Technology has made a huge difference to our lives in recent years. It has affected areas that you may not even have noticed. Factories have become more automated, just as an example, but for most people, all they see is the finished product and are not aware of how it has been made. Technology has affected education, medicine, and society as a whole. Tasks are completed more quickly and communicating with friends, family, and people from all parts of the globe has become simple. The list of the advances that have been made because of technology, automation or robotics as it is sometimes called, is endless. One way it can help anyone at all is by enhancing the chances of them moving up the ladder of their chosen career.

Simpler Communications

There was a time when the only way to communicate with someone who was not close by was by letter. You could never be sure how long your mail would take to reach them, or if they received it at all. Then came the telephone, which, although it helped, most people could not afford one. Once they became more commonplace, they were generally only used for local calls. If you had relatives or friends that lived on the other side of the world, phoning them was very costly.

The next thing to appear that made a big difference was smartphones and social media. The technology behind these meant that you could be in touch with other people no matter where they were at any time of the day or night for very little cost, if any. Nearly three billion people own a smartphone or tablet, and most people use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype or one of the other media platforms every day.

The beauty of these platforms is that messages are instant. There is no waiting for them to be delivered, and users often have live chats through them. Platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger even let you make phone calls for free; this would not have been possible just a few years ago.

It is these simple communication methods that have brought online education with them, and now it is easier than ever for people to earn extra qualifications online.

Better Education

Technology has changed just about everything to do with education. Even young children know how to use digital devices and they are now often used in schools. Instead of visiting the local library to find information, they have the largest resource for absolutely anything at their fingertips – the Internet. The older they get, the more work they do on digital devices as knowing how to use them is as much a part of education as the subjects they are studying.

Once students leave high school, they have the choice of completing their college courses on campus or online. Online courses are becoming more popular as they allow the students to work at the same time, which makes financing their college days a lot cheaper.

As people become even older, they start on their career path and many of them will have the basic education and certification to start the career they have chosen. Online courses have made it possible to go a lot further though. For instance, nurses will have had to do some training to be allowed to become a Registered Nurse. If they want to specialize in a particular area or be moved further up the ladder from where they currently are, they could complete a BSN nursing online. Having a Bachelor of Science in Nursing on their resume will open up a whole load of new possibilities for the future of their career.

This qualification will mean they have better starting salaries and a much wider choice of jobs available to them.

Health Care Improvements

Health care has been improved dramatically because of technology. There are new tests that can diagnose problems sooner and treatments that would not have been imagined just a few years ago. In the field of surgery, incisions are smaller, and the tools now used make the work that needs doing more accurate and precise. This aids with the recovery of the patients and the effectiveness of their surgery.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things is the way would-be surgeons can now be trained. Virtual reality allows them to practice on virtual patients and they and the tutors could be worlds apart. It can all be seen on screens. The professor can give directions and introduce unexpected difficulties if they want. All this takes place online and skills are learned without putting any real patients at risk.

With everything online, notes can be posted to the patient’s notes giving their physician instant access to the results of tests and consultant’s visits. This means that patients are diagnosed and treated more quickly and that can be especially important with life-threatening diseases.

Technology has already meant that hospital stays have been reduced by up to 40% in some states, and most medical experts are looking forward to the new technologies of the future. It is thought it will not be too long before a surgeon will be able to perform an operation from another continent, robotics being the key to this. Doctors may well speak to patients online with conference calls. This would cut down the time spent sitting in a waiting room, and for the doctor, mean they could deal with more patients.

The advances in technology in health care are there for all to learn and the more you get experience and qualifications in them, the more chance there is of moving your career forward.

Working Environments

It was in the 1990s when the explosion of computer technology landed in the US.  Many jobs traditionally done by hand could now be done on computers, making the work quicker and with fewer errors. As automation has entered the field, this has become more the case and it also stops a duplication of work.

Working electronically has also increased the number of people that now work remotely from their own homes. They do not have to concern themselves with the daily commute to work, and as well as that causing them less stress, it is better for the environment too. The rush hour is not quite as rushed as it used to be as when more people work from home there are fewer cars on the roads.

It has also meant that parents of young children or people with family commitments such as caring for aged parents, can take a job on that allows them to work from home, where that might not have been possible if they had to go to a physical workplace every day.

This can be great for people who have been out of the workplace for several years as working from home will let them become used to the changes without the stress of someone looking over their shoulders. It can also be the answer for anyone with a disability that makes it hard for them to be mobile. Working in the comfort of their own home with all the facilities they need could give them an income and the self-respect they deserve.

Working from home is only a viable option if you have the qualifications and experience needed.

Financial World

Banks always used to be a bit of a mystery and if you wanted to pay funds in, or withdraw them, you used to have to go to a branch and queue. This could be a long-drawn-out process, but now with online banking and banking apps, the mystery has all disappeared.

This has increased our understanding of finances and has made it simpler to keep track of what you are spending, what bills are being paid and what money is going in. These are just the basics, of course, but if you want to work in the financial world, they are a good start.

When you are dealing with other people’s money, you will need to have the relevant certification and be licensed to trade. This is to safeguard any people you help with their finances, but also to ensure that you have enough knowledge to give them the best advice.

Online courses can help you to get the qualifications you need to progress in the financial world. They are a must because there are many things you can do wrong in someone’s life and they will forgive you, but mess their financial affairs up and you will be their enemy forevermore.

Could Technology Help You in Your Career?

There are very few careers that technology could not help you to advance in. Whether it is completing online courses for more qualifications or learning new software programs to keep you up to date in your profession, technology is there to help you all the way. It is up to you to make the most of it as it is a part of life that is not going to go away.