Leveraging Exam Review Courses for Career Transition: Unlocking New Opportunities

In 2020 and 2021, the U.S. labor market experienced a new trend where people voluntarily left their jobs. There are many reasons behind this, such as dissatisfaction in their position, untrained or bad leadership, and misaligned goals. This period in time has become known as "The Great Resignation," and led into 2022, where more than 50 million people quit their jobs.

Over time, this resignation has seen a decline as the economy has picked back up after the pandemic, and those same millions of people have changed gears and are trying to transition into new career paths that align more specifically with their personal goals. Technology advancement and software development is a big one, given the rise in popularity of social media for more than just the socialite.

In trying to make the shift from one career to another, many people have turned to various platforms to gain more valuable and transferrable skills. One avenue that most hadn't considered during the great resignation is how to prepare for transfer while still employed. One of the greatest assets that an employee has is exam review courses, which provide valuable information for those going into a specific field. In this article, we'll discuss what to consider during a career transition, how an exam review course can help you in that transition, specific soft skills you can expect to gain from them, and how to leverage the exam review course for your own career benefit.

In this blog,

1. Steps to Consider During a Career Transition

2. How Does an Exam Review Course Help You in a Career Transition?

3. What Soft Skills Will Exam Review Courses Give You?

Steps to Consider During a Career Transition

Changing careers is a drastic step, and takes a great deal of consideration, whether you're advancing in your current position, gaining new job titles within your own company, or transitioning to a new career altogether. Here are a few steps you should take in order to ensure that you're making the right decision for you.

• Consider what motivates and inspires you- When you know already that you want to transition into a new career, the where is sometimes daunting, even if you already have an idea of what you want to do. Thinking about the specifics of what motivates you to do what you do and where you get your inspiration from will help you decide what you want to do and even find specific companies that align with your own goals.
  
• List your current skills to understand the ones you need to develop- What skillsets do you already have that can help you in your new career. Are you lacking in certain soft skills like communication, or time management? Or do you need a little more development in your hard skills, such as in the use of Excel? What job requirements does your future job have?
  
• Find time for further development and the attainment of new skillsets- Taking the time now to develop a well-rounded skill set that helps you in your current job as well as your dream job will help you stay aligned with your goals and maintain a level of sanity in what is otherwise a rather chaotic period in time.
  
• Tailor your resume to each individual position you apply for- When building out your resume, take the time to research the jobs you're applying for and change the details of your resume to match each individual job listing. This helps you stand out from others, showing that you've taken the time to do your research, and follow listing guidelines. One way to stand out is to list the skills you've gained from your job experiences, rather than the job experiences themselves. New employers are more interested in what skills you bring to the company, rather than who you've worked for before.
  
• Prepare for the interviews- Take it one step further and prepare for any interview beforehand. This, again, will prove far more beneficial if you've done your research on the company you're transitioning to. Companies like to know why you're moving over, what value you'll bring to the company, and if your goals will align with the organization as a whole. Having answers prepared in a natural way will help the interview go smoothly.

How Does an Exam Review Course Help You in a Career Transition?

Making a big transition in your career is a very daunting task, but right now employees have the upper hand in the situation. Employers need workers after the Great Resignation, and employees don't have to worry about working for bad employers. There's value in the work they do, and we're learning as a group that we don't have to be with people who don't see that value.

Not only that, but we have a myriad of valuable resources to help with the change in trajectory. Exam review courses help in career transitions by:

• Certifying participants with specific skillsets- Maybe a little obvious, but still worth noting, is that exam review courses teach. They give valuable information and are usually designed for the student to learn hard skills that upskill them for their current or future job.

• Proving that the worker has specific valuable soft skills- Taking exam review courses isn't for the faint of heart. In fact, adding a course on top of the standard work and larger projects that are randomly added into their work list is a challenge that many don't welcome, and for good reason. The fact that some accomplish this mighty task proves that they've learned valuable skills along the way, such as time management, prioritization of tasks, and persistence to name a few.

• Giving the worker formal qualifications- Sometimes, the issue isn't the knowledge. Some workers spend years doing the same work, learning the same skills that they might in a formal course. Doing an exam review course, and completing the subsequent exam, doesn't necessarily teach you anything new (though that is often a perk). Instead, it gives you a formal qualification, not just a skill, which can lead to better hire rates and higher pay.

