Am I learning enough?

Learning is a fundamental aspect of work, particularly for engineers. With the pace of change in technology, engineers that aren’t constantly improving their abilities and adding to their skillset run the risk of obsolescence.

However, with the other stresses of work, it can be difficult to know if the environment we’re in is providing sufficient learning stimulus. Here, with guests from the Best Work Podcast, we explore how to tell when our work is, or isn’t, providing us with sufficient learning opportunities.

Stagnation

Stagnating at work can have far-reaching consequences. Without stretch, challenge, and self-improvement, not only do we hamper our long-term employability. A lack of direction can lead to disengagement, and even, counter-intuitively, burnout.

Spotting that we are stagnating can, however, be difficult. Many experienced engineers and leaders discuss a state of “flow” which characterises the work we do when we are in our element; in many senses, this is a state of what could be called, or confused for, “comfort”. When we are at our best, our work won’t feel stressful, and we will be able to do much of it without inputting too much conscious thought.

Stagnation, however, is a different animal. Product Manager Sophie characterises stagnation as in part an overdose of routine, with the key sign being a decline in our curiosity and creativity.

While acknowledging that our curiosity levels vary naturally across our lives, Sophie is right to highlight that they can be a useful barometer of the extent to which our current working environment is providing us with the stimulation and opportunities we need to keep learning.

Engineering Manager Isaac, meanwhile, focuses on feedback loops to determine whether he is focused and learning in his work, or whether or not he has become too comfortable going through the motions, drawing on an analogy from his martial arts hobby:

Most engineers will know the equivalent of a kick in the face that can result from performing work from a place of comfort, rather than a place of flow.

Boredom is also a key indicator for Isaac. In many senses, feeling bored at work is the single most reliable indicator that our work isn’t sufficiently challenging, and that we should seek new learning opportunities within our current organisation (or at a new one if these have already been explored and exhausted).

The limits of learning

However, common sense suggests that we won’t necessarily learn something new from every single piece of work we perform. Product Designer Eduard here explains how he approaches the question of constant learning.

The numbers Eduard mentions are arbitrary, but the principle is sound. When in doubt about whether or not we’re learning enough, it can help to make a list of recent projects, and review each of them in the context of new skills or approaches they taught us.

Similarly, it pays to exercise self-awareness and conscious intent over which skills we are looking to develop. As CTO and co-founder Paul explains, each of us has a range of skills and abilities and our competence at each of these varies considerably. We do ourselves a big favour by identifying those skills we consciously intend to improve, and relaxing about those we don’t.

There is, then, a balance when it comes to learning, and we don’t need to feel compelled to stretch every aspect of ourselves at every moment of our working lives. Indeed, learning too fast can have negative consequences. CTO Marta prioritised growth throughout her career, and this led to her reaching a level she wasn’t in fact ready for.

As long as we find our work provokes curiosity more than boredom, and provides a reasonable level of opportunity to develop the skills we are most keen to develop, the chances are that, from a learning perspective, we are in the right place.