Digital skills are skills that require digital tools before they can be executed.
Tools like your smartphone, PC and the internet are in a broad sense what we refer to as digital tools.
The earlier you get a digital skill, the easier your future will be. Why?
The jobs of the future are not taught in school – Chris Ani
This is the reason people can easily drop out in this generation and hire a first-class candidate to be their gateman. This is common practice in Nigeria apparently. We need intelligent men to guard our gates but not to direct our country.
.
Why Should You Learn Digital Skills?
Technology is the center of our lives as a society.
And in this century, our lives revolve around the internet and its creations.
Recently, something happened and the Zuckerberg triad (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) went down, and the whole world ran mad.
Luckily Uncle Jack is a cool guy that doesn’t like annoying anybody so some of us went to cool off on twitter.
The internet and its creations have advanced the human race further than it’s been since 1983.
You don’t have to go directly to a restaurant to order food.
You can do it on your phone, the restaurant will receive the order on their phone, and then they’ll liaise with a delivery shop that will then bring the food to you.
All on your phone! Of course there are a lot more minute details that make these transactions smoother but you get what I'm trying to say.
And it’s not just for the restaurants; there are a lot of apps used to monitor healthcare, software to make workflow easier in companies, FinTechs to make it easier for people to have more access to money.
And let’s not forget cryptocurrency and the blockchain industry.
Crypto has disrupted the finance industry so much that if you don’t adopt it quickly you’ll lose.
And this is still day one.
There are things that will be created with blockchain technology that have not even been imagined yet.
Who knew DeFi would be created?
Who knew NFTs would be?
And what’s worse? 98% of the world doesn’t understand it yet; we are simply just going with it.
So yes my dear, you need to learn digital skills as fast as possible or you will be out of a job.
Now I'm sure in your mind, you're asking me
What Are Examples of Digital Skills I Should Learn?
I’d like to remind you again of what digital skills are:
These are skills you use to solve problems by using digital tools like smartphones, PCs, and especially, the internet.
So being able to use Microsoft Word is a digital skill. Why? It’s a tool on smartphones and computers.
And yes, there are a lot of people who can’t use MS word. It’s shocking.
Tools that are currently used in workplace to ease workflow are Slack, Google Drive, Zoom and some other low-key software.
Most people don’t know how to use these applications.
European Commission figures show that 37% of workers don’t even have the basic digital skills, not to mention the more advanced and specialized skills companies need.
Extrapolate that to Nigeria and I'm sure the figures would show over 50%. It’s that bad!
Simply being able to use these basic tools is a digital skill in itself.
Hell, even being able to do research on Google effectively is a digital skill.
But that’s not what you're asking, is it?
You're asking about the jobs people can pay you for.
The ones that people will call you tech bro and you’ll give Big Brother N1B to let you be the headline sponsor of their show.
Wo! Abeg be calming down first.
First learn how to use Microsoft excel.
Learn before you leap
– Urs and Dave quote industries LLC
But I will tell you what some paying digital skills look like:
YouTubers, social media managers, video editors, content creators, software programmers, data scientists, web developers, graphic designers, UI/UX designers, day traders, blockchain miners, crypto enthusiasts and crypto traders.
These are small examples of the kind of skills referred to as digital skills that people get paid for.
They all use digital tools and the internet to achieve specific tasks.
And their pay ranges from high to very high.
The next question in your mind is
How Can I Choose a Digital Skill?
And I’ll tell you because I'm the kind brother who wants only the best for you.
There are two ways to choose.
1. Skills that are must-have in your industry.
2. Skills that come to you easily on an entry level.
Skills That Are a Must-have in Your Industry
I’ll use an accountant as an example
Working as an accountant in a firm is cool. You spend four years learning how to move money so that you can wash some money for a mob boss, not get caught and get paid a huge sum of money in addition to your salary job
If you got that reference, I love you. Mention it in the comments for those who aren’t caught up.
But as an accountant working there, you just don’t need to understand the numbers; you need to understand how to use the tools that have been created to make the life of an accountant's workplace easier.
You need to know how to use Excel or other kinds of spreadsheet. You need to know how to use tax software, cloud-based software, project management software, yada yada yada… soon you’ll need to understand how blockchain technology works because that’s where the money is.
The point is…
If you don’t have certain skills, your value to the workforce reduces. This means it’ll be easy to not hire you. And if you’re hired, it’ll be easy to replace you if you don’t step up.
This also applies to other workplaces; Google drive has become ubiquitous to most industries. Slack and Discord is a platform where workers communicate now and hang out.
Figure out the tools that are used every day in your industry, and then learn how to use them.
Oh stop whining, this isn’t some calculus shit. Most of these tools are easy to use and very intuitive. So learn.
Skills That Come To You on an Entry Level
If you want to make money in this space, you need to choose the things you can do, not the things you are passionate about.
Think of those guys who love music so much that they go on to try becoming rappers and their girlfriends suffer for it.
Because if she doesn't support him she is going to be on the next mixtape as one of the haters who didn’t want his progress.
Imagine if those rappers chose design as a day job, instead of trying a skill that they’ll only ever be average at.
Or at least, they try to learn the skill in their spare time while they get a job that pays the bills and provides some sort of security.
Here’s another example to clarify things
I chose writing because I'm an expressionist.
I like to express my thoughts and feelings through words.
And since I'm not very vocal, I write my words out
Sometimes people agreed with the things I said, other times they said that the things I wrote helped them grapple with some things and gave them the clarity to move forward.
I continued doing this and overtime I got called a writer without my permission.
When I finally decided to learn writing, at entry level, it was easy. I didn’t face the issue some new writers face even now.
But when I decided to go deep, it became difficult, but I kept practicing because if I could figure it out at an entry level, I can definitely figure it out at a difficult level.
And that’s the same for some people who’ve gone on to become programmers, developers, designers and cyber security experts.
At the entry level it was easy for them to understand.
To break it down even further, think of those people who easily understood math in your school, while you struggled to find your X
That’s right! I did that burn!
Moving on…
Sometimes these guys found some math problems difficult, but because at the entry level, they could work it out, they were excited to overcome this new problem
And that’s how it should be for you.
Choose a skill that’s more in line with your personality.
I'm not saying this is the permanent solution
In fact I’ll try to talk more on it next week so I clear up any misunderstandings
Next question is
Where do I go to learn digital skills?
Anywhere they are teaching it.
Platforms like YouTube, Cousera, Udemy, Futurelearn and Skillshare teach digital skills all the time.
They aren’t the only platforms that do this.
You could also buy courses from course creators. People who teach Forex trading, copywriting, design and crypto basics are all teaching different skills that can be leveraged digitally.
Speaking of crypto…
Chris Ani the guy who owns the quote I quoted in the beginning
What you can’t remember?
Ugh!
No need to scroll up don’t worry
He said:
The Jobs of the Future are not Taught in Schools.
That guy is hosted a crypto conference last Sunday on YouTube
Where he taught crypto and blockchain basics for free
All you have to do is click the link at the bottom of this pagd and it'll take you to DABA School YouTube page where the recorded version can be found.
I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter
You did?
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Thank you for reading.
I’ll talk to you next week
Till then,
Stay easy,
Dave.
P.S: to learn the basics of crypto from DABA school click here.
P.P.S: the money laundering reference was from a TV series called Ozark. It’s a beautiful series that explores the importance of money, how it can be used and moved for your own benefit. Everybody should see it.
You can reach join my WhatsApp community here.
Simply stunning... Little things that can really change lives.