What Soft Skills Will Exam Review Courses Give You?

Something that is oftentimes overlooked by many workers is the value of soft skills and what a person with well-developed soft skills can bring to the table. Exam review courses help develop these soft skills simply as a matter of self-preservation for the person participating in the course. Here's a short list of soft skills that course attendees can expect to learn and master by the end of the course.

• Time Management- Effective time management is an essential skill learned by having to balance a myriad of course material and assignments on top of their regularly scheduled work.
  
• Communication- Learning to communicate helps students by teaching them when to ask for help, clarification, or when to delegate certain tasks to others instead of handling it all on their own.
  
• Prioritization of Tasks- Prioritization is a skill that takes time to learn but is one of the most beneficial skills to come out of exam review courses. There's a large amount of course material to get to, and learning how to balance the most important enables them to work effectively.
  
• Responsiveness- We've all been there; waiting for an email for five days, only to get a simple, "Yeah, that's okay." Responsiveness to questions via email, text, phone call, etc. is one of the most courteous skills a person can learn.
  
• Listening- There's listening to respond, and there's listening to understand, the latter of which is the preferable one. Improving your listening skills by learning to absorb the information in the course is a valuable skill to develop.
  
• Growth Mindset-The course student already proves to have a growth mindset by starting the course in the first place, but in the course, they'll be able to develop and practice the skill to a deeper degree.
  
• Persistence- Exam review courses can be a large undertaking, oftentimes requiring the student to rearrange their personal schedule, miss out on family events, and oftentimes fall short of their personal expectations. If a person has completed a course, you can be confident that they'll be persistent in their work and prove to be your advantage.
  
• Organization and Planning- These last two go hand in hand. Exam review courses require a person to be organized in their time, and their physician and mental space, oftentimes planning around their life in order to participate in each facet effectively.
  
• Adaptability and Resourcefulness- It requires them to adapt to change quickly and be resourceful in how and where they take the course at all.

Whether you're pursuing a passion project, looking for a change, or considering looking for a different job altogether, know that the decision is not a straightforward one. If you're considering a career transition, make sure that you're taking the rights steps that ensure your success. Exam review courses can play a powerful role in helping you create a life you love and a career you can be proud of. The courses can unlock opportunities that may not have been available to you with your current skillset, so consider using this too, as well as the myriad of others available to you as you make the change.

Are you ready to leverage an exam review course in your ongoing career transition? Consider partnering with the leader in engineering, architecture, and project management exam prep, School of PE!

About the Author: Anna Taylor

Anna Taylor is a freelance writer and avid researcher- a jack of all trades, but a master of none. She graduated from the University of Hawai'i with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts because she had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. She has since found her love of Extended Reality and the possibilities it brings to the world, as well as gardening, cooking, and writing. Anna lives in Interior Alaska with her family.

The Importance of Work-Life Balance: Supporting Your Team's Well-Being

With workers required to work from home and learn how to manage their personal and professional time with little understanding of how to do so, the line between work and life during the Pandemic became very thin. This rapid-fire learning process created a shift in dynamic between what constitutes a good job.

For instance, post-pandemic workers have placed a higher emphasis on a work-life balance when looking for potential employment opportunities. According to research done by Aviva, more workers were attracted to their current role for the work-life balance (41%), and less for the salary (36%), in comparison to rankings gathered in 2019 (40.97% and 41.02%, respectively).

What this essentially means is that employees are searching more for jobs that support their lifestyle, rather than the other way around. In this post, we'll look at what a work-life balance actually looks like with the surprising benefits of maintaining one, and how to improve a work-life balance within your company.

This blog covers,

1. The Surprising Benefits of a Healthy Work-Life Balance

2. Improving Your Company's Work-Life Balance

The Surprising Benefits of a Healthy Work-Life Balance

A work-life balance is a harmonious relationship between your work and personal life. We may talk about a work-life balance as if it's two separate things, but in reality, they're both separate facets of one thing: life. Creating a divide between these two very integral parts of the whole can sometimes seem counterintuitive, because they both serve to support life, creativity, and happiness. Bridging them or connecting them in a way that still shows that separation between them while maintaining the importance of both helps to create this balance in time, energy, and enjoyment. Here are some of the benefits that can be found when this balance is maintained.

• Improved Mental and Physical Health- When workers are able to prioritize their home life with as much emphasis as their work life, giving equal care and attention that they both deserve, they're more mentally prepared to tackle the challenges they're given. Poor balance can lead to both poor mental health in that one inevitably gets neglected, and poor mental health has a drastic effect on physical health. The fact is that there is cross over between home and work; you make lunch at home in order to eat it at work (or make enough money at work so you can free up that time for something else), and make the money necessary to support your family, home, and hobbies. If any of this is disconnected, your mental and physical health goes down the drain.
• More Engagement and Productivity- Similarly, when this balance is met, and the needs of the person's entire world are taken care of, they'll have the ability to engage more proactively in the work and influence the outcome in a positive way. Now, obviously work is not responsible for taking care of the employee's personal life, but there are steps that can be taken to decrease stress that benefit the work culture. For instance, childcare. Single parents are often required to focus on family and work with equal measure and have trouble separating from either. In these instances, as well as less drastic events, it would benefit the workplace to help alleviate this stress in the ways that it can so that employees can come to work and put their best foot forward and remain engaged in the work while they're there.
• Fewer Burnouts- Burnout is a term used to describe the state of being reached when a person is physically, mentally, and emotionally drained from being so overworked that when they do actually get a break, they're unable to enjoy it. Burnout can be characterized similarly to depression, in that there is a lack of motivation and inspiration in creative endeavors. When a person is able to find the balance between work and life, they can gauge better where a break is needed and intuitively decide when to push forward and when they need to refill that "creative well" that their productivity is drawn from.
• Improved Job Satisfaction- By implementing tools and procedures that help maintain a good work-life balance, workers typically show an increase in job satisfaction because that level of burnout is never reached.
• Attracting and Retaining Top Talent- By maintaining a work culture that emphasizes and practices a work-life balance, you show current and potential employees that you're willing to invest in their mental and physical health, which helps retain those workers you've cultivated and attract new talent willing to do the work for a company who cares.

Improving Your Company's Work-Life Balance

Just like any relationship, your work-life relationship takes effort and intentionality to create a harmonious balance. Creating this balance can be difficult, but we're not looking to be better all at once, merely by degrees every day. Here are a few things you can implement in the day that will improve your company's work-life balance now, and in the future.

• Encourage breaks and extended time off- Taking breaks throughout the day, as well as scheduling vacation time to help disconnect from the stress of a job is an effective start to creating a better balance between work and personal life.
• Implement reduced screen time- Staring at screens all day is a fact of the work force today. With the growth and adoption of social media for networking, socializing, advertising, etc., much of the corporate workforce deals with screens for a majority of their day. Taking walks during breaks, encouraging employees to put their screens away for meetings, and offering team-building games during breaks can help create that separation between work and rest. This will go a long way in making those breaks actually work.
• Do a personality test- Everybody is different. Humanity didn't evolve on one linear spectrum. This means that everybody works differently, plays differently, and interacts with the world differently. There are dozens of personality tests to utilize that can give you valuable insight into what the most beneficial avenue for each individual could be. You can learn if a person prefers to work in smaller chunks of time or work straight through a project with one larger break at the end of the day, or any variation thereof.
• Ask employees for suggestions- Your most valuable resource in many areas is your employees. That goes true for this instance. Your employees can tell you more about what they want to see in terms of a work-life balance than some person on the internet can. See what works for them, and what they need from work in order to be able to disconnect from the stress of life. Even if it takes some digging, they'll be able to tell you what they need to do the job with more satisfaction.
• Encourage intentionality at home as well as work- In the corporate world, we look specifically at how life supports work. In this work-life balance post the emphasis has been on how a good balance can benefit the job. However, being intentional at home is one of the best ways to build that balance. By actually taking the time off and unplugging from work, you're able to recharge your ability to focus intentionally on the work. By unplugging from work, you can also actually be the person you need to be for those in your life, father/mother, brother, friend.
• Separate your home and work life- Make sure there is a specific line that doesn't get crossed when working. If life help is needed to be able to focus on the work better, then that's a different story. However, if speaking of home, family, and life problems becomes the distraction, put it away. Learn early on where that line is and stick to it.
• Lead by example- If you preach leaving your computer at work, turning off your phone for work emails after a certain time, and letting breaks be breaks, then you also need to show how valuable those practices can be by doing.
• Use your time effectively- Use time blocking strategies to understand your own abilities and manage your time better. By learning these strategies, you can understand what tasks can be done during a specific time frame and the ability to effectively manage your time will bleed into other areas of your life.

