Stagnation is the enemy of progress. This is especially true when it comes to career development; from job security to financial gain, there’s a reason continuous education is still relevant today.

So whether you’re looking to get into the transformer industry or learning to become a more well-rounded lawyer for career advancement, here are 3 helpful tips for cross-disciplinary continuous education. 

Identify Transferable Skills

Think of transferable skills as your career superpowers—they’re the skills you can take with you wherever you go, opening up new opportunities and making you a more adaptable pro.

You want to:

• Take a moment to look at your current skill set, both the technical and soft skills
• Check out industries or areas you’re curious about that might need skills similar to yours
• Spot the overlaps between what you already know and what you need to learn, then dive into filling in the gaps

Say you’re a graphic designer eyeing a move into web development. Your design chops are solid, but you know you’ll need to pick up some coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. So, you get into online courses or maybe even a coding boot camp to level up your skills.

Find Interdisciplinary Projects

Jumping into interdisciplinary projects isn’t just about shaking things up—it’s about getting fresh perspectives and teaming up with different people.

You want to:

• Keep your ear to the ground for cool projects happening in your company or community, whether it’s through meetings, emails, or just chatting with coworkers
• Share what you know, but also soak up the knowledge from your teammates with different backgrounds and skills

Say you’re in healthcare and itching to blend tech and patient care. You hop on board a project to build a slick mobile app for smoother patient-doctor communication. Working with a crew of healthcare professionals, tech wizards, and designers, you bring your experience to the table while learning a ton about how tech can revolutionize patient experiences.

Join Cross-Disciplinary Communities

Hanging out with people who aren’t in your usual circle can lead to some pretty helpful insights. 

You want to:

• Scope out online groups, forums, or local meetups where people from different backgrounds mingle
• Dive into discussions, share your own experiences, and be open to learning from others
• Show up at events, workshops, or coffee meetups to make real-life connections

Say you’re a marketing manager with a passion for sustainability. You stumble upon an online community all about green living and eco-friendly tech. You start chatting with eco-warriors, entrepreneurs, and sustainability experts, swapping ideas and brainstorming cool projects. Before you know it, you’re part of a tight-knit crew making waves in the green scene.

With these tips in your back pocket, getting into cross-disciplinary learning can be very beneficial to your career. So try them out!