Self-improvement is within reach these days, and easily so. Distance education lets anyone take a course from a reputable university or college. Plenty of other training courses offered by credible businesses offer exactly what you need, too.
Research a little, pick a course and sign up.
It’s a great idea. If you’re a freelancer, the money invested in yourself is tax deductible. In just a few short weeks, you can learn a new skill to offer a new service or to manage your business better.
Self-Education Sucks?
Some people look down on self-education. They believe that the only skills that count are the ones backed up by a paper degree. Some believe that to be a professional, you need a school’s seal of approval. I beg to differ.
Much of what allows me to be a great business manager, a good entrepreneur and branch out into topic areas that please me is my willingness to learn through any way that I can.
Hands-on experience? The best. Seriously. Practice makes perfect? That’s sound advice too. Learning doesn’t mean you have to sit in a classroom for a lecture given by some professor. There are tons of experts out there in all career fields. Plenty of them don’t have degrees.
Most of my skills don’t come from a classroom at all. My customer service skills came from supervising a department and my negotiation skills came from a few years in purchasing. Logistics skills came from scheduling international transport and deliveries. Accounting skills? A few years in the AP/AR departments taught me bookkeeping.
My social interaction skills were enhanced by self-education, too. You learn a great deal about fears, empathy, sympathy, remaining calm and leadership guiding yahoos on green horses through the bush of Quebec. Emergency medical intervention? I know that too.
I even taught myself to juggle.
Where to Find Cheap Self-Education
I’m a huge fan of self-improvement and learning through trial and error. I realized I could get the best of both worlds: formal education blended with self-education. (I also wondered why I never thought of such a simple solution before.)
Browsing through Chapters (the Canadian equivalent of Amazon) with a few birthday gift certificates to spend, a book caught my eye. Not just any book, mind you, and one a little off the beaten path of usual reading selections.
It was a textbook on consumer behavior.
The lightbulb flicked on. I suddenly realized that I could educate myself easily – and from the same resources used in formal schools across Canada today. Why not buy textbooks? Why not learn that way?
I’d had my blinkers on. The mental association between textbooks and classrooms kept me from tapping into fantastic learning tools. How many others limit their perception as I did? Textbooks aren’t supposed to be for casual reading, after all.
Why not, I ask.
The cost of textbooks is negligible. The books are tax write-offs, they’re a fraction of the price of a distance education course, and they’ll pay for themselves with enhanced knowledge. Schools have their place, certainly, and formal training is important for certain careers (um, like doctor), but you can acquire a wealth of knowledge outside the classroom easily.
Want to accomplish a dream, boost your career or change jobs? Go buy a textbook or two, in any subject you feel like. You have education and opportunity right at your fingertips.
Let’s hope the “teaching yourself to juggle” didn’t spur on learning “emergency medical intervention.”
Seriously, this is on the mark. I ditched college once I realized that getting a degree wouldn’t get me what I want, and I have no regrets.
Learn by doing is the way to go. ‘Course, I’m biased, as I’ve worked in e-Learning for the last 8 years …
Dave Navarro’s last blog post..Work-Life Balance 101: The Failproof Way To Make a Breakthrough
I could not agree more. Hands on training coming after a broad based common sense education wins hands down all the time, if the individual only will continue the process of learning. In fact, in my book, education is learning to learn and that unfortunately is lost now a days in our competition based education system.
When you want some one to root for you, just shout!
Nicole Price’s last blog post..Top Selling Albums of All Time
Thanks James – I’m a big believer in self-education too. “The system” exists to serve itself in many ways. I remember an engineering professor openly admitting to us that the undergraduate programs were one of the best sources of funding for the graduate level research.
(i.e. it was in the university’s best interest to attract as many students as possible and keep them in undergrad programs for as long as possible)
Here is a link to MIT OpenCourseWare – you can get free audio and video lecture material from some great programs.
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..a cog.
Dang. Left a comment with a link to MIT’s free courseware site and Akismet ate it…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..a cog.
All fixed now, Brett.
Thanks James – I just wanted to share that link as I thought it was a great resource. There are others too, if MIT does not appeal to folks.
You are so right though. I remember self-studying an engineering statistics course because the professor’s accent was so thick I could not understand him. It was a better use of my time to spend the hours at the library reading the textbook and doing the problems. I ended up getting 75 percent and only went to the first class…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..a cog.
