How to Choose What Skill to Learn Next

In a world full of opportunities and rapidly evolving industries, deciding what skill to learn next can feel both exciting and overwhelming. If you’re reading this, you probably have a mindset of continuous learning, and perhaps your list of “skills I want to learn” is growing faster than you have time for. So how do you choose which one to tackle next? Whether you want to stay competitive in your career, pivot to a new field, or just indulge a personal passion, making a thoughtful decision about your next learning project can help ensure you spend your time and energy wisely.

Here are some key factors and steps to consider when choosing your next skill:

Clarify your purpose and goals: Start by asking yourself why you are learning a new skill in the first place. Is it for career advancement, personal enrichment, a creative hobby, or perhaps to solve a problem or achieve a specific project? Having a clear purpose narrows the field. For example, if your goal is career-related, you might focus on skills that are in demand in your industry or that would qualify you for a desired role. If your goal is personal enjoyment or self-improvement (like learning a musical instrument or a language for travel), that will lead you in a different direction. Write down your primary goal for learning something new. This will act as a compass in the decision-making process.

Identify high-impact skills in your field (if career-related): If your next skill is aimed at helping your career or business, it’s wise to research what skills are currently valuable or emerging in your field. Look at job postings for roles you might want in the future and see what skills are listed. Read industry reports or blogs that discuss trends. For instance, maybe you’re in marketing and notice that data analytics or AI marketing tools are increasingly sought after - those could be high-impact skills to consider. On the other hand, if you’re in software development and see a lot of buzz around a new programming language or framework, that might be a clue. Prioritizing in-demand skills can make you more marketable and ensure your learning investment has tangible returns. That said, don’t just chase trends blindly; ensure it aligns with what you actually want to do.

Assess your personal interest and passion: Learning is much easier and more fulfilling when you’re genuinely interested in the subject. Take a moment to reflect on what genuinely excites you. Perhaps you’ve always been curious about graphic design or you’ve felt a pull towards learning a new language. If two skills seem equally useful on paper, lean towards the one that sparks your enthusiasm. Passion provides motivation during the tough parts of learning. Remember, if a skill is very “hot” in the market but you find it dull, you might struggle to stick with it or perform well, whereas a skill you love will keep you engaged. Ideally, the skill you choose has both utility and interest for you - but it’s okay if it’s weighted a bit more on one side, as long as you understand the trade-off.

Consider your strengths and aptitude: Another perspective is to think about what you’re naturally good at or what skills might come more easily to you. Everyone has different strengths - maybe you have a knack for learning languages, or you’re very analytical, or you have great hand-eye coordination for craft or technical skills. Learning something that aligns with your strengths can be rewarding because you’ll likely make progress quickly, which is motivating. For example, if you have a background in programming, picking up a new programming language might be smoother for you than something completely unrelated like accounting. On the other hand, be cautious about only staying in your comfort zone. Sometimes choosing a skill that addresses a weakness (like public speaking if you’re shy) can be very valuable for personal growth. It really depends on your goals: build on strengths if you want to become excellent in a domain, or tackle a weakness if it’s holding you back or if you want a well-rounded skill set.

Evaluate the effort and resources required: Some skills are bigger undertakings than others. Learning basic photo editing might take a few weeks of practice; learning to become an advanced data scientist could take years and perhaps formal coursework. Consider the time commitment, cost (if any) for courses or materials, and prerequisites needed. Do you realistically have the bandwidth to dedicate to this skill right now? It can be helpful to break down what learning the skill would involve - maybe reading certain books, taking a course, doing practice projects - and estimate the effort. This isn’t to scare you off, but to help compare options. If you have limited time due to a busy period in life, maybe a smaller skill (like a short certification or a fun hobby skill) makes sense as your next project, rather than a massive career change skill that requires 20 hours a week of study. Conversely, if you’re really aiming for a major change and you have the dedication for it, then by all means, go for the big skill - just be prepared for the journey.

Look at synergy with your existing skills: Sometimes the best next skill is one that complements what you already know. Adding a complementary skill can multiply your effectiveness. For example, if you’re a software developer, learning about user experience design could help you build better products. If you’re a data analyst, picking up some presentation or storytelling skills can help you communicate your findings more effectively. Think about the combinations that would make you uniquely valuable or capable. A lot of innovation and career advancement comes from being able to bridge domains (being a person who understands both X and Y). Make a quick list of your main skills now, and brainstorm what skills would pair well with them. This exercise might reveal a natural next step. It can also reignite interest in something you partially learned before but never mastered - maybe you realize, “If I add skill Y to my skill X, I could do this whole new thing.”