In today's work climate, changing company policies to be more inclusive can be great, but when you lack the central points of that change, it makes the whole process worthless. Instead, focusing on the worker, how they work individually, and what can help them create the balance for themselves can turn the entire company dynamic around in a positive way. By taking the time to learn about the individuals that make up the whole, you'll be able to create a system that works for you and builds that bridge between work and life that can improve your work-life balance and benefit everybody within the company structure.

Consider boosting your professional career with EduMind. Our top-rated exam review courses are just what you need to succeed!

About the Author: Anna Taylor

Anna Taylor is a freelance writer and avid researcher- a jack of all trades, but a master of none. She graduated from the University of Hawai'i with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts because she had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. She has since found her love of Extended Reality and the possibilities it brings to the world, as well as gardening, cooking, and writing. Anna lives in Interior Alaska with her family.

The Importance of Cultivating Trust Within a Team: 9 Simple Steps that Equal Big Rewards

Trust builds safety. According to Google's study on what makes their teams so successful, the number one factor was psychological safety. In fact, in this study, they realized that it didn't matter who was put on a team or their qualifications in their field. What matters was "how the team members interact, structure their work, and view their contributions." A team with trust knows that they're safe to take risks and ask questions, can count on each other to get their work done, has goals and execute plans, and fundamentally believes that their work matters. These teams will be more productive and have better working dynamics than those without trust.

If the most important factor (and in the end, the main goal) to trust in a team is feeling psychologically safe, then how do we get there? What steps do we take to create an environment and team where each member feels empowered to ask questions and take risks to better the entire group?

In this blog:

1. Small Steps That Equal Big Rewards

2. Here Are 9 Steps You Can Take to Cultivate Trust Within Your Team

a) Encourage Communication

b) Be Transparent

c) Have Personalized Meetings

d) Plan Team Building Activities

e) Encourage Collaboration

f) Eliminate Cliques

g) Appreciate Often

h) Show Leadership Qualities

i) Follow Through on Promises

3. Additional Tips to Help You Build Trust

Small Steps That Equal Big Rewards

It's the little things, really. We're all naturally hardwired to protect ourselves against threats in our lives; even things that aren't physically threatening can create distrust. These threats in the workplace come in the form of people's perceived opinions of our competence and ability- psychological threats. For example, take a situation in which you need clarification on a topic, something as simple as needing to know a date or goal outcome. Instead of seeking that clarification, we hold back. We eliminate the threat of others' opinions by simply not asking. This doesn't help the situation, however. Instead, it leads to even more work trying to figure out the answer on our own.

In the end, developing a team that works well together, that knows their responsibilities, and that can trust each other to do their jobs well comes down to small steps that you can take in your workplace every day to cultivate trust.

Here Are 9 Steps You Can Take to Cultivate Trust Within Your Team

1. Encourage Communication- Starting off strong: when communication stops, trust dries up quickly. Encourage open communication lines so that team members can always talk about issues they're having without fear of reprimand.

2. Be Transparent- Explain everything clearly and concisely. Make sure that every part of a topic is completely explained, and that honesty is always a priority. During communication, transparency is a key factor in these lines of communication remaining open both ways.

3. Have Personalized Meetings- Meet with individuals to get to know them, their strengths and weaknesses, their concerns, etc. Having a time and place that encourages team members to speak freely and let themselves be heard goes a long way in building trust.

4. Plan Team Building Activities- Have activities, scheduled and unscheduled, for team members to interact in a stress-free, collaborative manner that has something to do with the work they're trying to achieve. This helps eliminate barriers in the way of forming relationships that have the potential to build trust.

5. Encourage Collaboration- Encourage collaboration within the context of work as well. Something like pairing together individuals whose job descriptions aren't closely aligned can help them develop skills in various areas rather than just their own.

6. Eliminate Cliques- Cliques are groups that have barriers for entry designed specifically to keep others out based on perceived elitism. They're the opposite of a team. Cliques do nothing to foster trust, and instead divide and isolate individuals based, again, on perception. By eliminating cliques, and allowing everybody to be part of the team, you'll have an inherently more trusting environment.

