A Path Built in Pursuit

Redefining What It Means to Be Self-Taught

The most valuable skills I have weren’t taught; they were pursued. Looking back on my seven years in marketing, I realize that some of my strongest competencies were never taught to me. They were built quietly, late at night, through curiosity and necessity. Growth, for me, did not begin in instruction; it began in pursuit.

I had the privilege of this realization during a talk with an alumna, Noribelle, where she discussed her journey and experience. Aside from her very moving transition from the beauty industry to marketing, what impacted me the most were her insights on adaptability and building skills on your own. This made me look back and re-assess my journey as a marketer, even before I became one.

Photo: My very first business card as a Marketing Assistant in Chevrolet Philippines, 2018.

When I became a marketing assistant for Chevrolet Philippines, it was not part of my plan. I had always imagined myself in PR. Yet looking back, I had already been preparing for marketing without realizing it, teaching myself graphic design, experimenting with video editing, and building skills my undergraduate program never formally offered. Those “extra” skills became my entry point into marketing.

But the role humbled me quickly. I was a one-woman marketing team, managing social media, mall shows, events, and even hosting the events I conceptualized. Hosting was never something I was trained to do. So, I taught myself. I studied event hosts, learned automotive jargon to speak confidently with guests, and practiced injecting humour into scripts so audiences would stay engaged. It was exhausting. It was terrifying. It was transformative.

Photo: I hosted an after-sales event with one of our flagship dealerships, Chevrolet Makati, 2019.

When Nori shared that her journey was largely self-taught, “There’s something that I needed to figure out. I tried to find resources online, took different workshops, and different classes.” — I felt seen. Before this program, I had never formally learned Meta Ads or Google Ads. I learned by staying after work, opening countless browser tabs, teaching myself why a click-through rate matters and how it connects to business performance. I didn’t wait for permission to understand the system; I dissected it until it made sense.

Photos: Arriving in Canada in 2024

When I moved to Canada and entered this program, I told myself I was done self-learning. I wanted structure. I wanted experts. I assumed the skills I built back home no longer mattered in a new market with new audiences and channels. But when Nori said, “You take the skills you develop over time with you… you will always be developing,” something shifted. The market may change, but foundational thinking does not. Adaptability is not abandoning what you know — it is applying it differently. Those early, self-built skills are the very foundation that led me to my current role as a Marketing Associate for Canada within a global footwear brand.

Photos (from left): My first global marketing meeting with my new job in Canada, and my first production-related project (where self-learning camera techniques five years ago came in handy)

Being self-taught has always been part of my professional identity, but I am learning that it is not something you graduate from; it is something you refine. For years, self-teaching meant proving I could figure things out alone. That constant pursuit eventually became exhausting. Listening to Nori’s journey reminded me that being self-taught is not about isolation or proving independence; it’s about initiative, curiosity, and ownership. Adaptability becomes the partner to that mindset, especially in a field that is constantly shifting.

Moving forward, I want to be more intentional about how I grow, focusing on one skill at a time instead of trying to master everything at once, applying what I learn through tangible outputs rather than endless research, and actively seeking feedback so I am not building in isolation. I am not done self-learning. I am choosing to do it sustainably, strategically, and with support. My self-taught journey may have started in survival, but it now moves forward with intention.

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