#2 Success Principle: Learn How To Self Study Effectively

Jack Reacher

This series is devoted to the principles required for success in Information Technology (IT) careers.

Technology is always changing so IT professionals have to stay ahead of the technology curve or risk losing their jobs or careers!
So you have to constantly update your skills through self study, coaching or training.

This post discusses how you can stay ahead of the technology curve using self study.

Contrary to what you may think, self study requires a considerable investment of time, money and effort.

Do Business Analysts Need Computer Programmer Skills?

Are database development, computer programming, data analysis or web development required skills for Business Analysts?

Perhaps you’ve seen, heard about or applied for jobs asking for a broad or seemingly impossible range of skill sets?

Like those job descriptions for business analysts requiring computer programming skills or those for PMP Certified Project Managers with 5 years of software development experience!

This post addresses “how to bridge the gap between business analyst skills and unfair job descriptions written-up by Information Technology (IT) departments”

Develop Your Personal Brand And Become a Leader!

Develop Your Personal Brand And Become a Leader

This course teaches you how to develop and use your competitive advantages in the workplace, job market and industry using the PULL method.

You will learn how to become a leader in your industry by developing and taking advantage of your personal brand using PULL techniques.

By the end of this course, you will have learnt how to select the best leadership projects for your industry based on your background, skills, education, training, job history and interests.

Become a Leader And Get The Job You Want!

Become a Leader And Get The Job You Want!

Getting a job by sending out resumes to employers is known as the push method because it depends on you pushing the employer to hire you!

The problem with the traditional method of getting a job is that everyone who is out-of-a-job is probably doing the same thing … pushing their resumes to hiring managers or employers!

Getting hired in a competitive job market doesn’t mean … “do what other job applicants are doing” … it means “do more than your competition!“

How Important Is Domain Knowledge For A Business Analyst?

Is a business analyst with domain knowledge more valuable than a business analyst without domain knowledge?

By looking at how business analyst job descriptions are written, you may be tempted to say yes!

Business Analyst job descriptions are written as if there is a distinction between IT oriented business analysts with skills in UML, Use Cases, Requirements Elicitation, Requirements Modeling and domain oriented business analysts with knowledge in specific domains like sales, marketing, customer relationship management, insurance, finance!

How Do I Overcome Employment Gaps In My Oracle Programming Career?

This question was posted by a reader who wants to overcome obstacles posed by employment gaps in an Oracle Programming Career!

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If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!

How To Become a Microsoft .NET Software Developer

This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a Microsoft .NET Developer!

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!

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Here is the Reader’s Question:

First, a little bit about myself.

Alternate Career Paths for Business Analysts

The fundamentals of earning an income is rooted in the exchange of goods, services or skills and having an 8 to 5 job is just one way of doing that!

This post answers the question of what to do when you can’t get a job! posted by a reader (Kintu Vicent) who is inquiring about “how to earn an income as a business analyst without regular employment!“

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!

How Do You Get Business Analyst Domain Experience?

One of the toughest challenges facing business analysts today is building the domain experience required for business analyst jobs.

Acquiring business analyst domain experience from scratch is hard because you need to get a job before you can build domain expertise … yet no-one will give you a job without the required domain experience!

This article discusses how to get around the business analyst domain experience required for most business analysis jobs.

It Is Never Too Late To Become A Computer Programmer!

This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a computer programmer!

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!

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Here is the Question:

hi

How To Become A Healthcare Business Analyst

This question was posted by a Healthcare Business Analyst looking for work!

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Is the Job Market Good Or Bad For Business Analysts?

This question was posted by a Business Analyst in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

If you have a Burning Question or a Challenge that you need help with, be sure to ask your question as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering the question below!

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Here is the Question:

Hi,

CRM Business Analyst Job Description

One of the biggest hurdles facing business analysts in the current job market is the challenge of demonstrating the hands-on experience required in business analyst job descriptions

This article explains “how to improve your marketability as a business analyst by targeting business analyst job descriptions.”

Let me start by saying that there are two types of hands-on experience required for business analyst jobs:

1. General Business Analysis Experience: This type of experience is gained by practicing or using general business analysis skills including Use Cases, Requirements Gathering, Requirements Modeling, Requirements Elicitation, UML etc.

The Software Developer Internship Opportunity

This post answers a reader’s question about how to become a competent or highly skilled software developer.

If you have a Burning Question or a Challenge you need help with, be sure to ask your question as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering the question below!

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Here is the Burning Question:

Hello Kingsley,

Coaching Or Self Study

There are a number of ways you can learn programming or business analysis or any
other technical skill. I recommend both coaching and self study. I
am going to compare both modes of learning so you have a better idea of what
works for you and what doesn't.

Self Study or Teach Yourself

Self study is the type of learning where you are 100% responsible for the
outcome. It involves researching a concept, subject or topic through books,
online websites and other types of media. You set the learning goals by
yourself, draw up a lesson plan and then do your own reading and learning.

In Search Of A Mentor

Looking For a Mentor

In college I tried to learn C/C++ by Dennis Richie and Brian Kernighan. It was a sterile experience because even though I could flip the pages of the book, I couldn’t make any sense out of it. What I really needed was a personal trainer or mentor who could work me through the book and show me how to build software applications using C/C++ because I learn better by doing than just reading.

I couldn’t get anyone’s attention not to talk of getting them to teach me how to develop software applications. Everyone I knew was busy writing programs and nobody wanted to stop and teach others what they knew.