Educational stasis is the death of growth, a study from Yale reveals.
Without stress, the brain stagnates. Instead, a sharpened mind calls for healthy levels of mental taxation, triggered by a feeling everyone gets when they encounter something new and different: uncertainty. Optimal growth is achieved by challenging the brain consistently percent of the time, the study found.
For dynamic careers like software engineering, a robust learning and development program is the remedy for the professional plateau. For employers who want to invest in their employees, learning and development is the most impactful place to start.
As Yale’s study surfaced, brain function is not fixed. Instead, it ramps up to meet the demands of its environment. Engineering leaders who understand the importance of affording learning opportunities are nurturing the resiliency and agility of their teams — and investing in the excellence of their organizations.
Built In Austin sat down with a full-stack developer from AdAction to learn more about the learning and development resources that help them live beyond their comfort zone.
AdAction is a mobile app marketing platform that delivers conversions for companies and game developers.
What sort of learning and development stipend does AdAction offer?
AdAction offers a generous $1,500 stipend per year for learning and development, on top of paying for Pluralsight for the whole team.
What was the result of utilizing this stipend?
I have been using Pluralsight to enhance my skills in PHP, which was a new language to me when I joined the AdGem team. I’ve also taken AWS courses and study guides to give me the tools I need to get my AWS certifications.
Pluralsight offers smaller lectures on relevant topics which have been deeply useful, such as AI and prompt engineering. My whole team is also planning to go to Laracon this year in Nashville.
When it comes to utilizing an L&D stipend, the options can be pretty bountiful. What advice would you share with engineers so that they can make the most out of this resource?
Make sure you acquire a resource that can be constantly simmering and giving you new knowledge and skills. Pluralsight has been phenomenal in this capacity.
Make sure you acquire an L&D resource that can be constantly simmering and giving you new knowledge and skills.”
Finally, go big when you can. Hit up that dev convention, and go get all your certificates.
