Are you getting bored with your job? Or do you feel like you just get stuck doing the same old thing, day after day?

Sometimes, bosses just keep their employees doing the same work every day because they just don’t realize that some of their workers could be doing something more.

Or, it might just be that you don’t know how to do more. A few added job skills can help anyone, no matter whether they’re flipping burgers or flipping the switches at the local nuclear power plant.

But how do you get a few extra skills? Well, there’s always the main thing that pops into a person’s mind, go to college.

However, college is expensive not only in financial terms, but also in the time it takes to take on a full slate of classes. Not many of us can quit a job and go back to school full time. Yes, it might be worth the investment if you’re wanting to change careers, especially if it will only take you a short time to get your new degree.

But if you just want to learn how to do a couple things that might help you advance in your job right now, there are some steps you can take that won’t cost you so much money and you’ll see some more immediate results.

1. Ask your boss if you can learn how to do something more around your office. This doesn’t mean you should try to take a co-worker’s job, but possibly just learn something that helps the office. Maybe a new filing skill if you’re a secretary or for a real state office, do they need someone to take photos of apartments? Adding on a job duty is a great way to learn a new skill and make you more valuable to the workplace.

2. Check out the local community college. They often offer evening classes, geared toward “older” students, in many subjects, and you can take a class or two pretty inexpensively. If you do this, don’t forget to sign up for financial aid; many people are eligible for grants that can make taking a couple of classes almost free.

Don’t forget to ask at work if they reimburse continuing education. You might we well surprised!

3. Befriend someone where you work who has an interesting job. People like to talk about themselves and what they do for a living. This doesn’t mean to pester your new friend about everything they do, but you can learn a lot through casual conversationg.

4. Volunteer to help out a local group. You might not learn how to repair your co-worker’s computer, but you might be able to add some skills to your lists including answering phones, organization, writing letters or networking -- all of which might help you find something better to do for a living.

All in all, none of us know everything, and new knowledge is always a good way to enhance our lives, if not what we do for a living.

What have you learned new lately?