I learnt coding in 6 weeks!

We are in the midst of a great Learning Pandemic

Consistent since the great 2020s there has been an assault on us to keep reskilling. Add the whole AI revolution and the recessionary trends and… Boom! A potent Molotov cocktail is ready!

Everything has become this ‘learning metric’ thanks to social media. Be it the corporate obsession with certifications or celebrities peddling courses. These have become a snobbish lifestyle icon, the next shiny reel or the new status symbol.

I find it so amusing to see the ads where people say

I learnt coding in 6 weeks!

I learnt a guitar in just 10 sittings!

Are you serious?!

A couple of years ago, I was at one of those ‘Linkedin’ type meet-ups. This very suave gentleman came over and spoke to me for a bit and left after handing me his card. On the front was his name and title, ‘Some fancy’ Coach, but when I turned the card over it gave me instant nausea. It was full of the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread coaching certifications!

Now I have no issues with people learning. In my own bio on social media platforms I call myself a ‘life long learner’. But what is really making me uncomfortable is this mad race to get ‘certified’. No one is waiting to even reflect on what it means.

I believe there is a big difference in INFORMATION and LEARNING.

There used to be this 10k hour learning rule but that has been refuted by research. Josh Kaufman, the author of The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything…Fast, suggests that you can learn the basics of any new skill in just 20 hours if you follow a systematic approach. This does not mean you will become an expert in 20 hours, but you will be able to perform the skill.

And that is my point here. Through all these courses we just come to know the basics. But to really “learn” there is a big factor which most people ignore. It is called PRACTICE!

All these certifications mean nothing if you can’t deliver. But who has the time? People are rushing from one course/certification to another without even getting the relevant practice. One can do many courses on all the tips and tricks which will make a better ‘spreadsheeter’ but unless that skill is put to use, it will just fade away. it takes years to master a skill. Unless this cycle of learn-practice-apply is followed, you will just be paying to keep the revenue streams of some EdTech start-up flowing.

I did succumb to this hustle too but soon realised that I needed to step back and take time to reflect and evaluate

Why do I want to learn this?

How will this learning help me professionally, personally?

How many hours I am ready to devote to this learning?

The only thing that matters to me is how hard I’ve worked. It makes me feel confident and ready. Then it doesn’t matter if I become a Happiness Coach, a Victory Coach…or just a Certified Scam!

Maybe I can make a difference. Or maybe not.