James,
I love a good book and I hope I’ll never stop learning. I agree, some textbooks give you all you might get in the class and more. (If you have a university nearby, you can also get used ones for a song at the end of the semester.) A lot of classes I took in my two go-rounds read a few chapters from one, a few chapters from another, without even completing the books, so you really can learn more than the average student if you read the whole thing.
A post after my own heart. Great idea.
Brett,
That link is SO cool. Bookmarked instantly.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Let’s Go Out and Not Come Back Tonight
Right there with you. I spend a lot of time working with people in their mid to late twenties who’ve spent almost their entire lives in school preparing for life instead of living it.
It didn’t feel this way at the time, but when I made the choice to leave my scholarship behind after my husband joined the military, it was probably the best thing for me.
I think we’ve officially entered the age of the autodidacts and polymaths.
KatFrench’s last blog post..Obituaries: Telling the Story of a Life, In Three Column Inches
Six years at the University of Michigan, and I don’t think I’ve used any of my industrial design skills since. (Still paying for the privilege though.) Some of my job titles have included Gateway Technical Training Developer, Cisco Network Engineer, Webmaster and Database Designer, and I’ve never taken a computer course in my life. I simply thrive on learning, and I learn best by doing and by reading. Some people don’t.
The tough part of being self-taught (from my experience) is having the confidence to present yourself as an expert in the field when looking for a job. Granted, you could go the self-employment route, but you still have to present yourself to clients. Maybe once I devour a few business and tax books.
Nicole Brunet’s last blog post..Just Writing
James,
I am a self-taught geek. I love to learn. Anything. Everything. I had to laugh when I got to the part on text books. I have them all over the house. My husband is drowning in books. When he takes a class for his masters and they read four chapters of a book, I take it and read the whole thing. I figure, hey, we paid for it…thats a free masters class for me!
So as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I have an associates degree, but I have been taking classes and reading and downloading and now…honestly what I have learned since joining the blogging world is a whole other realm of knowledge. ( good and bad
). I also listen…and watch. The world is full of stuff to learn if you are paying attention.
I think if a person has eyes and ears wide open to learn, the class is there for them, whether it is a book, nature, the Net, or in listening to the stories and knowledge of others who come before you and know what you need to know.
It keeps me young.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post..Wanting to Belong
Of course, I hung on to my old college Economics textbook figuring it might be useful someday (unlike, say, the analyses of the 1984 US Presidential election–NOT really all that relevant any more). The trick to self-education is to buy into the things you’re really interested in learning–either out of interest or out of self-preservation. There was a whole section about that in that old, cult favorite “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”–about how college education is wasted on college kids because they don’t yet know what they’re going to NEED.
–Deb’s last blog post..MM: Letterquette
@ Deb – *raises hand* Wasted education right here. In Quebec, 16 is the year everyone enters our version of your college. Two years goes to simple “take a whole bunch of courses that sound cool but that are useless”. Then kids either drop out, get disillusioned with school or wonder why they’re paying for this. Some go on to University.
The result is that most people end up taking something they don’t like, waste time and money and end up in a job they hate. They hit their late twenties, early thirties and… realize they need to go back to school so they can do what they love.
@ Wendi – I agree. There’s learning in everything, and all you have to do is know how to find it. Being open-minded about where you can learn from is a gift, I think.
@ Nicole – I had to laugh, because your comment reminds me of the “real” writer debate that goes around. It’s perfectly okay to learn plenty of skills outside of formal education – and to use it.
@ Kat – Generational thinking? I agree. Gen X and Y are very big on self-education and I believe that the next generation will follow on that concept too.
@ Kelly – You, my dear, gave me a very wonderful book that sits on my desk. I’ve read it twice already and plan to do more with it. And while I was shopping the other day, I kept thinking, “I want something as good as this book.”
@ Brett – Ha, now I want to take tests on various things just to see what score I’d get!
@ Nicole – Here in Canada, I see more university courses teaching people how to study before getting into the course so that students retain more. Picked up some good tips that work through that.
@ Dave – I am a Rockstar Juggler. Um, but I need lots of space. And beanbags can hurt, yes.
Deb,
Having gone once as a traditional student and once as an adult student, I’ve said that many times, about kids not knowing what they’re going to need. It doesn’t mean I regret it, but when I went the second time I was acutely conscious that every moment in classes was focussed on getting my minute’s worth, where the kids around me were focussed on getting by. BIG difference.
