off work and having to play catch up,” he suggested.

6. Don’t Let Technology Get You Down

Technology plays a major part in our lives, so make sure it works to your advantage when you’re learning. Edith Greenwood, producer of interactive instructional media, raised the issue of technical needs. “Take care of any technical requirements related to the class before it starts,” she said. “Trust me, this will make assignment completion less frustrating.”

Lindsey Laney, academic program manager, pointed out the importance of contingency plans related to technology. “I planned for ‘what if’ scenarios such as what if the Internet goes down? What if my computer stops working? Are my documents saved on a cloud so I can access them from any computer?”

7. Know How You Learn Best

From online programs to traditional face-to-face classes, today’s adult learners have many options to choose from when it comes to professional education. Each delivery method has its advantages. Online learning offers optimal flexibility and the opportunity for online collaboration with peers outside your area. Traditional classes provide the face-to-face contact with your instructor and classmates. Hybrid programs offer a combination of online and face-to-face learning.

Brenda Sanders, graphic designer, suggests considering which option offers you the best chance of success before you choose a program. “Figure out which classes work best for your lifestyle and for the way you learn,” she said. Some people need to be in a classroom, but more and more people are turning to online learning.”

8. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Jay Boudreaux, course management coordinator, noted that adult learners need to be patient with their learning. “Ask questions when you need help with understanding content,” he said.

Whether you take an online or a face-to-face class, take advantage of the opportunities to interact with instructors and classmates to enhance your learning. Fatimah Wirth, instructional designer, suggested, ”Be comfortable with seeking help by asking questions in a face-to-face class or in discussions if you’re in an online class. Be sure to attend office hours, face-to-face or online, to seek clarification or answers to questions you may have.”

9. Revisit What You’ve Learned and Apply It

Having taken mainly traditional, face-to-face classes, Bobby Strickland, graphic designer, found he needed to adjust to online learning. “I learn better in a classroom, so learning online was a challenge. I needed to repeat sessions to make sure I understood the content,” he said. “Taking written notes helped me retain the online content and made it feel more like a classroom. I tried to implement the content into my work projects as soon as possible so that I had a better chance at retaining it.”

Strickland’s advice to other adult learners new to online learning is not to be hard on themselves. “Be patient with yourself. If it’s been a while since you were in a learning environment, know that the pace has escalated,“ he said.

10. Explore Your Financial Options

The cost of professional education is often a concern for working adults. When Najla Lewis, marketing manager, decided to take the project management certificate program at GTPE, she explored the financial options available to her. GTPE, along with many employers, is generous when it comes to contributing to employees’ professional education, so always check with your employer if funding is available to you. Lewis also took advantage of a discount by committing to the entire certificate program rather than taking only some individual courses. “I also spaced courses out over two fiscal years so that I could take advantage of the educational support from my employer,” she said.

Massive open online courses or MOOCS are growing in popularity. Offered by the world’s top universities, they are free to everyone from anywhere. MOOCs are a convenient, affordable way to keep learning. They’re also a useful, low-risk way to test the waters before you decide to invest in professional education on a specific topic or to ease back into formal learning if you’ve had a long break from it.

Lifelong Learning Is Worth It

Balancing work, life, and family while pursuing professional education can be a challenge, but you can overcome it. And the long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term inconveniences.

“Professional education allows me to be more effective and relevant in my role, and to set an example for my team about the importance of education for a lifetime,” said Patrice Miles, assistant dean of business operations. “I also find the networking with others in the program to be so valuable as we continue the learning outside of the classroom.”

You’ll never regret deepening your knowledge, sharpening your skills, and building a professional network. Ongoing professional education makes it possible.

Source: https://pe.gatech.edu/blog/working-learning/adult-learning-success

Georgia Tech Professional Education is a leader in innovative educational delivery, designed for working professionals in tech, business, and leadership. Our connection to the marketplace — coupled with our world-class faculty, researchers, and subject matter experts — provides an unparalleled prospective to education innovation, industry trends, future work, and lifelong learning. To uncover additional resources to help with questions and challenges around career advancement visit our Working & Learning page.

It’s January, 2020.  Not just a new year, but a brand-spanking-new decade.  You’re armed with a fresh set of personal resolutions and ready to go.

