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Is More Training Really the Answer to Your Career Challenges?

Derrick Yuen, MBA
Sep 13
4 min read

You’re scrolling through your feed on a Monday morning.The headlines scream: “Mass layoffs at tech companies.”A few swipes later, you see a glossy ad: “Land your dream job with our 4-week program — thousands of graduates can’t be wrong!”There’s a smiling face, a five-star rating, and a testimonial claiming someone doubled their salary after taking the class.

It’s hard not to pause. It’s hard not to feel that maybe this is exactly what you need — the solution to your career anxiety.

But before you sign up and click Pay Now, pause for a moment. At FYT Consulting, we teach our students to think critically and validate claims with data. And here’s what we would ask you to consider.

Claim 1: More Training = Better Job Prospects

Attending a workshop can absolutely build your skills, expand your network, and improve confidence. But is it the main driver of getting a job? The reality is that employment outcomes are influenced by many other factors — your past experience, transferable skills, professional network, timing, and even macroeconomic conditions.

Testimonials and five-star ratings can look persuasive, but they should be taken with a big grain of salt. These are often success stories — not the full picture. The people featured in testimonials may already have had an advantage that made them more likely to land a job. The many others who did not experience the same outcome are rarely highlighted.

Getting the full picture may not be possible or practical, which makes it all the more important to dig deeper:

Talk to past students in your own network, not just the ones featured in ads.
Ask them whether the course truly helped them achieve their goals, and what they wished they had known before enrolling.
Seek honest, balanced feedback — not just the marketing narrative.

Claim 2: More Training = Higher Pay

Salary is fundamentally a business decision: companies pay employees based on the value they create relative to the cost of hiring them, while maintaining profitability. Training can increase your productivity, which may lead to better pay — but only if the skills you acquire are directly valuable to the business.

The key question becomes: Does this training significantly improve your ability to create measurable value for your employer or client? If yes, you have a case for better pay. If not, the link between training and higher salary may be weaker than advertised.

After the Class: The Real Work Begins

Completing a course or earning a certification is not the finish line — it’s the starting point. The real challenge is what you do with what you’ve learned:

Find opportunities to practice. Application builds confidence and competence. Look for projects, side gigs, or volunteer opportunities where you can put your new skills to work.
Demonstrate value creation. Employers are interested in results, not just attendance certificates. Show how you’ve used your new knowledge to solve problems, improve processes, or generate tangible outcomes.
Stand out from the crowd. Many government-funded programs put hundreds or thousands of people through similar training. How will you differentiate yourself? Consider building a portfolio, sharing your work, or contributing to industry discussions.
Choose your own path. The most common path is not always the right one for you. Be clear about your own goals and design a plan that makes sense for your career stage and aspirations.

Your Investment, Your Data

Your time, money, and effort are limited resources. Before rushing into any program, ask yourself:

What is my goal? Am I clear about the type of job or pay raise I’m targeting?
What other factors matter? Am I also working on my network, portfolio, and interview skills?
How will I measure success? Will I track outcomes 6–12 months after the course to see if it was worth the investment?

By asking these questions, you turn training into a strategic choice rather than an emotional reaction.

Key Takeaways

Question the promises — ask for evidence beyond testimonials.
Focus on value creation — employers reward impact, not paper qualifications.
Make it strategic — choose training that aligns with your goals, not just what’s trending.
Measure outcomes — track whether the time and money spent translate into real benefits.
Do the post-class work — practice, apply, and stand out.

The next time you see an ad promising career transformation, pause. Use these questions to decide whether it’s truly right for you — and if you do take the class, make sure you turn the learning into action that moves your career forward.

About FYT Consulting

At FYT Consulting, we help professionals and organizations build practical, sustainable data capabilities — not just technical skills, but also critical thinking, problem framing, and the ability to turn data into decisions. We believe that data creates value when it helps people make better, more informed choices — even if those choices sometimes challenge assumptions or reveal uncomfortable truths.

If you’re interested in building real-world data and decision-making skills that go beyond buzzwords and certificates, check out our programs and workshops at www.fytconsulting.com.