7. Appreciate Often- Show your appreciation for a job well done in any scenario. A team member that knows their skills are appreciated and valued will be more trusting and higher performing. Appreciation can come in many varieties, such as prizes for goals met, and incentive programs to improve employee engagement to name a few.

8. Show Leadership Qualities- Every team needs a good leader, and excellent leadership goes a long way in creating a team based on trust. A team that knows they can trust their leader to do their job will be more trusting of each other. Here are a few ways that you can display good leadership qualities.

• Keep your word. If you make a promise, keep it.
• Give employees the benefit of the doubt. If something goes wrong, don't always assume it was the intentional fault of an individual. Instead, give them the opportunity to explain what happened first.
• Model acceptable behavior. Be an example of what's required and accepted on the team. Team members who have a good example of their own requirements, and can see that nobody is exempt from them, are more likely to follow suit.
• Protect your team members. If psychological safety is the goal of trust on a team, then the way to get there is to eliminate perceived threats. That's not to say that you should treat your employees as incapable. Instead, offer every opportunity to help your team understand without unnecessary intervention. With that being said...
• Avoid micromanaging. Even though trust isn't built automatically, teams are built with specific skill sets in mind. If your team was created well, you'll have a capable and confident team that will prove their capabilities without strict management.
• Offer constructive criticism. Criticism in itself isn't helpful. If you want to see a desired result, use the sandwich method of compliment, criticism, compliment. For example, "I like what you're doing here, I do see some room for improvement, I'm excited to see what you do with it." Be specific with what you like, and what change you'd like to see, and allow them to make (or not make) the changes desired.

9. Follow Through on Promises- By stating a promise and keeping that promise, you're developing a positive system of dependence. Teach your team that they can trust you. Give them a positive example by saying what you're going to do, and then doing what you said. This demonstrates how to follow through and cultivates trust from the very beginning.

Additional Tips to Help You Build Trust

Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you along the way.

1. Trust can happen gradually and instantaneously, but it's all in the actions you take on a daily basis. It's easy to say that the little things don't matter, and that mistakes happen, and they do! But trust is a process that happens through individual instances as well as with consistency in the long run.

2. Value inclusivity and diversity in order to show each individual team member that they're valued for who they are and what they individually bring to the table. Diversity isn't only in the color of your skin, or where you're from, or your disabilities. Instead, diversity is in the individual skillsets you bring to the table.

3. Admit when you're wrong, even when it hurts. In fact, it should happen especially when it hurts. Admitting wrongdoing or mistakes will go a long way in teaching your team members that mistakes are okay to make, and apologies are always necessary when it affects other people.

It doesn't matter if you're building a brand-new team or you have an old team: trust within a team is vital for productivity and progress. Implementing these strategies to cultivate trust with your team will be beneficial in any scenario. By keeping these steps and tips in mind, you'll be able to cultivate trust within your team that will continue through the duration of your time together and beyond.

Consider building your team's expertise and experience by partnering with School of PE. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help your team members take their careers to the next level!

About the Author: Anna Taylor

Anna Taylor is a freelance writer and avid researcher- a jack of all trades, but a master of none. She graduated from the University of Hawai'i with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts because she had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. She has since found her love of Extended Reality and the possibilities it brings to the world, as well as gardening, cooking, and writing. Anna lives in Interior Alaska with her family.

Instructor Spotlight: Masoud Moradian, PE

At School of PE, we employ multiple instructors to teach the material in their areas of expertise-this sets us apart from our competitors. We have received a great deal of positive feedback from our students, and we believe that learning from experts in their respective areas provides the most comprehensive learning experience.

Our Instructor Spotlight series gives you a peek behind the scenes with some of School of PE's highly acclaimed instructors. Read on to find out more about our very own Masoud Moradian.

Author Bio:

Masoud Moradian obtained his doctorate degree in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK in 2017. During his Ph.D. work, Masoud worked on different properties of cementitious materials in projects sponsored by FHWA, NSF, and U.S. Department. Masoud has published over 25 articles in international journals and conferences.

In September 2017, he joined Texas Department of Transportation. As a Transportation Engineer, Masoud has been involved in laboratory management, specification revisions, roadway design, PS&E, and construction works. Masoud is a licensed professional engineer in Texas with #131370. He teaches Geotechnical engineering for SoPE.

