Targeting Your Learning

This section offers some ideas and options for zeroing in on opportunities to further your education or training. As you hone your focus, ask yourself: What do you need to learn to stay at the cutting edge in your field? Do you need to develop new knowledge and skills to advance in your profession or prepare for a new role? Do you want to meet the certification requirements for a different job or career? Or do you simply want to keep abreast of changes that may affect or improve your work? Or are you attracted to learning opportunities by the social interaction it offers, or the enjoyment you get from reading and participating in programs? Is learning a means to an end for you? Or is the experience of learning an end in itself—an activity you simply enjoy?

Professional Development

If you want to do meaningful work, as described in Chapter 5, “Choose Meaningful Activities,” you need to continually develop the necessary skills and knowledge. It is a jarring reality for many boomers to realize their professional skills and knowledge are becoming out of date. Technology specialists and engineers know that the pace of change in their fields is rapid; the half-life of knowledge can be only a few years. Physicians also know that they need to keep abreast of new treatment practices and medicines, but the pace of change is more gradual. In both cases, there are older professionals who continue to lead the way and others who fail to keep up. You may expect to be only half as competent to perform the jobs for which you were trained if you do not maintain or regain competence.