The most value I have provided to a company was skills I decided to learn on my own. By my own I mean my own time, my own effort and my own money. I have always come out learning more than if I had learned through someone/something else.

For a long time, I thought the best way to learn was for a company to give me an opportunity. With the opportunity, I could have the experience and then learn from it.

That works to a certain extent.

I had the theory backwards. What I've come to realize is that YOU must learn to gain the experience and THEN you should be given the opportunity. If you learn through the opportunity, you are learning through the eyes of someone/something else.

Learning through an opportunity gives you a limited level of understanding. When it is on your own time and your own money, it means so much more. You don't have big budgets or have all day to learn. We as individuals have limited resources compared to companies. Thus, you are a lot more considerate of time and money. Once having the experience of learning on your own, you operate with a different level efficiency and effectiveness.

I highly recommend investing your time and money into learning something new. Take the time and make the investment of learning before taking the leap in to a new job. You'll learn a lot. Each time I have dedicated myself to it, the takeaway was more valuable than money could buy.