How to Learn Tech Skills Alongside A Full-Time Job

Day 33 of 30 days shares something challenging, and today I wanted to encourage those who are contemplating learning new tech skills while working full-time.

Balancing a full-time job while learning tech skills can feel hella overwhelming. I know because I’ve been there, I am there. Feeling the pain and wearing the T-Shirt.? Trying to carve out time for coding boot camps, online courses, or side projects when you already have a 9-to-5, and maybe even a family, can feel impossible.? But I want to share with you that it’s not only possible, it’s also incredibly rewarding.

For those of you who are thinking about switching into tech or levelling up your skills, I’m going to share some time management strategies that helped me while working full-time.

These tips are drawn from real life, late-night study sessions, missed social events, and a whole lot of trial and error.? I'm not trying to say I'm perfect at time management for learning by any stretch of the imagination, but I can definitely share what not to do if you want to avoid a whole heap of anxiety.

Set Clear, Realistic Goals

Firstly, please get clear on your goals.? What tech skills do you want to learn, and why? Don’t just jump into this thing for the fun of it or because it's trendy right now.? Do you want to become a developer, a data analyst, or maybe move into tech leadership?? The more specific your goals, the easier it is to manage your time.? For me, I knew I wanted to switch from a java web application development role to Android app development.? I focused on learning skills like Kotlin, XML for Android Interfaces and agile methodologies (coming from a waterfall environment, as they were directly related to the career shift I wanted.

Break down your learning into bite-sized, achievable milestones.? If your goal is too broad, like "learn programming", it can feel overwhelming.? Narrow it down to "complete an intro to JavaScript course this month" or "build a basic website in two weeks."

Schedule Learning Time Like You Would Work Meetings

When you’re working full-time, finding the energy to learn after a long day can be tough.? One thing that worked for me was treating learning time as seriously as I treated my work meetings.? I blocked out specific hours on my calendar, like 7-9 p.m. on weekdays or Saturday mornings, and stuck to them.

Your time is precious, so guard it.? Whether it’s an hour before work, during lunch, or after dinner, block that time out and commit to it.? I found that studying consistently for an hour a day worked better for me than trying to cram for five hours on the weekend when I was already tired from the week.? I used to do this and it was draining if I’m honest, and then there was such a gap in between I’d end up recapping a lot to jog my memory of what I’d covered the week before.?

Use time-tracking apps or a spreadsheet to keep track of how much time you're spending on learning. Seeing the cumulative hours add up can be motivating!

Use Micro-Learning to Maximise Small Gaps

We often think we need big chunks of time to make progress, but some of my best learning came during micro-learning sessions, those 15 or 20 minutes I found between meetings or while waiting for a train.

I used these moments to watch a quick tutorial, read a tech blog post, or work through a few exercises on coding platforms like Codecademy and Jetbrains Academy.? You’d be surprised how much you can absorb in small doses. By the end of the week, those little learning breaks can add up to several hours of productive study time.

Download learning apps on your phone like SoloLearn or Mimo, or keep a bookmarked list of tech articles to read on-the-go.? You can also sign up to a technology community news site? like DZone to get regular curated emails with carefully selected articles to focus on depending on your area of interest in tech. If you get easily distracted while learning try a technique and tool like Pomodoro that helps you to break down your activities into 25 minute focus periods with a short 5-15 minutes break in between.? I’m the worst for getting distracted while learning, but this is my go to tool to really help focus on me achieving deep focus time on something I’m learning. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Prioritise What You Learn

When you’re short on time, you need to be ruthless with prioritisation.? Focus on the skills that will have the biggest impact on your career.? When I started learning to code, I found myself trying to learn everything, front-end, back-end, data structures, you name it.? I quickly realised that wasn’t sustainable.

Instead, I chose to focus on one area, front-end development, because that aligned with the type of role I was doing in my industrial placement year.? By zeroing in on HTML, CSS, I made faster progress and built confidence instead of spreading myself too thin.? Then I moved on to learn a programming language for backend development (C programming if fact) and focused on that for a few months.??

Learning C was interesting, but when I started to apply it in my day job I realised it wasn’t for me, so I pivoted and dedicated my lunch breaks Monday to Friday to learning Java instead, and went on to complete a Professional Java Programmer certification with around 4 months of focused study. It was hard while working full time, but so worth it.?

Use the 80/20 rule, identify the 20% of skills that will give you 80% of the results in your learning. Focus on those first.

Get Comfortable with Saying No

This is probably the hardest one, especially if you're balancing family, friends, or other commitments. ? It certainly was for me.? But if you're serious about learning tech alongside your job, you’ll need to say no to distractions.? For me, that meant saying no to some social outings, Netflix binges, or endless scrolling on Instagram.? I will be fully transparent on this and tell you straight up… you will lose people over this.

Don’t feel guilty about it. This is your time to invest in yourself, and most of those people who have a problem with you dedicating time to focus on developing your skills are not paying you bills or funding your lifestyle, so you have to remember, the short-term sacrifices will pay off when you’re equipped with the skills to make that career move you’ve been dreaming of.? If they decide not to stick around, they were never really a real friend anyway (also known as a “frenemy”).

If saying no feels uncomfortable, reframe it. Instead of “I can’t hang out because I’m learning,” think “I’m choosing to invest in my future self.”

Leverage Your Job for Learning

You might not realise it, but there are ways to learn tech skills on the job even if you’re not in a tech role.? For instance, when my client PF was working as customer service assistant she volunteered to help with small automations using tools like Excel macros and Python. It wasn’t part of her job description, but it gave her the chance to practise coding while still fulfilling her work responsibilities.

Some companies also offer free training programs or support for online courses.? Don’t be afraid to ask your manager if you can use a portion of your work time for professional development, especially if it’s aligned with your current role or department goals.

Look for opportunities to apply new tech skills in your current job.? Whether it’s learning a new tool, improving workflows, or automating tasks, integrating learning into your workday can accelerate your progress.

Find a Learning Community

Learning alone can be isolating, especially when the going gets tough.? Finding a community of learners, whether online or in-person, can make a huge difference.? I joined a few tech meetups and Slack groups, which kept me motivated and accountable.

Seeing other women going through the same challenges I was facing helped me push through when I felt stuck.? Sometimes, just knowing you're not alone in the struggle is enough to keep you going.

Join communities like Coding Black Females, Ladies of Code London, etc, or LinkedIn groups where you can ask questions, share progress, and get support.

Be Kind to Yourself

Lastly, remember to be kind to yourself.? Learning tech skills while working full-time is hard. There will be days when you feel like you’re not making progress, or that the concepts are too difficult.? I had plenty of moments where I felt stuck or frustrated, especially when I was trying to learn something completely outside my comfort zone.

But here’s what I learned, progress is progress, no matter how small.? Celebrate every little win, the first line of code that runs, the first website you build, or even just understanding a complex concept.? You’re doing something challenging, and that in itself is something to be proud of.

And please don’t compare your progress to others.? Your journey is yours, and it’s okay to go at your own pace.

Balancing a full-time job and learning tech isn’t easy, but it is doable with the right mindset and strategies.? Be clear on your goals, make learning a priority, and find ways to integrate it into your daily routine.? And most importantly, be patient with yourself.? The journey to learning new skills may be tough, but the rewards will be worth it.

So, if you’re thinking about making that leap into tech, know that it’s possible, even alongside a demanding job. You’ve got this! Now, let’s get learning.

More power to you!