James,
There aren’t many. I’ll certainly come up with another that re-formed my worldview when next I decide to do a giveaway. Thanks for the kind words.
Until later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Let’s Go Out and Not Come Back Tonight
I wonder how much of a difference it makes if you’re paying for the education yourself, as opposed to your parents paying it? I mean, I went to a 4-year university and loved every minute of it. I feel like I learned a nice variety of things, but, um, that poli-sci degree isn’t doing me a whole lot of good. (The writing-minor sure worked out well, though.)
–Deb’s last blog post..MM: Letterquette
@James RE: Here in Canada, I see more university courses teaching people how to study before getting into the course so that students retain more.
Christian is taking courses through Devry, and they have several classes that undergrads are required to take that are very obviously for just that purpose. Honestly, when I started college (university, whatever), I had no idea HOW to study, because I’d never had to in high school. It was a huge shock to my system (and ego), and a couple courses on how it’s done would have been just the thing. Hmm… maybe our educational systems are learning as well.
Nicole Brunet’s last blog post..Just Writing
Some of the books I have bought to clarify certain aspects of my business have help me tremendously. I still refer to them frequently when working on projects. The affordable knowledge they provide gives me the confidence I need to keep moving forward.
Kimberly Ben’s last blog post..Setting Rates You Can Live With
Deb,
Interesting. My parents didn’t pay for it when I was a youngun. I was going to disagree with you, but maybe that is why I sucked the experience dry the first time, too. I just thought it was because I’m an unrepentant geek.
No regrets, I got a heck of a lot out of it. Helps in Trivial Pursuit.
But not what I ended up needing, because as you quoted… I didn’t know what I needed at the time.
Unless you count being well-rounded as something I needed?
Until later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Let’s Go Out and Not Come Back Tonight
I think part of the college environment is designed to actually force you to study etc. In other words, when you’re in a class, getting grades, and paying for it – you’re a bit more motivated, at least ideally. I definitely think one can learn quite well by carefully reading a text book themselves, as long as they have the proper motivation and patience.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..?Wocka Wocka Wocka?
Yay for self-education! I wound up doing this anyway, even with a degree. The degree taught me how to analyze Shakespeare and yell at Edgar Allen Poe. Self-education taught me copywriting – you know, my CAREER. Could have saved myself a lot of money.
Tei – Rogue Ink’s last blog post..The Money Talks, Day One: How Much Money Do You Need? A Lot More Than You Think.
I absolutely agree! My public library is a great source of self-improvement for me. My ratio of fiction to non-fiction books every time I visit is usually something like 20:1. I am passionate about self-improvement and firmly believe that life is a constant journey of learning and development–if we allow it to be. I love learning and exploring more about myself: why I am the way I am, how I can improve, etc. In fact, my own self-exploration is precisely what prompted me to return to college to earn my degree 14 years after high school graduation. The learning should never stop. Great post, James!
Hope Wilbanks’s last blog post..Set Achievable Goals
James: Come to think of it, I think I was actually talking less generationally, and maybe more social class. I come from a blue collar background, where people tend to value experiential knowledge a little more than “book learnin’” as my Granny would say. Not saying that blue collar folks are more self-motivated than white collar folks (I don’t think there’s really much correlation there).
But I’ve mostly worked in white collar environments, with a lot of recent college grads who would never have considered not completing college any more than they’d consider buying a mobile home or eloping to Las Vegas.
But as Deb said, these are mostly kids who wouldn’t have had to come up with their own tuition, either. Had I not earned that full scholarship, I wouldn’t have completed as much of my formal higher education as I did. Ironically, they both valued it more (in the sense that they considered a degree a necessity) and less (in the sense that they went more for the “college experience” that trying to eek out every bit of value from their education). You want to see some college students who are SERIOUS about learning something, go to the night classes.
Sorry, bit of a tangent here. It’s just something I’ve wrestled with A LOT since last summer. I found out that I’m eligible to complete my degree tuition-free, basically for the rest of my life. So I’ve been personally evaluating the merits of completing my degree.
Now that it’s not about money, it’s about TIME, and with a fairly demanding full time job, extracurricular writing work, marriage and family… it’s still hard to justify it.
