Dom Prescod came to the U.S. from his native Trinidad with dreams of working in the tech field. He’d been teaching himself how to code, but it was quickly becoming an exhausting and frustrating experience.
Dom Prescod怀着到科技领域工作的梦想从特立尼达岛来到美国。他自学编程，但那很快成为让人筋疲力尽和沮丧的经历。
“The chances of getting a career through self-taught means was bleak,” he says. So he turned to General Assembly, a tech skills boot camp with locations all over the world, as a way to make a career change and learn the digital skills he needed in order to secure a brighter future.
他说，通过自学成功获得职业的很少。所以他求助于遍布世界的科技技能训练营General Assembly，寻求改变职业生涯并学习需要的数字技能以获得更美好的未来。
For people like Dom, who strive to have a job that can shift with the times, learning digital skills are a big part of adapting to the future.
对于像Dom一样想寻找一份能适应时代工作的人，学习数字技能以适应时代很重要。
In fact, a 2015 study by Capital One and Burning Glass Technologies found that nearly 78 percent of middle-skill jobs in today’s workforce – which are jobs that don’t require a college degree – require digital skills.
事实上，Capital One和Burning Glass Technologies2015年的一项研究发现，今天的劳动力中78%中等技能工种需要数字技能，而不是大学学位。
Technology is rapidly changing the way we work and the kinds of career opportunities that are available, inspiring many to rethink their paths and invest in their future by learning new skills that will help them stay competitive in today’s job market. Pulled from conversations with some of partners and participants of Capital One’s Future Edge program, a five-year, $150 million investment to help people prepare for the changing digital economy, here are five lessons from people who have built a brighter future for themselves – and their families.
科技在快速改变我们工作的方式和职业机会，促使许多人重新考虑他们的职业通道并学习在今天的劳动力市场保持竞争力的新技能。引自Capital One的Future Edge投资计划的合作伙伴与参与者谈话，该项计划5年、1.5亿美元以帮助人们应对数字经济，提炼出了那些为自己和家人建立美好未来人的5条成功经验。

 

Lesson #1: Stay curious
经验1：保持好奇心

“I like to break things apart and figure them out – as a kid I was always taking apart my computer and trying to understand how it works,” says Prescod. “I have always been fascinated by technology.”
Prescod说，我喜欢打破砂锅问到底。在小时候我一直拆电脑并试图理解它如何工作。我一直对科技很痴迷。
Prescod learned the skills he needed to make a career change by becoming a fellow in the Capital One-sponsored General Assembly Opportunity Fund, a program that provides hands-on education, mentorship, and career opportunities to underrepresented groups across the globe. Letting your curiosity lead you means that the path to discovery – and a career you’re excited about – is ahead. Once Dom identified what he loved to do, he could dive deeper into how to do it – an exciting step in the journey of achieving his goals.
通过成为Prescod Capital One发起的General Assembly Opportunity Fund计划中的一员，Prescod学会了改变职业的技巧，这项计划在全球提供动手教育、学徒和职业机会给被忽视的群体。一旦让好奇心引导就意味着你的探索之路就在前方。Dom一旦知道自己所爱，就会去搞清楚如何做，这是实现目标中最令人激动的一步。
Now, Prescod works as a full stack engineer at a large telecommunications company, where he is tasked with transitioning his company’s operations to the cloud – essentially, “future proofing” its business.
现在，Prescod是一家大型信公司的全职工程师，正在努力实现公司的云端操作——必须的，这是前瞻性工作。

 

Lesson #2: Invest in digital skills
经验2：投资数字技能

Inspired to make the next big app? Ever dream of launching your own start up? You might want to learn to code, or attend a seminar about using social media for business. Investing in your future is all about adapting to the digital world we live in.
想要创造下一个火爆的app？还是梦想开自己的公司？你可能想学编程或参加一个社交媒体有关的研讨会？投资未来就是要适应我们现在的数字世界。
Ecuador native Jorge Reina knows this all too well. He’s a graduate of Coalition for Queens (C4Q), a community-based program that aims to create career opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds by teaching them how to code.
厄瓜多尔的Jorge Reina很清楚这些。他毕业于一个旨在让拥有不同背景的人们学会编程的社区学校C4Q。
Before C4Q, Reina worked as a DJ, was an asbestos handler at Ground Zero, and sold slushies from a cart to make ends meet while he took coding classes. Today, he works at a top tech company in San Francisco doing development for their Android app.
在C4Q之前，Reina做DJ工作，在Ground Zero处理石棉，参加编程班的时候还在货摊贩卖雪糕补贴家用。而现在，他在San Francisco一个顶级科技公司开发安卓程序。[/cn ]
Making a transition like that wouldn’t be possible for Reina without an investment in digital skills. Reina says that learning about data structures and algorithms is one of the most important things he gained from C4Q and something that can help set up others for a tech career. Attending bootcamps like Reina did or even taking courses online can help you get closer to where you want to be.
[cn]如果没有数字技能投资，这样一个转变对Reina来说是不可能的。Reina说，他从C4Q获得的最大收获就是学习数据结构和逻辑，这些能帮助人们进入科技公司。像Reina一样参加训练营或者在线课程，就能使你距离梦想更近一步。