But what about your professional life?  Have you thought about where you are in your career?  Are you heading in the right direction?  Maybe the career opportunity you’ve been looking for isn’t happening as quickly as you’d like.  Or the course you’d originally charted no longer fits the current landscape.

It’s time to evaluate and update your professional strategy. “The pace of new knowledge and technological advances is driving workplace changes across all industries and fields,” says Nelson Baker, dean of Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE). “Today’s workers need to continuously assess developments in their fields and update their capabilities accordingly. Working professionals who are not re-skilling and up-skilling throughout their careers will be left behind.”

Self-Reflection

Before you can move forward, you need to know where you’re coming from. That means having a good understanding of who you are and what drives you. “It’s important to have an understanding of what motivates you,” says psychologist and Fortune 1000 consultant Natalie Peart. Without it, you can’t make smart career decisions and risk “career drifting — moving along aimlessly with no bigger vision or sense of meaning.”

To gain this understanding, Peart suggests digging through your memory bank for stand-out moments. Consider what made them significant. What upset you, inspired you, excited you? And when did you feel fully absorbed in what you were doing, or “in the zone?” These sorts of questions are important because they elucidate your characteristics and values, and while the work front is always changing, your core personality is not. The challenge is to optimize your individual traits and talents in a dynamic professional context.

“Self-reflection is the key to unlocking clarity,” says Debbie Phillips, professor at Georgia Tech. “The most important meeting you’ll ever attend is the meeting you have with yourself.” A popular mentor, Phillips tells her students to have a “keen sense of who they are as people and what they want to accomplish.

“It seems fairly simple until you think about all the barriers and distractions a person encounters,” she continues. “I encourage everyone to form a strong visual image of what they want to accomplish. I call it your mental magnet! Your mental magnet has to be stronger than your obstacles.”

Skipping this step undermines your chances of achieving the change you desire. “Many people fail to achieve their goals because they identify an outcome without also identifying the underlying motivation of that outcome,” writes Forbes contributor Pia Silva. “Setting yourself up for success means getting clear on what you’re really going for and why.”

Career Coaching

While self-assessment sounds like a solo assignment, Dean Baker recommends getting input from others through what he calls “a personal board of directors.”

“Your personal board is a group of people who can help navigate your career and education, offering a mix of experience, talent, and diversity,” says Baker. “A cross between mentorship and a professional network, the board should have representatives from your field along with any others you might be interested in. They should have varying areas of expertise and experience. And at least one should know you personally. They should all get to know what matters to you in order to provide complementary career development guidance.”

Alongside a personal board of directors, a professional career coach is an additional option. Since arriving on the scene some 30 years ago, career coaching has gone from rare to commonplace, with the International Coach Federation reporting a membership of close to 34,000 at the end of 2018. A qualified career coach can help you see yourself and others more clearly. He or she can clarify direction, teach new skills, build on your strengths, and act as a sounding board.

Strategies for Achieving Your Goals

Once you’ve established your goals, make a plan for how you’re going to reach them! Armed with this new-found clarity, you are prepared to begin identifying options that best suit your individual development needs.

Short courses or certificate program are ideal for developing new skills and building deep expertise in a specialized area, while boot camps provide hands-on training to master specialized skills needed to switch careers.

Looking for more breadth and depth in a particular discipline? Degree programs are a longer-term investment to help build real-world knowledge and skills that advance your career.

Additionally, professional associations are a great resource for career exploration and networking as you grow. Many offer year-round trainings, newsletters, and resources to help you stay at the forefont of your industry.

Either way, look inside, make a plan, and take action. It’s a new decade. Now’s the time — ready, set, go!

Written by Laurel-Ann Dooley – Source: https://pe.gatech.edu/blog/working-learning/new-year-new-career

Georgia Tech Professional Education is a leader in innovative educational delivery, designed for working professionals in tech, business, and leadership. Our connection to the marketplace — coupled with our world-class faculty, researchers, and subject matter experts — provides an unparalleled prospective to education innovation, industry trends, future work, and lifelong learning. To uncover additional resources to help with questions and challenges around career advancement visit our Working & Learning page.