Why Now Is The Right Time To Future-Proof Your Career
Future Proof Your Career at a university ranked in the Top 2% worldwide.
This year has derailed everyone’s plans – and I’m not just talking about holidays and birthdays. We’ve all faced huge disruptions in our work lives, and some of us have even had to question our whole career trajectory.
Are there any jobs left in your industry? Do those jobs still look appealing or reliable? Is now the time to upskill or explore something new?
This abrupt pause on business-as-usual has given us a lot of time to reassess what we want and need from our careers going forward. And now, as the initial shock of it all has passed, it might be a good time to future-proof your career and/or take the next steps in that new adventure.
Um, What Is Future-Proofing?
“Future-proofing” your career is just a fancy way of making sure that you’re staying adaptable and relevant.
It’s not about choosing a job that’s future-proof (although that’s not necessarily a terrible thing – we’re always going to need doctors and teachers, right?). It’s about staying up-to-date with the latest technologies, trends, and approaches in your chosen field.
This usually involves expanding your skill-set in some way – from getting more training in digital technologies to learning a new language. The more skills you have, the more likely you are to withstand any big shocks or changes that come about in your industry.
It’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen to your job in five or 10 years time. But if you stay committed to learning new things, you’ll be ready to handle whatever comes next.
Image: Christina Morillo / Pexels
How Jobs Have Changed This Year
2020 tested this idea in a huge way. Entire industries changed over the course of just a few months and everyone had to adapt at an unprecedented speed.
Office jobs became totally reliant on video conferencing. Retail had to pivot to online. Hospitality had to change its whole business model. These are seismic shifts, all of which required quick logistics overhauls and a huge uptake of new skills like online communication, digital marketing, and e-commerce.
Of course, everyone knew these things were going to be important in the future, but not everyone was prepared for them to become such critical parts of their jobs overnight.
2020 has also had a huge effect on the way people view their jobs. A crisis has a way of putting things in perspective. Do you find your work fulfilling or meaningful? Are you able to strike a good work/life balance? Are you happy continuing on the same path?
It seems obvious, but the most fundamental part of future-proofing your career is making sure it’s right for you. We all need to make ends meet, but grinding away doing something you kind of hate isn’t always sustainable in the long run.
Remember: your career path doesn’t have to be one straight line. There’s no reason you have to be stuck in the one job or industry you picked out when you were 18.
How To Take The Next Steps
This is actually a great time to try something new – partially because study has never been as flexible as it is right now. The rise of remote learning has meant you can easily attend lectures from home and fit your education around other commitments like work and family.
Western Sydney University also has loads of flexible course options to help you out. They offer a wide range of Bachelor degrees, postgrad qualifications and shorter courses – from a Bachelor of Information and Communications Technologies to a Graduate Certificate in Education and a Diploma in Design.
That means you can explore something totally new, or quickly upskill in a related field to further your career options. You can even use your prior work experience to help you get into your chosen course. It’s important to choose a uni that will really support you and give you all the tools you need to get started. That’s something Western Sydney Uni really takes pride in – and, because of that, it’s ranked in the top 2 percent of unis worldwide!
You still have a bit of time before unis close their semester one intake, so suss out your options and figure out what path is right for you.
And don’t worry: there’s zero weirdness right now about being a mature age student. We’re all finding our feet somewhere new.
—
Discover your unlimited potential with Western’s wide range of course options. Choose Western. The uni that cares more about your success.
—
This article was originally published on Junkee.