Lesson #3: Be an early adopter
经验3：当一名领头羊

Becoming a master of technology approaches or systems can not only give you a leg up in the interview process for a tech job, but can also create an opportunity to take a leadership role on your current team.
成为科技方法或者系统大师并不能使你在面试科技工作中先行一步，但却给了你成为现在团队领导者的机会。
When Denyel Monroe was a student at Year Up, a national non-profit aimed at closing the opportunity divide, her coursework taught her about Agile methodology. Once she got into her internship at Capital One and learned that her team was migrating into this process, she dove right in. Her knowledge about the approach and her ability meant that she could step up and become a leader for her team.
当Denyel Monroe还是Year Up的学生时，这是一家国家的为了减少机会差距的非盈利组织，作业教会了她灵活的方法论。在Capital One获得实习机会并获知团队正进入这一过程，她立即介入。对这一方法的了解以及她的能力意味着她能更进一步，成为团队的领导者。
“I felt really prepared because it was something I learned in Year Up,” Monroe says.
Monroe说，我真正感觉自己准备好了，因为这就是在Year Up中学到的。
Denyel’s internship turned into a full-time position at Capital One, and she is continuing to build her tech certifications and making an impact on her teams.
Denyel在Capital One从实习岗位成为了全职员工，并且还在继续为科技证书努力并影响着团队成员。
Staying abreast of new technology trends and continuing to master new skills can give you an advantage and help advance your career.
洞悉新科技趋势并持续掌握新技能将会给你优势并帮助你拓展职业通道。

Lesson #4: Think like an entrepreneur
经验4：像企业家一样思考

Entrepreneurs need to be creative problem solvers, thinking on the fly and reaching out to others to find solutions. Thinking like an entrepreneur also means your path to success is wholly dependent on you and what you do, whether you own your own business or not.
企业家需要成为创新问题解决者，在云端思考并寻求他人以找到解决之道。像企业家一样思考意味着你的成功路径完全在于自己及自己所做，在于你是否拥有自己的生意。
One program helping to teach these skills is Future Founders, which connects elementary to college age youth to successful entrepreneurs as mentors, and helps equip students with a toolkit of skills that empower them to create their own opportunities. So instead of relying on others to achieve success in their careers, they gain the confidence and insight necessary to believe in themselves.
教授这些技巧的是一项连接小学和大学、连接年轻学徒到成功企业家的计划Future Founders，该项计划帮助学生们掌握系列技能并使他们能够创造自己的机会。他们获得相信自己而不是依赖他人成功的自信心和洞察力。
“Taking ownership of your own career empowers you,” says Scott Issen, president and CEO of Future Founders. At Future Founders, students learn about the power of communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, while meeting entrepreneurs who have already worked to turn their dreams into reality.
Future Founders的CEO和主席Scott Issen说你要掌握自己职业的主宰。在Future Founders，在见到已将梦想变为现实的企业家时，学生们学会了沟通、合作及判断力。
“Most students don't realize entrepreneurship is a career possibility – half of our younger students have never met an entrepreneur,” Issen says. “So we put them in touch with role models and show them what is possible.”
Issen说大部分学生没有意识到企业家的领导力是一项职业可能性，我们半数年轻学生从没遇到过一个企业家。所以我们让他们与榜样接触并展示给他们什么是可能的。
Even if you aren’t looking to start your own business, getting into the entrepreneurial frame of mind could still be a good idea. Focusing on solving problems, brushing up on your selling skills or learning how to manage finances can take you from career uncertainty to empowerment.
即使你自己创业，具有企业家的思维也是个好主意。关注解决问题、提高销售技巧或者学会如何管理财务能够将你从不确定的职业生涯到充满力量。

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Lesson #5: Be resilient
经验5：打不倒的小强

A lesson that many learn throughout their careers is to be resilient in the face of setbacks and to remain flexible in the face of challenges.
许多人在整个职业生涯中学到的经验就是面对挫折和挑战时保持韧性。
Sometimes, it’s about stepping outside of your current challenge, and putting it into perspective. When faced with difficulty, shift your focus to what drives you and keep going. For Jorge Reina, his hard work and determination to apply for C4Q and pursue a career in tech all comes back to his 9-year-old daughter.
有时，这和应对现有挑战并把它们变为愿景有关。在面对困难时，将注意力转向驱动你的原动力并继续前行。对于Jorge Reina来讲，他申请C4Q的努力与毅力，以及追求科技职业的努力上都在自己9岁女儿身上获得了回报。
“Every time I felt like I wasn’t able to do it, I just thought about giving my daughter a better future,” Reina says.
Reina说，每一次我感到不能完成时，就会想拿什么给自己女儿一个美好的未来。
There’s no time like right now to start creating your own inspirational story of success. With a little hard work and some creative thinking about how to future-proof your career, a better future can begin today. 
没有什么时候比现在开始自己充满激情的成功故事更美好的事了。用一点努力和创造性思维给职业一点前瞻性，今天就能开创更美好的未来。

声明：本双语文章的中文翻译系沪江英语原创内容，转载请注明出处。