Once you graduate college, it’s easy to think you’ve got your education. You’ve been given your degree, celebrated your graduation, and landed a great job.
You’re set for life, right? Wrong.
Your education is just starting. You can’t coast on what you learned 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even last year. Great leaders are constantly learning. They seek out ways to continue their education beyond college.
What are you doing to continue learning? You might try the following…
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5 Ways To Continue Your Education After College
1. Seek out a mentor:
Think about the best teacher you had. They shared their past experiences, what they’ve learned through traditional education, and more.
Now… think about a mentor. A mentor shares their past experiences with you. Your mentor may be formally educated. If they are, they’re sure to share that with you as well. They’ll also challenge you as your college professors did.
Seek out great mentors who can help you continue your education.
2. Attend great conferences:
COVID changed the landscape of many conferences. A lot of them didn’t survive after the shutdowns. However, there are still great conferences out there for you to attend and learn from.
Find an industry conference that can teach you the latest on AI in manufacturing, the skills business owners are looking for, or how to become a better leader.
There are still conferences out there teaching these things. Go out, find them, and attend. You’ll find them an enriching educational experience.
3. Online courses:
There are so many options for online learning, but it’s hard to choose the right one for you. Currently, I’m learning from Howard Shultz, Coach K, R.L. Stine, and others through MasterClass.
MasterClass offers world-class education to the masses. They bring in leading experts to teach you what they’re doing. Classes range from Business Leadership to Writing A Novel to Leading with Integrity.
There are other options as well, but I highly recommend MasterClass.
4. Trying something new:
When you were young, you learned a lot about yourself, your environment, and the world around you by trying new things. Everything was new back then. Now that you’re 30, 40, 50, or older, trying new things doesn’t seem as exciting or safe.
Yet, by trying new things, you learn new skills. You build upon the education you have already worked so hard to achieve.
Try something new today. You might learn something new in the process.
5. Talk to people:
I love talking to people, especially new people. They have such a vast range of experiences that I’ll never have. The people you meet may have:
- Run the 7 Major World Marathons
- Raised 5 kids on a shoestring budget
- Had a long-lasting, successful marriage
- Ran a successful billion-dollar organization
- Gone through exactly what you’re experiencing at this point in your life
The more you talk to people, the more you’ll hear their stories. The more stories you hear, the more you’ll be able to apply those life lessons to you.
Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone new. You’ll soon discover they’re a wealth of information you couldn’t get anywhere else.
Learning Doesn’t End After College
College is just the springboard to additional learning. Don’t stop learning because you earned your degree. There’s more to learn.
You’ll experience so much more if you see life as a continual learning experience. The world is your classroom now.
