How to Identify Your Knowledge Gaps in Under an Hour

The vast knowledge of the tech world can be so overwhelming. People throw out buzzwords all the time on Twitter: Kubernetes, Rails, React, Angular, Elixir, etc. What are all of these things and how does everyone else know about them?

If you're like me and don't know that many people in your area who are part of the same industry, it can be hard to figure out what frameworks everyone is hyping up through regular discussion. It doesn't have to be that hard, though. The internet is right here! You might be wondering, "But how am I supposed to know what words to Google for results about things I have no clue about?"

It's so easy, you already have the answer in your head. Just go over to a job search site (I'm recommending Glassdoor because it helps you get a good idea of salaries and whether or not companies are credible), search for either your current job title or the one you're interested in getting, then grab some good job listings.

You'll want to look at listings for positions that are higher than your current one. For example, being a junior-level front-end web developer, I might look at some senior-level positions. As another example, I'm really interested in learning more about web UI/UX, but don't know any of the terminology or what jobs with that focus even look like. I might search for "UX Researcher", "UX Designer", or "UX Intern" in that case.

Use all of these flashy and intimidating job listings to your benefit. The more buzzwords, the better. Also, don't be afraid to dream big. Who knows what you may come across?