5 stress-free ways to upskill your technical knowledge in STEM

With rapid advancements in the STEM industry and the ever-evolving jobs market, honing your skills set to reflect these changes and anticipate new trends will be key to your success.  

While STEM roles require specific education and learning, there are skill sets that are beneficial across the board, both cognitive ‘hard’ skills and interpersonal ‘soft’ skills, both of which are highly important as people-centred businesses and organisations increasingly depend on interchangeable skills sets and adaptability.

Key skills for the future STEM workforce

Cognitive:

• Numeracy
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Logical
• Analytical
• Research
• Digital and tech

Interpersonal and soft skills

• Communication skills

Having the technical skill is one aspect of STEM jobs, and the ability to communication complex or scientific ideas to often non-scientific audiences is a key part of any role.

• Adaptable to change

STEM professions, perhaps more than any, other require constant evolution and learning, often with ongoing assessments and certifications, for example roles within medicine. With updated knowledge and technologies emerging all the time, staying abreast of changes is vital, as is the cognitive plasticity required to adapt to and build upon constant change.

5 stress-free ways to improve technical skills in the workplace

1. Set realistic goals

It’s a good idea to get into the habit of setting yourself 12-week goals, focusing on a finite number of achievable milestones combined with actions to get you there, rather than ‘big sky’ thinking of grand aims and ambitions without the necessary tangible steps to achieve those.

Manageable steps set and achieved over small blocks of time will lay the foundation, and steadily increase the building blocks necessary to realise your larger ambitions.

2. Use your free time wisely

With current remote working reducing commuting times and no office distractions, many are ploughing through work much more efficiently. This means time is freed up for extra-developmental pursuits, both role-specific such as training and online learning, and more generalised knowledge and skill-building.

Utilise the myriad of remote resources available to continue your development!

3. Sign up for training opportunities

This includes those offered by your workplace (always be proactive and ask!) but also any courses that can be found beyond your organisation. Digitisation meant an increase of online opportunities already, but these have increased exponentially since the start of the pandemic, when most people began working remotely. This includes both free courses and those that incur a charge – it’s worth asking if your organisation will fund any of the latter, particularly if you can show evidence that it will support you in your role. LinkedIn Learning, Udemy and others offer a multitude of courses.

4. Listen to podcasts

As with online courses, podcasts run into the many thousands, with topics geared to all roles and sectors. Utilise time spent out and about or on the move to expand your knowledge of your field.

5. Attend virtual events and workshops

The digital space has democratised events, workshops and conferences, where traditionally they may have been invite only, or only accessed through your organisation. With so many to choose from there are endless opportunities to upskill through seminars and events. They also offer the opportunity for you to expand your professional network.

If you’re looking for your next STEM role, our consultants would be happy to help you find a role and hone your interview skills. Get in touch to find out how we can help you find your next career move.