For many people, learning is what you do in school, and then perhaps at university or during an apprenticeship. But in fact learning often occurs outside structured learning programs. Think of the last time you started a new job, or bought a new appliance for your home, or took up a new hobby. Learning is an ongoing process most of us dip in and out of throughout our lives, often for work or practical reasons, but also for fun.

Learners often face barriers, especially time and budget-related ones. Even if embarking on an expensive university course is not what you want to do, and all you’re aspiring to do instead is to learn the basics of French, or Italian cuisine, or HTML, it can be difficult to figure out where to start and how to keep going once you’ve started.

While motivation is a topic deserving of its own blog post, I’d like to share some options here I’ve found helpful when I tried to learn new skills. Some of these are free, some are cheap, all are great fun. My point is not that free online content can replace formal education – it can’t – but it can be a great option to upskill yourself if the traditional route does not appeal to you for whatever reason.

Let’s start in a familiar place: Youtube. Apart from funny cat videos, Youtube offers informational channels about every topic under the sun. Some of my personal favourites include Great Art Explained (about art history), Jago Hazzard (about the history of transport in London) and Yoga with Adriene (you can probably guess what this channel is about). Browse, click, and access hours of educational content to kickstart your learning journey.

If that’s not enough, there’s also free-to-paid. Solutions like Codecademy offer part of their content for free, which gives you a chance to assess whether it suits your needs before you commit to a paid option. Easy Languages, which I use to learn German and Spanish, offers free content via Youtube, and paid members receive transcripts and vocabulary exercises. These options are still cheaper than shelling out for a more conventional classroom or distance learning course and have the added benefit of flexibility, allowing you to tailor your learning exactly to your needs.

Learn socially: no matter what you’re trying to learn, there’s probably a group of like-minded people out there with the same goal. The internet is your friend: search for conversation groups in your area, find a language buddy via Tandem, or look for a Discord group to help you crack a tricky programming language.

And here’s a bonus tip: your local library. Libraries contain information about pretty much anything in formats not just limited to book form. They provide access to books and resources which would be very expensive if you had to purchase them yourself. Librarians can also help you select the right resource for you and guide you towards books you never knew you needed.

Carving out your own learning path can be difficult but offers great benefits too. You get to decide what you want to learn, how, and when you want to learn it. There’s a time and place for structured learning programmes (in some cases, they are the only route to specific jobs) but it’s worth considering alternatives and take your learning journey in your own hands.

Image my own @thecococatani