Keeping Myself Marketable
(Why I Decided to Take the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree Program) #IminDMND
Most people will have at least one job in their lifetime that they don’t enjoy. Having a few bad days is one thing, but once you find you have lost your passion for a position, a company, or an industry, then it is time to re-evaluate your situation. It is not only in your best interest to be passionate and motivated, but also in your employer’s best interest, too.
According to The Ladders:
“Passion is a necessary ingredient for success. If you’re unenthusiastic or even indifferent about the work you do, it’s time to reassess your career.”
That is where I found myself towards the end of last year.
Even though I had been out of school for many years, the approaching end-of-summer Back-to-School sales still carried that “starting a new year” feel for me. So, I decided I would leave my job and go back to school, too.
For one semester, I was a pseudo full-time student again. I enjoyed it. It felt a lot like work, with assignments and deadlines to be met. The main difference was that I was working on projects that I enjoyed, but I wasn’t getting paid either.
As the semester ended, it was time to decide what to do next. While I had learned a lot, I was also becoming aware of how much more there was to learn. I was in that tricky part of the “conscious competence” learning curve, navigating imposter’s syndrome. And, the need to start earning a paycheck was lurking in the background, too.
My new job search phase was turning out to be a slower and longer process than I expected. I realized that having an online portfolio was the best way to differentiate myself and to show others (and myself) that “yes, I can do this.” Thus, finding another affordable project-based program became necessary.
Choosing “Digital Marketing” as my first Udacity Nanodegree program might seem a bit counter-intuitive, especially since the very tempting Data Analyst or Full Stack Developer programs were equally interesting to me. However, Digital Marketing became the better choice for me at this time because my goal from the beginning of this journey has been “to keep myself marketable”. Career management is marketing. Finding a job is about marketing yourself. Digital Marketing is something that my toolbox needed right now.
While I don’t have a happy-ending success story to report yet, as I am still a job seeker (and flexible student) at the moment, I can say that I am happy in my journey. I have no regrets. I am positioning myself for the uncertain future. I know that what I am doing now will make me stronger and more resilient for the long run. I look forward to seeing how the Udacity Nanodegree program(s) will contribute to my journey going forward.
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