I’m An Ivy League Student… From My Recliner

I always figured I should get an MBA. Starting off in the business world, you quickly learn of this brick wall awaiting your ascent on the Ladder of Promotions (that’s not a thing). No manager positions available to acronym-less employees.

So I studied for my GMAT, took in dangerous levels of caffeine, and scored well enough. The offers came in and were magnetized to my fridge for some time.

But now I work at a different type of place.

A place that values usable knowledge and exemplary work over an additional diploma.

So instead of prerequisites and test scores, I spend my nights watching video lessons and learning real-world stuff.

The best part? My Ruby on Rails online course was the cost of one date night. My iOS development course just cost me less than a video game.

An MBA costs anywhere from a German sedan to a supercar.

And the free stuff… the free stuff is EVERYWHERE!

iTunes U could keep you busy for the rest of your life. My Harvard economics course is heavy stuff. But since I’m not being tested over Public Goods and Externalities, I can move at my own pace! Other resources are linked below.

There’s a constant low roar about the future of education and online learning, but in reality all of these resources are available to you right now. There’s not going to be an abrupt change in professional acceptance, but the knowledge is a click away. In the same way that YouTube allowed no-name musicians to get noticed, on-demand learning is my ticket to building out my ideas and quenching my curiosities.

Check out some of these free resources for your own interests:

• Coursera – all sorts of topics/classes from various universities
• Khan Academy – better for refreshing on a subject you may have taken in school
• MIT OpenCourseWare – enjoy that Rocket Propulsion class!
• Investopedia – Anything with money. Ever.
• TED Talks – You’ve heard of them, now actually watch them. Good for piquing your interests.
• Drawspace – Learn how to draw. Because it’s cool.
• Exposure Guide – Photography how-to’s (Google will spit out a million of these. Enjoy)
• Codecademy – My favorite free code lessons (Here’s a paid one I’m using for Ruby. Love it.)
• Doulingo –  My favorite language tool
• MusicTheory – Annoy your neighbors!  (Also, JustinGuitar rocks!)