My portfolio career – talking the walk

We’ve all heard the jibe about Teachers;

Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach*

And the many derivations, choose your favourite from, ‘those who can’t … write/critique/consult/present etc.’

The original quote from George Bernard Shaw has irritated teachers ever since! This blog post provides some balance,  referring to the, ‘… significant knowledge, expertise and pedagogical understanding’ required to teach.

Intuitively, teaching (and other professions) have different specialist roles and can be valuable and successful separate career paths, although possibly with overlapping skills. And, more importantly, being good at what you do, whether you are a scientist, a hairdresser, a computer programmer, or a footballer, doesn’t automatically mean you can teach others about it, and vice-versa.

After many years ‘being’ and ‘doing’ as a Business Analyst, I now find myself turning more to some of the complementary and advanced communication skills, in no particularly order.

Writing – Blogging of course, but also preparing learning materials (technical writing) for…

Higher study/Research – Undertaking Masters-level research into approaches, pedagogies and technologies for teaching IT.

Teaching/instructing/mentoring – It has always been an informal secondary part of my ‘day job’ to impart knowledge, but now this role is moving to the forefront of how I can be most useful to prospective clients, colleagues and junior Business Analysts.

Presenting – In recent months I have applied to present at 2 professional conferences, and I have joined the Ipswich Speakers Club to learn to speak and present with style 🙂

Consulting – Again, a more informal part of what I have always done. I am saving this topic for another time and a longer exploration on what Consultants actually do!

An interesting list I think, although none of which I would consider – at the moment – as a full-time career. As I have gained more knowledge and experience (with age), the opportunities aren’t reducing for me, but the time available to fit all these into my new portfolio career is!

In future posts I will explore each of these aspects of my individually. I don’t know where these various paths will take me, but am convinced that the next steps in my career will involve lifting my head above the cubicle wall and talking the walk.

As always thank you for your questions, feedback and comments.

(postscript: you might like to hear about my first experience ‘Presenting IT’ in this post)

Tony

@ITelementary

(c) 2015 Antony Lawrence CBA Ltd.