When we enter our careers, we are often completely ignorant about the reality of work-life and often we find ourselves 10 years in and wishing we were doing something else. This is a common experience and one that we need not feel ashamed of. With the growth of the internet and development of online studies, we have the wonderful opportunity to study online while continuing to work. Additional studies after completing sixth form education can either enhance our careers so we can get a promotion or change course. There are several ways to go about this self-learning journey. These are some of the ways that we’ve identified that can help you learn more, improve your skills, change your career and be satisfied in your work.
Online colleges
It is good to find an online college that can offer official qualifications and diplomas to boost your curriculum vitae or resume. You can start narrowing down who you want to do the qualification through by either deciding on the college you want to register with and then investigating which courses they offer. Or, if you already know what qualification you are wanting to attain then search for that specifically, for example ‘diploma of Quality Auditing Online’ and see which colleges offer that course and compare prices.
Take an online MOOC course
There are literally thousands of Massive Open Online Courses that you can get for free or for a very small fee as they rely on a model of scale. By having little to no fee and application process, it attracts large volumes of people doing the courses. What this means though is that the credibility of the course can sometimes be weakened because it is less recognized as legitimate and so many people have access to the same certificate or learning modules. So, while you’re able to learn new skills and grow, it may not be as effective on your cv as a qualification and for this, you may need to look into universities or more well-known colleges.
Going the formal university route
This is a harder process and requires greater commitment, normally in the form of more money. Universities are a lot more expensive, especially if you’re wanting to go to the more nationally and even globally recognized universities. But what this means is that it will hold great weight in interviews and job applications and even your bosses may recognise this and be willing to promote you or increase your salary. If you’re going the route of a university, then it is worth ensuring that it is a good one.
Technical colleges
Technikons are very valuable when the educations kill you want to learn requires a big practical and tangible element. This has changed over the years from being a place for people to learn artisanal or similar skills. The great thing about Technikons is that you will walk away with not just academic knowledge, which is the downfall of universities, but a practical experience too.