KatFrench’s last blog post..Obituaries: Telling the Story of a Life, In Three Column Inches
@ Kat – Here’s a thought for you: What if the blue collar workers and manual laborers value ‘book learning’ just as highly, if not higher, than white collar workers but play ‘sour grapes’ because they can’t have it or afford it? What if hands on is all they know? What if formal education is like another world for them, one they wished they could have deep down?
As for the personal choice, I’d go for it. But that’s just me.
@ Hope – Ahh, self-exploration. Now there’s something I’ll share your enjoyment of!
@ Tei – Oh, admit it. You’re just an arTEESTe in denial
@ Bamboo – Hm. The college environments I’ve seen don’t do much to force studying. But I do agree that motivation is the key, isn’t it?
@ Nicole – There are definitely ways on how to study. And it truly is almost a course in itself!
Wow… ran out of commenting steam… good stuff people, I’ll be back later!
James: I could elaborate on your theory there, but it would be a LONG off-topic story. Suffice it to say that yes, for my family at least, the world of formal higher education was something alien and unattainable. The people most shocked when I won that scholarship were my own parents, who believed only people who could already afford college tuition won them. That’s the way their world worked.
But on the other hand, I grew up with a mom who, when the washer broke down, just dived in there and figured out how to fix it. My husband’s white collar father would have had a mild stroke at the thought of cracking open a major appliance without a proper appliance repair degree.
And now you and Hope have me feeling all fired up about the whole “finishing that degree” thing again. Darn you!
KatFrench’s last blog post..Obituaries: Telling the Story of a Life, In Three Column Inches
I can so relate. My parents struggled my entire childhood just to make ends meet. I don’t think I ever heard the word “college” escape their lips. When I brought home an application my senior year and told my mom I needed money to send with it, she flipped out. The application went into my desk drawer, and then finally into the garbage. I moved two states away (with my grandparents) the day I graduated, started night classes, then dropped out after the second semester. Higher education was never expressed as being something important, so I never thought it was…until now. Hindsight is always 20/20. Now that I have children of my own, I always express to them the importance of furthering their education, and that education doesn’t stop at 12th grade. I’m hoping that returning to earn my degree will inspire them enough to make them want to continue their education after high school, instead of waiting half their life–like me.
Hope Wilbanks’s last blog post..Set Achievable Goals
Okay, I’m starting to feel a little guilty about my BA degree…. (grin)
–Deb’s last blog post..MM: Letterquette
@ Deb – As well you SHOULD!! Where’s my propane tank and a lighter?!
Oh. Wait. A BA? Come back when you have a PhD.
At least I was out of school and working after those four years … one of my closest friends is going back to school AGAIN this fall. She’s starting a new career and planning ahead and that’s all good, and all, but she’s already got two or three more degrees than I do, and going for yet another! (I mean, she’s been gainfully employed in this time, also, and it IS a new career, but still!)
–Deb’s last blog post..MM: Letterquette
Yale University offers free iTunes downloads in many fields of study. I can listen to Jessica Stockholder or Phillip Johnson discuss art and architecture for example. Really, go look. There is a movement afoot to create easy access multimedia learning from many top Universities.
There’s education and there’s knowledge. I think we want knowledge… from whatever sources are available to us. I could have spent hours in color theory classes and I have, but seeing a certain red mark in the corner of Cezanne’s Bather’s from the Barnes Collection at the National Gallery really taught how to do it.
And books? Books are treasures with maps inside.
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..The Fruits of Our Labor
Taught ME how to do it…too bad it didn’t improve my typing..:)
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..The Fruits of Our Labor
I’ve got two degrees, and neither of them is in “writing,” yet I’m a professional writer (with a boatload of student loan debt, no less). I’m not slamming getting an education – not at all. It’s a wonderful thing. But, it’s not the ONLY thing.
Like you, I love to read textbooks. When I would go to the university bookstore each semester to fork over my zillions of dollars, I would check the shelves with books for classes I wasn’t taking but thought were interesting. There were some great finds there!
lornadoone’s last blog post..67 Freelance Niche Writing Markets You May Have Never Considered
Six years of college, a B.S. and an M.A. which are sitting somewhere in a pile–and I’m now doing what I love: writing. Now all I gotta figure out is how to make a six-figure income from it. Still learning that part!
This is a great article. I think campus learning and the ability to learn from a teacher and peers is a valuable experience, but it should not be the only form of learning. If you really want to learn something, just go an do it. Learn whatever you can on your own and seek guidance when you need it.
Someone at last thinks my way of learning.