Opinion: 5 ways to upskill and protect your career amid economic uncertainty

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April in Washington Photo by Mark Schiefelbein Associated Press There is never a bad time to upgrade your skill set There are however times when prioritizing upskilling can be incredibly beneficial for your career Though economic uncertainty can be stressful it also presents one of the best opportunities to maximize the impact of upskilling With global tariffs looming and federal budget cuts reaching every sector of business it s clear we are living during particular turbulent economic times For consumers economic uncertainty can cause tightened budgets and a loss of discretionary income For businesses economic disruptions typically conclusion in the downsizing of the workforce The absolute best way to protect yourself from organizational downsizing is to upskill invest in your learning journey by upgrading your current skillset or emerging entirely new skills Here are five tips on how you can upskill during turbulent economic periods Invest in future-proof skills When upskilling you need to make sure you re building skills that won t just help you now but will help you one five or even years from now Achieving upskilling will lay the foundation for continued success throughout your career so consider pursuing skills that you can compound over time This includes digital skills like coding cognitive skills like critical thinking and soft power skills like emotional intelligence Take advantage of employer-sponsored training Numerous companies especially larger corporations include teaching stipends inside their employee benefits packages or have their own internal learning support Check your employee handbook to see if your company offers any sort of sponsorships for continued learning or reach out to your human materials department about prospective reimbursements for educational opportunities Solely inquiring about these types of benefits will show that you are taking initiative and dedicating yourself to career improvement Make AI your ally not your competition It might feel like artificial intelligence is about to make your role obsolete but if you prepare correctly artificial intelligence tools will just make your day-to-day work easier Don t be afraid of AI Focus on how to embrace it in avenues that make your daily tasks easier If you re a project manager look into courses that teach you how to automate and populate task boards If you re a sales professional explore how AI can find you the hottest leads Whatever your role AI can assistance the work you are doing Think beyond your current role Though upskilling for your current job is helpful you can also greatly benefit from thinking ahead and emerging skills that you will need in the event of a promotion There s never a bad time to learn managerial skills or develop your leadership abilities Upgrading the skills you use in your current role will demonstrate you re taking the initiative to better yourself but building skills for your next role will show that you re serious about career progression Commit to lifelong learning Taking one module is a great start but committing yourself to continuous tuition will ensure that you re dependably prepared for any uncertainty the market might throw at you When you decide to learn throughout your career you ll be better equipped to stack your skills and build upon them in a way that will turn you into a much more versatile and desirable professional Focusing on upskilling can help professionals in San Diego deal with chaotic economic times There are plenty of guidance you can explore that will provide you with opportunities to develop yourself professionally At UC San Diego Extended Studies we offer a wide variety of courses certificates and programs in various formats to help you upskill By upgrading your key competencies and advancing new ones you can transform and future-proof your career establishing yourself as a desirable professional Shannon McDonald is director of custom training and leadership programs at the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies