A person who has ability and curiosity to master in different disciplines, will thrive in almost any environment.
The future jobs will not be defined by core skills but through complementary skills. If you want to be employed in the future, there are two paths:
- Become the best in one specific thing
- Or become very good at two or more things
Although, you will be paid more to be the best in one thing, the first path will be both difficult and complicated. You can be the best in one field, and still be out of luck.
For example, you can become the best athlete in your city and still can't make a career in athletics.
However, if you are good at two or more things, like athletics, marketing, writing, you will have more chances to make money and to be recognized in your industry.
That's why second choice is more favourable than the first one.
Today, it pays to be an expert generalist. To be skilled in multiple fields. You need to reinvent yourself continuously, and benefit from your skills.
With some consistent efforts, you can reach the top 25% of your field and become desirable for the employers.
Then, you can learn some new skills. Skills that complement your work. And combine the knowledge from different areas to become a person with rare skillset.
For example, a person who has coding, writing, and marketing skills, will have more chances of survival than a person who has just writing skills.
Future will always bring unexpected opportunities. It pays to have a diverse portfolio of skills. You will see opportunities that nobody else can. Because you have knowledge of different fields.
A few decades back, people used to rely on manual labour for their survival. Things changed. Machines posed a threat to the survival of most workers.
However, some people adapted, and changed the threat into an opportunity. They learned to operate the machines, to manufacture it, to code its working process. All those who adapted to the new changes, earned much higher wages than those manual workers.
Every change is a threat to someone and an opportunity to someone else. If you don't adapt fast enough, you will be left behind. Changes will become threat instead of opportunities.
With the current transformation in the job market, and uncertainity about work— being adaptable to any kind of situation is a necessary bet for survival.
Like a lot of people had to adapt to the technology due to recent corona virus crisis. They not only had to become tech savvy, they had to learn new skills, develop new habits and a new mindset.
All those who saw an opportunity, either online or offline, picked up the new changes and progressed in life. Others were left fighting for their survival.
Diverse skills will not only help you to build a strong career in one specific field but it will open up new opportunities in different fields.
Your diverse knowledge will recognise patterns to connect the dots across multiple areas. And you will be able to find bigger and hidden opportunities. You will stay relevant in one field or other.
If you choose to excel in more than one field, it will be better to pursue transferable skills.
Skills such as seo, writing, marketing, and good communication is relevant in almost every industry.
Having writing and seo skills means you can generate traffic for almost anything. Make money.
Having marketing skills along with your core skills, and you can start your own business or help to grow someone else's business.
When you excel at any of transferable skill, you can teach them online. Like writing, seo, and trading. If you become really good at any of the transferable skill, you can create an online course, and sell it. Make money. Create new ways to earn. There are enough platforms out there that can help you do it.
That's why, transferable skills are important. They create new opportunities for you and helps you to switch roles in an organisation. Or create side hustles.
Every complementary skill you add, you will create more opportunities for yourself.
It's the best way to diversify your income
The more skills you have, the more ways you can make money.
Having a 9-5 job and programming skills, you can create your own project, work as a freelancer.
Knowing how to negotiate, and you can flip cars, products on amazon or other ecommerce stores like shopify.
Even trading or investing money is a good skill. If you are good at trading, you will never have to worry about money again.
Instead of looking at the job titles and careers, it pays to focus on skills. Connecting and executing the things you have learned in your life.
Modern world demands the transfer of knowledge. The ability to apply knowledge in the new situations and different domains.
So, if you identify yourself to one career, or stick to one title only, you could be left behind.
When you consider your future, don't just think about what you do now. Analyze what you have accomplished in the past. What you have learned and what kind of skillset you can develop through it.
Steve Jobs learned calligraphy before dropping out of college and applied the knowledge to make Macintosh Computer interface more beautiful. Connect the dots backwards.
Be like ants
Usually we try to become wolves. Taking care of ourself only. Focusing on just our needs. And trying to eat everyone else.
But we need to be like ants. Because they can survive anywhere and under any condition. I believe that ants are everywhere in the world except Antartica.
Ants are the ultimate survivors. Because they work with each other.
They create tunnels, colonies. They can find food, attack, defend themselves. However, they can not survive alone. They need others for their survival and growth of their colonies.
Similarly you need others to survive.
A writer need readers to survive. An artist needs art enthusiasts to survive. A content creator needs consumers to survive.
We will always depend on others for our survival. We just need to find our colony.
Think like this and you will see the whole world full of opportunities. People need your content, your services, your thought process.
For all the highly skilled people, you are a sucker. And for all the unskilled people, you will have extraordinary skills.
Having a diverse portfolio of skills, you will not only survive but thrive. You can adapt well to changes, to the new situations and people. You can figure out your own way.
You can come up with unique ideas to solve problems.