What attracted you to your chosen field/area of expertise?

I wanted to be a civil engineer because what a civil engineer does can have a significant impact on the community, and the outcome is appreciable whether it is a roadway that lasts decades or a residential building that is home for many families over its lifetime.

How do you make sure to stay up to date on skills and technology?

As an employee of a state agency, I need to stay on top of various things as the industry always brings innovative technologies to our attention to make their process more efficient and less costly. Therefore, I devote a good amount of time to studying, participating in conferences/webinars, researching, and talking to talented people to learn more about what is trending in our industry and how we can incorporate those trends into our specifications.

What is the most rewarding thing about being an engineer?

As a transportation engineer, I really enjoy when I drive on different roadways and think about the impact my job has had on the residents, especially the projects that I was a part of. Also, it is a pleasant feeling when I can help address some of the issues that I see in roadways during my normal life.

What do you think is the most important skill for an engineer?

Depending on what branch of engineering you are in, problem solving, leadership, and management skills are "musts" for engineers.

What is the best way to prepare for the FE/PE exam?

On top of having deep knowledge about the topics and references covered by the exam, it is very important to gain the skills required to solve multiple-choice questions. This includes time management and the skill to lookup the answers in the reference books. With this being said, working on different practice questions is highly recommended.

Why would you recommend taking an exam review course to prepare for the PE exam? 

Although I preferred self-study for most of the exams during college or my career, for this particular exam I took a comprehensive review course to give me an insight into how the PE exam works and to feel more comfortable facing the broad range of topics that are covered in the PE exam.

Bridging the Gap Between Academic and Corporate Learning

Skills-based learning is an incredibly valuable method of learning and understanding the practical application of information. However, there is a reason more and more corporations are seeking opportunities to offer education opportunities for professional development. In fact, a LinkedIn Learning report titled Leading with Learning discovered that 64% of learning and development professionals state that reskilling their current employee pool is a top priority. Along the many benefits of employee education and certifications, corporations have found that there is a benefit to using academic learning methodologies to cater to their workforce, as opposed to corporate learning methods.

Academic and corporate learning are at odds with each other, and it's astounding that a dynamic that is so closely related can also be so different. There is very little cross over in the philosophies, methodologies, and objectives of corporate and academic learning.

The technologies that were created to support these methods are also very different. In recent years, advocates for each learning scenario have realized the benefits of bridging the gap between the two because the goal of both methods is the same: upskilling and edification. In this blog, we'll discuss both academic and corporate learning, the differences between the two, and how to close the gap between these two highly effective learning types.

This blog covers:

1. Academic Learning and Corporate Learning: What's the Difference?

2. Using Higher Education as a Corporate Learning Method

3. The Benefits of Higher Education as a Corporate Learning Method

Academic Learning and Corporate Learning: What's the Difference?

Firstly, academic and corporate learning differ mainly in their purpose. So, let's get into that first.

