Key Takeaways:

• Stay informed about the latest updates in your specific tools.
• Keep up with broader industry trends to identify emerging opportunities.
• Continuously improve and expand your skillset through projects and new learning.
• Collaborate and communicate with others in your field to stay motivated and informed.

4 Tips To Keep Your Tech Skills Up To Date – The tech industry moves at a rapid pace, with new technology and trends emerging all the time. This ever-changing environment is a large part of what makes it such an exciting field. However, it also means that if you’re new to tech, it can be hard to keep up, and if you’re not careful, you can fall behind.

Some people don’t mind sticking with older technologies, and that’s perfectly fine. Many tech companies run on older languages and frameworks and only make minor code updates, and the pay is pretty good. However, keeping your tech skills up to date can make you far more valuable to employers and recession-resilient. With updated skills, the sky’s the limit regarding job offers, promotions, and salary increases.

The trick, of course, is knowing how to do this efficiently, which is what I’m going to show you in this guide. Even better? I’m going to give you 4 simple tips that you can follow to not only stay on track but get ahead of the curve (and your peers 😉). So let’s dive in…

Tip 1: Stay Up to Date with News and Updates Related to Tools You Use
Super simple and probably the most obvious step, but make sure you stay in the loop on the latest news and updates regarding the tools you currently use. This way, you’ll know of any issues and changes and any upcoming updates.

Almost every programming language, framework, or industry tool has a blog of their own, but you can also usually find some accompanying news sites and roundups that help you stay on track.

Example: If you use Python for work, then you can:

• Subscribe to the official Python Blog and maybe one other Python-related blog that publishes frequently like Real Python.
• Get curated updates via a few different Python newsletters out there.
• If you’re a commuter, seek out relevant Python-related podcasts to listen to.
• Find reputable people in your industry to follow on Twitter/X and create your list.

Tip 2: Stay on Top of Broader Industry Information
Make sure you also stay up to date with industry-specific news. For example, if you’re a Web Developer (regardless of the programming language you use most often), make sure you’re staying on top of the latest Web Development industry news. If you’re a Machine Learning Engineer or are looking to get a career in AI, then find a good Machine Learning/AI newsletter.

This is super important because if you know what’s happening across your industry as a whole, you can start to identify trends in tools, industry focus points or direction changes, and even identify skill gaps that you can fill.

Example: You might see that a certain element of your industry is experiencing huge growth but is underserved.

How to Stay Informed:

• Subscribe to curated newsletters and specific industry blogs.
• Follow YouTube channels and podcasts.
• Follow broader blogs and forums such as DevTo, HashNode, HackerNoon, and HackerNews.

Just don’t overdo it and spend too much time on these first two steps. You only need to spend 30-60 minutes a week on this. Spend a bit more time upfront finding a few good sources that curate the most important news and updates for you, so you can save time.

Tip 3: Continue to Improve Your Current Skills and Add New Ones
So far, we’ve just been gathering information. Knowledge is great, but we need to apply it if we want to improve, right? This is the place you should spend the most time.

How to Improve Your Skills:

• Double Down on Your Current Skills: The best way to do this is to build your side project or work on an open-source project.
  • Benefits:
    • Meet new people.
    • Add to your portfolio.
    • Earn a little side income.
• Add New Related Skills: For example, if you’re a front-end developer but don’t have much experience with back-end, start learning back-end development. Or if you’re a product designer but haven’t spent much time learning illustration, start working on it.

If you’ve followed Tips #1 and #2, you’re already doing a good job staying on top of industry news. This means you’ll be able to quickly identify and choose topics/skills that are trending and might become more important in your industry.

Examples of New Skills:

• Learn various AI tools that are specifically built for different industries.
• Double down on foundational content like system design or data structures & algorithms for engineering roles.

Learn Skills to Get Promoted:
If you’re looking to advance your career and get promoted, figure out what skills you need to learn to land a more senior role and prioritize filling in those gaps. Talk to your boss about your goals and ask them what it would take to get there.

Improve Your Soft Skills:
Soft skills are incredibly valuable. By improving your soft skills, you can communicate more effectively, better handle stress, function more efficiently, and increase your likelihood of a promotion.

Skill Stacking:
Don’t just stick to improving your skills in your current field! Take it a step further and add skills that might be outside your main focus.

Examples:

• You’re a developer… learn cybersecurity.
• You’re a designer… learn to code.
• You’re a DevOps engineer… learn machine learning.

Skill stacking adds value and improves your options for new careers. When you skill stack, you open up areas of expertise with overlap that can affect the trajectory of your career.

How to Learn These Skills:

• YouTube tutorials.
• Invest in yourself and find a relevant course on the topic you want to learn.
• Find a clear roadmap of what to learn and dedicate your time to learning what you need to make a career switch.

Tip 4: Collaborate and Communicate
This final tip will help you stick to your goals, widen your chances of seeing new trends, and improve your chances of promotions or new job opportunities.

How to Collaborate and Communicate:

• Join an Online Community in Your Industry: This helps you stay on top of new information and network for new career opportunities.
• Get an Accountability Partner: This helps you follow through on whatever new skill you’re learning.
• Contribute to Open Source Projects: This gives you real-world experience and connects you with others in the industry.
• Visit Tech Conferences, Events, and Workshops: These are great places to learn, network, and stay informed.

Communities, GitHub contributions, and conferences help you stay on top of new information and network for new career opportunities. A good community will usually have the option of setting up an accountability partner to help you follow through on what you’re learning. Accountability partners significantly increase your chances of following through and finishing what you started.

Practical Tips:

• Set aside dedicated time each week to stay informed about your tools and industry.
• Build side projects or contribute to open-source projects to apply your skills.
• Continuously seek out and learn new skills relevant to your field and beyond.
• Join online communities and find an accountability partner to stay motivated.

Now it’s your turn. Take action now and improve your skills! These 4 tips—staying up to date with tools, keeping an eye on broader industry trends, continuously improving your skills, and collaborating with others—can have a huge impact on your work and the growth of your career. Even spending a little bit of time each day on self-improvement can pay off big time.

If you found these tips helpful, subscribe to our newsletter for more valuable insights and updates!

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts, questions, or additional tips in the comments below. How do you keep your tech skills up to date?

By following these tips, you’ll not only stay current but also become a more valuable asset in the tech industry. So, what are you waiting for? Start today and watch your career soar!