10 Inexpensive Ways to Continue Your Education Outside of School

Colleges and universities are great institutions at which to learn subjects of specialty that to enhance your skills. However, in this week’s “Ten-to-Win,” Kim shares ten inexpensive ways to continue your education outside of college. Enjoy!

1. YouTube. YouTube is a great resource for instruction on just about any subject you could think of. On the subject of foreign languages, the options are endless, from Learn Arabic with Maha to French lessons with Alexa Polidoro. Math help and science videos are also found on everything from Earth Science to Calculus, and everything in between. All it takes is a quick YouTube search and your world of knowledge opens up.

2. Code Academy. Having a knowledge of coding is an important and useful skill for today’s job market. Code Academy makes learning common coding languages, like HTML/CSS, Javascript, Python, Ruby, among other languages more approachable for the individual without extensive experience. Code Academy lessons allow you to learn the basics and figure out what direction you’d like to go in learning how to code in an advanced manner.

3. Khan Academy. Khan Academy is a great resource for individuals who want to learn in depth on just about just about any subject. Its useful for both children and graduated adults alike and has a vast array of subjects, all free to learn. It’s also at your own pace, ensuring that what matters is that you are learning, not trying to make a deadline.

4. Ivy League “MOOCs”. MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses that allow you to learn from Ivy League professors in the comfort of your own home. Along with each school offering their own domain for courses, iTunes U and Coursera are two other popular MOOC providers.

5. Udemy. Udemy is the resource for individuals looking to learn and get started with applying technical skills, like programming and learning the advanced aspects of certain desktop applications and office suites. However, Udemy also offers lessons and courses on a wide variety of subjects as well.

6. TED Talks. TED Talks are a compilation of videos of TED and TEDx conference speakers held around the world. While they aren’t courses or your conventional “lessons” they do offer a lot that individuals can take away from. In the technical sense, TED talks are educational. You can view the official TED website at TED.com.

7. Approach the Source. Another great way to learn is by approaching individuals in the industries and subjects you are interested in learning more about. They can act as your mentor, offering tips, advice, or even explanations on the complex factors of their industry that they work in. They don’t have to be award winning laureates, they can be a friend who works as a software engineer, or a family member working in marketing and you’re looking to get into either one of those sectors.

8. Entertainment. Entertainment isn’t always considered a time waster. If you are learning a language, making use of multimedia including movies and television shows are a great way to not only keep the language fresh, but to also make use of context clues to learn new words.

9. Read On. If you are like a lot of students, you may find that learning out of your textbook, along with a bit of supplemental Q&A time with a knowledgeable individual on the subject can be more beneficial than sitting in an hour long class itself.

10. Apply Your Skills. Once you begin to gain skills, or even with the skills that you already have, it may be wise to find ways to apply these skills through internships or entry level jobs in your field or position you’re looking to obtain. Make use of internship and job websites to find opportunities and pay close attention to benefits they have for continual certification assistance.