How I am using AI to change careers and to learn new skills in 2024
Why I am resetting my life at 29 and how you can too.
Are you ready to change your life?
I am.
Have you ever found yourself writing Google searches along the lines of "how do I start a business with no idea" or "how to learn to code without a degree" or "how to change careers at 30"? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are in the right place.
In this blog I will share my journey as someone rapidly approaching 30 who is learning to code without a CS degree or attending a bootcamp while building a business along the way.
Regardless of your ambitions or where you are starting from in your life, you can do it. We are blessed to be alive in a time when gate-keeping institutions are dissolving and powerful AI assistants are ready to help you reach your full potential.
In this post, and those to follow, I'll be documenting my journey as I change career and learn new skills while showing you how to do the same. Make sure to read until the end as I'll be sharing the exact prompt I am using to get AI to create a custom curriculum and plan for my education.
If this interests you, subscribe to stay tuned. I promise not to disappoint.
What will I be writing about?
Over the next few months I plan to dedicate my time to learning to code and to starting a business. Now you might ask "why would you learn to code when AI will automate everything in a few years?" That would be a great question and one I hope to answer in my next post.
Regarding why I want to start a business, this is a question I will answer in brief below, but it also deserves its own post. There are four main reasons why I want to start a business and why you might want to consider starting one too:
Your time and energy is a precious finite resource
Have you ever thought to yourself while doing some tedious task at work "this is the biggest waste of time!" Don't worry, I've been there too. For me I don't remember one specific turning point but rather the culmination of countless hours doing mind-numbing tasks to try to keep myself busy while watching the clock crawl by.
One day my perspective radically shifted from looking for the perfect job to creating one of my own when I heard the quote "no one will respect your time as much as you do." After spending more than enough of my life doing busy work, either in school or dead-end jobs, I've decided enough is enough. Although I am certain running a business comes with its own share of challenges I also know the agency and direction that comes with it makes it worth while.
Personal and professional growth
Have you ever felt that your life needed some more meaning or direction? I did at around the age 25. I remember shortly after my birthday thinking that I needed some direction in my life and I settled on seeking the path that provided the most personal and spiritual growth.
This decision has led me to the realization that business is one of the best places for personal growth because as a business owner your mindset, beliefs and skills are often the greatest barrier to success. A business is arguably one of the most complex systems a person could hope to create.
Business lies at the intersection of politics, the economy, law, society, the environment and much more. As a business owner there are almost unlimited opportunities to grow and learn in many facets of life which is why I think it is a great place to start.
Money is a tool you need to move things
Money is a tool which can be used for leverage to create change in the world. Creating a business is one of the best ways to get money. If you look at the wealthiest people in the world, the one thing they have in common is that they all own businesses.
The easiest way to own a business besides buying a stock is to start one of your own. It doesn’t have to be flashy or glamorous tech company either. You don't need a brilliant idea or some innovative IP.
I've met countless millionaire business owners who own companies which do mundane things. For example one man I met ran a small towing business out of a town with only one stoplight. This goes to show the power of equity and the need to cultivate some if you want to create change in the world.
Building a business is one of the fastest ways to build timeless skills
The one constant in life is change. Many of us are conditioned to view uncertainty as frightening or even something to be avoided. As a result we are often goaded into careers, degrees or other well worn paths -- myself included -- under the guise that they will eliminate our anxiety of uncertainty.
To the contrary my experience watching my peers go through degrees and careers suggests that these well worn paths often only elevate anxiety levels. The reason for this is that uncertainty is inevitable.
Simply delaying when you have to confront uncertainty only makes more time for your courage and resilience to atrophy. Starting a business is certainly not the only way to flex your skills for dealing with uncertainty. Having a family, initiating those uncomfortable conversations with friends, or going on an adventure are others to name a few.
Learning to create structure from chaos and adapting to uncertainty are essential skills for life. These skills become ever more necessary in an age of rapid change. Many of us are asking questions such as "will AI replace this degree next year" or "will this industry exist by the time I finish my degree?"
How did I get here?
Before I explain how you can use my playbook which I will be using to learn new skills with the goal of transition into a new career, I’ll give you a bit of a primer on who I am and why I ended up here.
As a young boy I struggled immensely with reading and writing due to my diagnosis with dyslexia — this should explain any egregious spelling or grammatical errors you come across. Despite having moments in my life when I thought I would never read or write, I’ve decided to push through my fear and write for the world to read.
In addition to my struggles with a learning disability I've also struggled with perfectionism. This blog is an exercise in learning to let go of these ideals of perfection in favour of just starting and as Seth Godin puts it "shipping". After all, no beginner is ever great out of the gate.
Ten years after graduating from high school, I've decided to go back to the drawing board and start my life over. I spent most of my twenties trying to get a gosh-darn undergraduate degree done, only to find out I wasn't interested in the opportunities my degree opened up for me. Instead I am starting something of my own.
I never found post-secondary particularly helpful for learning — if anything it was an obstacle. That's why I've decided not to go back to school in addition to the fact that a personal AI teacher is now just a few key strokes away. Speaking of AI, up next is the AI prompt you can use to start your journey.
The prompt
This prompt will help the AI assistant help you to create a plan of action. By no means is the plan set in stone. Feel free to ask for revisions if it doesn’t sound right the first time. The most important part is just to start. Pick a heading or in this case a topic and start working your way towards it.
Objective: Generate a detailed custom curriculum for the user to follow while learning a new skill, ultimately helping them pivot their career. The curriculum should be tailored to the user's desired learning goal, specific skills, project goals, weekly time commitment, and timeline.
Step 1: Initial Information Gathering - Prompt the user for essential information to tailor the curriculum.
- Example questions:
- "What is your desired learning goal?"
- "What specific skills do you hope to learn?"
- "What project do you want to build as part of this learning process?"
- "How many hours per week can you dedicate to learning?"
- "What is your overall timeline for achieving this goal?"
Step 2: Structuring the Curriculum
- Based on the user's responses, outline a comprehensive curriculum.
- Break down the curriculum into a timeline that fits within the user's overall timeline.
- Include specific skills to be learned each week/month, project milestones, and recommended resources.
- Provide estimated time commitments for each task or learning module.
- List valuable or useful resources which the users could value from.
Step 3: Review and Finalization
- Review the entire curriculum to ensure it aligns with the user's goals and timeline.
- Confirm that each task and milestone is achievable within the given weekly time commitment.
- Make any necessary adjustments based on user feedback. This format ensures the AI assistant can create a detailed and personalized curriculum, helping the user systematically learn new skills and achieve their project goals within a specified timeline.What's next?
In my next post I will explain why I am learning to code at 29 and why you might want to learn to code regardless of what age or what people are saying about AI taking programming jobs. Also if you try the prompt above I would LOVE to hear how it goes for you. Please leave a comment. I promise to read all of them. It really means the 🌎 to me.
If you found this article helpful please subscribe to my newsletter or share this post with a friend. Send me any topics you would like me to write about or suggestions for how I could improve my writing.
Wishing you all the best!
—> Joshua 🌀
