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Educate Thyself: Enhance Thine Options
By Walter Hanig, President

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Administrative Council

These days, when getting or keeping a job is becoming increasingly difficult, it is wise to look for ways to enhance one’s value to employers and to enhance one’s options. Educating oneself is not for the sake of education per se but for the benefits that come from it.

My story begins 20 years ago, in the days when PC meant “personal computer,” before there was an “IBM standard.” My employer used proprietary computers based on CP/M. The only applications I recall were WordStar and SuperCalc. I taught myself these tools and discovered an empowering lesson: when you can easily modify a document yourself—instead of sending it back into the secretarial queue—you’re much more willing to solicit and accept changes to that document. Further, knowing how to use a spreadsheet meant that I could accept and even seek out tasks that were normally outside my job duties. I thus increased my value as an employee.

Fast forward to this past May, when I attended the International STC Conference at my own expense. I learned much about the technical and cultural/organizational challenges of FrameMaker 7®. I was particularly interested in this session because I’ve been intrigued by XML for years. We used FrameMaker 7 briefly at Ericsson, and I’d applied for a job managing a FrameMaker 7 migration project. At the conference, I ran into the same person at many of the sessions. Because she worked for another telecom company with a San Diego office, I was especially glad to get to know her. This later proved to be an additional benefit.

In June, I took classes in “XML Fundamentals” and “Advanced XML” through the San Diego Community College District, Centers for Education & Technology www.sandiegocet.net/index.php. Each class lasted for six 3.5-hour sessions. They were very well taught in an excellent hands-on facility. And they were free. In fact, they were better than free. As a student, I could purchase a student ID card for the princely sum of $2. Why did I want a student ID? So I could buy software at the educational rate. Instead of paying $330 or more for DreamWeaver MX, I paid $100. That difference was enough for me to learn another tool that enhances my value as an employee.

By educating yourself, through software tutorials, conferences, classes, volunteering, or other methods, you increase the ways you can bring value to your job. You have no job? More education gives you more paths to pursue when searching for one.

And finally, if you wondered how I benefited from meeting the woman at the STC Conference, here’s how: she gave my name and a recommendation to a hiring manager at her telecom company, and he told me about an opening before it was public.

So my advice is to educate yourself every way you can, anytime you can. Take a class, read a book, do an online tutorial, volunteer for a new task at work or in a professional group. You can’t know what the benefits will be, but I guarantee there will be benefits.