• Corporate learning was created to help employees understand their roles and build skills that directly correlate to the specific job role they're in, and to help the company succeed. Generally, the responsibility to create and maintain corporate learning experiences lies with the human resources department or the learning and development team. Corporate learning can come in the form of eLearning opportunities, in-person classrooms, and activities.
• Academic learning is focused more on the transfer of knowledge and less of the competence of the learner in practical settings. Knowledge is gained on a grouping of core subjects that then make up the whole of a base.
• Think of it this way: Academic learning teaches people the process of learning, and corporate learning teaches them how to apply what they've learned to their jobs.
• Besides the interactivity differences between the two, there are other aspects to the learning structure that set them apart.
• Speed - Corporate training is fast paced, and the teachers and learners are very intentional with their time because companies expect to see results fast. This effects the length of modules and their style because they're intended to be completed rapidly.
• Skill over understanding - Training in a corporate setting is very skills-oriented, and obtaining and practicing these skills is heavily stressed. They need people who know how to apply this knowledge, whereas academic learning focuses on the knowledge aspect of learning in order to gain a broad understanding of the subject.
• Goal types - The types of goals that companies expect to reach are business oriented, and the training must add value to the company as a whole, whereas academic learners expect that the learning experience will enhance their life and advance their career.
• Value for money spent - There must be a high return on investment (ROI) in the corporate setting for the expense to be worth it. Academic learners, however, go into a scenario knowing that their ROI isn't necessarily going to be monetary, and is instead going to show in the form of information offered.
• Effectiveness tracking - Tracking and reporting the effectiveness of the corporate learning program is a key step in the process for companies. If something is off in the program, and learners aren't gaining the value expected, the program needs to be reevaluated and changed to find ways to be more effective. In an academic setting, because the goal isn't necessarily in how well the student can perform a specific skill, there is no specific metric for identifying holes in effectiveness.
• Range of audience - There tends to be a larger range of student ages in the corporate setting with people at different stages in life. Instead of students in their early twenties whose sole focus is their education, corporate audiences tend to have busier schedules and expect for the training to add value to their life in return.
• Certifications versus grades - One of the major differences is the end result of the experience. A certification benefits the corporate validation of educational and professional endorsement and grades do not. Moreover, a certification assignment sounds far more impressive.
• Interactivity of Instructors - Corporate settings very often use a "set it and forget it" mode of teaching. The instructors tend to only be available in extreme cases, whereas in an educational setting, the instructor has a far more hands-on style of teaching, catering to students as much as is necessary.
• LMS strategies - Though learning management systems are used in both scenarios, the methodologies drastically determine the lengths and types of learning modules provided. In a corporate setting, it's understood that the information and skills need to be available in a timely and understandable way because the time allotted for the learner to understand the presented information is limited to minutes or hours. In contrast, for higher education purposes, it's understood that the information will be given over the period of several months and reflects that method with longer videos or lecture content that aren't as skill-based.

Using Higher Education as a Corporate Learning Method

With this in mind, one major question remains. Do we try to create a whole new system that caters to both academic and corporate learning?

The short answer is no. Nobody has time to create a whole new set of educational modules for something that already exists. Putting that effort into doing something that has already been done is like trying to reinvent the wheel. The gaps won't be closed by creating something entirely new, but instead will be closed by leveraging the systems that we already have in place in a way that benefits everybody involved.

The Benefits of Higher Education as a Corporate Learning Method

There are three main ways that corporations teach their employees. Microlearning, gamification, and employee training are devised to give employees quick learning experiences that they can turn around and use immediately. Something that they lack is helping create a longer attention span in order to develop skills that carry employees through longer job instances. On that note, let's look at the benefits of using higher education itself as a corporate learning method.

• Your investment and reward will be higher. Investing in employee's education on a larger scale proves loyalty to them, and they'll then turn around and prove their loyalty to their employer by staying in the job for longer periods of time.
• The personal time management skills benefit everybody in the long run. Using a longer program to teach different skills and information, employees naturally learn to manage their time better to balance both the educational aspect and the work aspect of their job.
• Using a method and program that is already in place frees up everybody's time. The biggest benefit of leveraging an existing program is that a new one doesn't have to be made. Resources can be allocated to where they need to be, and trainers and trainees can focus on their area of expertise.
• Longer forms of learning teach employees the why of their position in a broader context. Corporate learning methods, i.e., skills development, only take them so far in the understanding of their job role, but higher education programs such as business, economics, or other job-specific programs offer context of the process as a whole, rather than just the job requirement itself. It teaches them why they're doing something, instead of just teaching them to do it.

What would higher education mean and look like in a corporate context?

Professional development programs exist in many forms. One program could be learning information that expands on the employees' existing knowledge base, like instructional programs for professional certifications, or business leadership training. Another could simply be taking a course in public speaking to teach the process of speech and how to communicate with a larger audience.

The world of academic learning doesn't have to only benefit academic institutions. Using each of these methods to their full extent in each context creates a more well-rounded learning experience. Academic and corporate learning have vastly different methods and purposes, but that doesn't mean that each one can only benefit itself. When we begin to cross over the divide into different areas, we'll maximize the resources that each of these methods has to offer.

Are you interested in professional development and learning opportunities for yourself, your academic institution, or business? School of PE can help! Get in touch with us today at info@schoolofpe.com or 614-873-7475 to learn more.

About the Author: Anna Taylor

Anna Taylor is a freelance writer and avid researcher- a jack of all trades, but a master of none. She graduated from the University of Hawai'i with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts because she had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. She has since found her love of Extended Reality and the possibilities it brings to the world, as well as gardening, cooking, and writing. Anna lives in Interior Alaska with her family.