Self Study or Teach Yourself

Self study is the type of learning where you are 100% responsible for the outcome. It involves researching a concept, subject or topic through books, online websites and other types of media. You set the learning goals by yourself, draw up a lesson plan and then do your own reading and learning.

1. Self study is the cheapest way to learn a skill. It is cheaper than training, coaching, mentoring or distance learning.

2. Self study is not the most productive or the fastest way to learn a skill. It is easier for you to give up on your study goals because you are only accountable to yourself. It is easier for you to skip on scheduled lessons because you are only accountable to yourself.

3. Self study is great if you don’t care about feedback. The books you are reading are not likely to tell you anything about how you are doing or talk back to you. So, if you like learning in solitude without any feedback from other people, self study may be ideal for you.

Coaching

Coaching involves someone else other than yourself walking you through your study material.

1. Coaching is more expensive than self study because you have to pay for your coach’s time.

2. Coaching is a quicker, faster, surer way to achieve your learnng goals and here is why. When you pay a coach to learn a skill (body building, writing, internet marketing, etc.) you are more likely to do whatever it takes to complete your program. So, you are more committed and invested in your goal.

3. Learning a new technical skill can be a difficult or frustrating experience at times and having a coach walk you through the process can save you a lot of tears, detours and time.

4. Your coach can show you the shortcuts that shave years off your learning curve. There is a limit to how much you can actually learn about a subject just by reading it. A coach can supply that experiential knowledge that will take you years to learn otherwise. That is why the top performers in almost every industry have mentors who are above them.

5. Since coaching is a one-to-one relationship, you must admire and respect your coach and also get along fairly well with your coach otherwise you may well be wasting your money and your time.

I hope this clarifies things for you. On my website, I have IT Career Books for computer programmers, business analysts and other software development professionals. These books are perfect if you are a do-it-yourself kind of person.

At the same time, I also have coaching programs that provide personalized, one-on-one attention or feedback. So, just do what works for you … get the ebooks if you prefer self study or the coaching programs if you want a guide, mentor or trainer that will walk you through your learning.

About The Author

My name is Kingsley Tagbo and I’m a technical expert living in Saint Louis, Missouri. I write about the training, coaching, mentoring and personal development of software development professionals including business analysts, computer programmers, testers, project managers, web designers, data analysts, report writers, software developers and other information technology professionals .

My firm, Exacticity, performs software development consulting and training for clients throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. If you are in need of software development consultants or training, click here to get in touch with me.

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