When you look at Jason Field’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll see almost immediately why he’s qualified to run a company dedicated to skills training and development. After all, he’s studied data analytics, product management, user experience design and web development, among other areas.

Here’s the thing, though — Field didn’t complete all those courses and then launch his firm, BrainStation. He took those courses through BrainStation — literally learning on the job as he built the business.

Although a lot of companies talk about “eating their own dog food,” or using their own products and services, Field’s role as both BrainStation CEO and BrainStation student makes him uniquely qualified to talk about finding the balance between holding down a job and carving out the time necessary to advance your knowledge. It’s why, along with people like Erin Bury and Sean Stanleigh, we decided to approach him with a question that’s top of mind for many CourseCompare users:

“What’s a time management tip you’d offer to someone trying to carve out enough time to pursue a learning opportunity amid an already busy life?”

“One of the main speaking points between our customers and our Learning Advisors at BrainStation is time,” he admits. “Our learners are already busy working professionals trying to accelerate their careers so how will they find the time to learn a completely new skill that they may not have previous experience with?”

To Field, the answer might best come from rethinking the question: How much longer might it take you to learn a new skill by browsing the Web vs. taking  some kind of course, bootcamp or workshop?

“If you are aimlessly searching around the internet it is like looking for a book in a library without any idea of what you should be reading,” he says. “We have worked with hundreds of industry professionals across all of our locations, New York, Toronto and Vancouver, to streamline your learning experience and to save you time.”

BrainStation, in fact, came into being after Field went through his own search for a career path after a long period of travelling and backpacking. He decided from the beginning that time was too important to waste, which has been a key element of the firm’s curriculum.

“We cut out all of the unnecessary topics so our clients leave empowered to make a difference in their workplace right away,” he says. “This is what we refer to as ‘outcomes based learning.'”

This answer isn’t meant to be self-serving, Field adds. BrainStation is just one of many options available to those switching careers, trying to make themselves more marketable or pursue a new hobby. The idea is to give yourself a head start by taking a course, and then building from there.

“Even if a potential customer decides to learn elsewhere, I would highly recommend accelerating your learning experience by going through an organization and then continuing to teach yourself more once you have the foundational layers and the necessary bearings,” he says.

Want to learn in-demand digital skills? Check out Canada’s top-rated courses in web development, digital marketing, product management, data science and more.