Paying for an online course vs. doing the research yourself for free

[IrisFlower]

Whenever I'm on Facebook I get tons of ads from "experts" trying to sell me a course on how to make money online.  "Make $5,000 per day!"  I'm sure we've all seen the headlines I'm referring to.

Do you think there's any merit in spending money to learn from some "guru" when all the information is freely available online? I'm sort of torn because I do see the value in having the research done for you and presented in an easy to digest manner, but the price tag just seems so exorbitant. I have to wonder who can even afford these programs.

What do you think? Would you or have you purchased one of these "make money online" courses? If you have, did it actually end up being useful?

[Bethanyrcwright]

Paying to learn from an expert is entirely circumstantial, in my opinion; it depends completely on the subject matter, cost, and time-saving qualities of the course and how these will benefit you as an individual.

For example, I purchased a course on transcribing for court reporters as a business from home. I had a minuscule amount of knowledge on court reporting (mostly acquired by watching Law & Order) and below average transcription experience. The course was affordable for me and saved me time by doing all the research for me.

However, a course on say... social media management wouldn’t be worth hundreds of dollars to me. I already have plenty of experience and find the research fun and quick when I want to learn new skills. 

In the end, it’s completely up to how badly and quickly you need the knowledge, and if you can earn your investment back with that knowledge.

[bricobill]

i would have to agree with Bethany on this. I spend a lot of time debating whether or not to devote my self and financial resources in to a course, rather then just doing the work my self. As Bethany said it is entirely dependent on my needs at the time. Do i need a qualification to complete the next stage of my plan? Do i have the time to dedicate to this pursuit? Indeed do i even have the funds to go a head with this.

I am a personnel fan of self learning i spend a lot of my free time acquiring new skills and starting new projects with limited knowledge and just an Internet connection. i feel the Internet has opened the world up for anyone to learn anything which is a true miracle of the modern age.Alas it is not always as easy or advisable to use youtube as your only guide and thus i do find my self seeking out knowledgeable individuals to help me along the way.

[Lena Lvova]

Through personal experience, I can safely say that a majority of these courses are outright scams. My mother lost her job several years ago, and purchased a much too expensive course on making money through advertising online. What I noticed was that a lot of the topics in the course were just the same things being said over and over again in different words, and then at the end of every module there would be a "helpful item/extra course material" that the person was pressured to buy. Google is an amazing modern resource, and I highly suggest trying it out on your own before investing in a course. Also, public libraries have a plethora of information on jobs, both online and on site.