Future-proofing and longevity: It’s not always possible to predict the future, but you can make educated guesses about which skills will stand the test of time or at least be useful in the near future. Skills rooted in fundamental concepts (like problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, certain programming fundamentals, etc.) or that adapt to technology changes (like learning how to learn new frameworks) can be valuable long-term. If you’re torn between learning a very niche tool that might be short-lived versus a broader skill that provides a foundation, consider which might serve you longer. For instance, learning “how to learn” effectively or improving your ability to research and self-teach might not sound like a skill in the traditional sense, but it can make picking up future skills easier - it’s like an investment in all your future learning.

Seek advice and do a gut check: Sometimes it helps to get an outside perspective. Talk to a mentor, a friend, or someone in the field you’re considering. They might offer insights about what skills are truly useful or share their own experiences of learning that skill. For example, you might say, “I’m thinking of learning web development or going into digital marketing - which one do you think aligns better with my interests or has more opportunities?” They might point out things you hadn’t considered. Another technique is to imagine yourself having that skill and what you would do with it. Does that imagined future excite you or feel in line with where you want to go? Sometimes your intuition or gut feeling can tell you a lot. If you imagine having skill A and feel a bit “meh,” but imagining skill B gets you kind of excited, that’s a sign.

Experiment if possible: If you’re really stuck choosing between a couple of options, consider trying a small taste of each before committing. For example, spend one weekend doing a short free tutorial or introductory lesson for Skill A and another weekend for Skill B. This trial can give you a feel for what learning that skill might be like and whether it holds your interest. You may find that one of them clicks with you more. Also, initial learning experiences can reveal if you had any misconceptions - maybe you thought you’d love coding, but the trial run felt tedious (or the opposite, you thought public speaking training would be scary, but you actually enjoyed the small practice you did). Better to discover that early than after enrolling in a months-long program.

Let’s illustrate with an example: Suppose Jane works in project management and is thinking about what to learn next. She’s torn between learning data analysis or learning a second language (like Spanish). Both appeal to her for different reasons. Career-wise, data analysis could make her better at handling project metrics and open up roles in operations. Learning Spanish, on the other hand, is something she’s personally interested in and could also be useful if her company expands in Latin America or for travel. How might she decide? Jane clarifies her primary goal - in her case, she decides it’s career growth with a secondary goal of personal interest. She researches and finds data analysis (especially learning tools like Excel advanced features or SQL and some basic statistics) is highly valued in her industry at the moment. She’s also honestly more excited by working with data than she thought; she likes finding patterns in information. Spanish excites her too, but she realizes it’s more of a personal desire than immediately useful professionally. Considering effort, she notes that learning Spanish fluently might be a multi-year commitment, whereas getting a good handle on data analysis for her needs might be achieved in a few months of focused learning. With this in mind, she chooses data analysis as the next skill to learn for now. She plans to pick up Spanish later, perhaps in a more leisurely way or after she meets her career objective. She’s satisfied because she made a conscious choice: she aligned the skill with her main goal (career), ensured it was in demand, and also confirmed she had enough interest and aptitude for working with numbers. There was no “wrong” choice, but there was a choice that fit her current priorities better.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to what you should learn next. It’s a personal decision that depends on your circumstances and aspirations. The key is to be intentional. By considering the factors above - your goals, market demand, your passion, your strengths, the effort involved, synergy with what you know, and the future landscape - you’ll have a much clearer picture of which skill will serve you best at this point in your journey.

Also, keep in mind that learning one skill doesn’t lock you out of learning others later. Sometimes people get anxious about picking the “perfect” skill, but in truth, any learning is productive. You might find that even if you choose one skill now, you can come back to another later with no regret. In fact, learning skills in sequence can often be beneficial; the one you learn now could make the next one easier.

Finally, stay flexible. If you start learning something and it truly doesn’t resonate or the situation changes (maybe a different opportunity arises), it’s okay to pivot. Choosing a skill to learn isn’t a lifelong contract - it’s just a commitment to yourself to grow in that area for the time being. You can always adjust your learning plan as you gain new insights about yourself and the world.

By taking a thoughtful approach to choosing your next skill, you ensure that your time and energy lead to maximum benefit and enjoyment. So weigh your options, trust your judgement, and then dive in and start learning. Whichever skill you pick, the act of learning will bring you new opportunities and satisfaction. After all, the ability to choose and learn new skills itself is one of the most valuable skills you can have in today’s ever-changing environment.