1. YouTube

YouTube is a great resource for individuals looking to continue their education outside of school because of the various channels available that teach 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. Due to the initiative in institutions to get more individuals to, at the very least, get some knowledge of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects, and at most, to get them into STEM careers. Code Academy makes learning common coding languages, like HTML/CSS, Javascript, Python, Ruby, among other languages more approachable for the individual without extensive experience. This is done through interactive exercises on the fundamentals. Getting started with a Code Academy lesson can 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

With over 300 million views collectively, Khan Academy is a great resource for individuals who want to learn in depth on just about any subject they fancy. The brain-child of Sal Khan, Khan Academy is useful for both children and graduated adults alike with its vast array of subjects, all free to learn. Many even come with exercises to ensure that you were able to grasp the material. It’s all at your own pace, ensuring that what matters is that you are learning, not trying to make a deadline (graduation). Check out Khan Academy today and start learning.

4. Learn at an Ivy League

An Ivy League education has the prestige and status due to usually their long periods of existence and the quality of education that individuals expect. But you don’t have to study at an Ivy League school, with many individuals succeeding in smaller known schools, it doesn’t hurt to learn a thing or two from an Ivy League school if you aren’t paying for it. Through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), you are able 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. Check out Udemy

Udemy is the resource for individuals looking to learn and get started with applying those skills right away. Many aren’t self paced due to the fact that you’ll have an instructor, however with an instructor you have a more personalized learning experience. Udemy excels in teaching tech skills, like programming and learning the advanced aspects of certain desktop applications and office suites, however you can find lessons and courses on a wide variety of subjects as well.

6. Learn with TED Talks

TED Talks are a compilation of videos of TED and TEDx conference speakers held around the world. If you are familiar with TED conferences, you’ll know that the subjects covered can run the gamut. 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 to take a look at posted videos, searchable by subject.

7. Approach the Source

A great way to continue education outside of college is to approach 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. They can connect you to both well known as well as lesser known resources to get you on the right path. If you don’t find yourself with such individuals, check out Quora. Standing for Question or Answer, Quora is the well organized, more educated Yahoo Answers! that we all hoped for, featuring industry professionals and common Joes alike who ask and answer some of life’s simplest and most complex questions.

8. Learn Through Entertainment

Entertainment isn’t always considered a time waster. It can be the key to learning a multitude of things. 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. This beats learning in a classroom and is a great supplement to language learning through the means we discussed above. Netflix is a great place to find international movies with subtitles. If you want to have complex subjects explained to you, Netflix also offers various television shows from Discovery Channel as well as non-fiction movies.

9. Read On

10. Apply Your Skills

Once you begin to gain skills, or even with the skills 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. This is considered one of the best ways to continue learning outside of college because many employers will pay for you continual advancement in learning and you’ll learn the best way many individuals find they can, by doing. Make use of internship and job websites to find opportunities and pay close attention to benefits they have for continual certification assistance. Featured photo credit: Emmanuel Ikwuegbu via unsplash.com