The Internet Can Provide What A Degree Should

Information vs. Knowledge Vs. Experience

Let me be clear: having access to information online isn’t the same as having real knowledge. Just reading WebMD doesn’t make you a doctor.

But here’s what the internet can do: it gives you the materials you need to build real experience through hands-on work. I learned tech by tinkering with computers as a teenager, then got paid to solve complex problems throughout my career. That’s how you develop genuine expertise.

Yes, college is valid way to gain expertise as well, but it is likely the most expensive path.

“Learning on the job” by KOMUnews is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The College Problem

College should give you a well-rounded start to building experience across many subjects. In theory, that’s valuable.

In reality, college has become an expensive trap:

• Student loans let more people attend, but also let colleges raise prices three times faster than inflation
• Many jobs require degrees, but having a degree doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the job
• You’re forced to pick a major early, often based on what interests you rather than what’s actually needed

Some fields genuinely need formal education. We need historians, even if there aren’t many historian jobs available, and I’m certainly not going to a self-trained doctor, but for many people, there’s a better path.

A Different Approach: Start with Real Needs

Instead of asking “What do I want to study?” ask “What problems need solving around me?”

Look for concrete needs:

• If there’s trash, pick it up
• If people are hungry, feed them
• If something’s broken, fix it

The goal is to make yourself available to help people who need assistance. How will people find you when they need help?

Don’t know how to solve a problem? You can learn. You have the most powerful learning tools in human history at your fingertips, plus access to nearly all human knowledge.

The challenge isn’t finding information — it’s finding the right information among all the noise. Focus on learning what you need to tackle real problems, and you’ll build the experience that makes you valuable.

If it’s not something you can learn, like surgery, then you can at least help connect them with someone who can. Perhaps they need help finding the right person. Or maybe they just need a ride.

Don’t Limit Yourself

Software engineering is one good career path, but coding skills can boost almost any career. Learning to build custom tools for your specific needs can be a game-changer, regardless of your field. It’s useful for people who can build large complex tools, but people often have simple needs.

The key is building the tools you need while learning about the wealth of tools that already exist. This approach will make you more valuable in whatever work you choose to do.

And while I do have a software bias, the same is true of other skill-sets as well. Learning to use new tools opens new options for you, within or across disciplines.