Have you ever wondered if you can use the internet to support your career? You probably already know you can take courses to expand your awareness and learn new skills, but there are many other ways the internet can support you professionally.
1. Get your CEUs Online
If you’re a licensed professional and you have yearly educational requirements to meet, you can get your CEUs online. For example, if you’re a respiratory therapist, you can get CRCE credits online from Last Minute CEUs that meet AARC requirements.
Gone are the days where you could only get CEUs by completing in-person training. The internet is a great substitute for in-person courses, and is often more convenient. You can take self-paced training courses and live courses online to put toward your yearly CEU requirements.
2. Publish your best Advice
Everyone has something of value to share with the world. What’s your area of expertise? What wisdom can you impart to the world? Think about it for a while and you’ll come up with something.
You can actually earn a living by giving advice online through YouTube and other online spaces. Advice will never go out of style, as long as you’re sharing information people want to hear. Advice has been popular for hundreds of years; that’s why you see so many advice columns in the newspaper.
YouTube is the easiest platform to monetize because it gets the lion’s share of views. You’ll need to build a following first, but once you reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewed hours in the last twelve months, you’ll qualify to monetize your channel.
Some YouTubers make around $2,000 USD per month with just a few thousand subscribers, while others make much more.
3. Take your Entire Career Online
If you don’t like the idea of working in an office, or meeting with clients in person, you can move your career entirely online. With some professions, it’s easier said than done. For example, tax preparation, graphic design, and marketing are easy enough to do entirely online. However, that’s not possible with massage therapy.
Can’t go online? Start a side gig
If your current profession doesn’t lend itself to a completely online format, launch an online business as a side gig, like an online shop selling t-shirts. If you still love your career, you can grow your side business and pay people to manage it for you.
Your new gig doesn’t have to be full-time to start. For instance, you can spend the first six months working part-time, contracting with graphic designers to gather images for your t-shirts and other merchandise. Once you have your designs, find a print shop with good deals for bulk printing and stock your merch.
Once you have a stash of merch, plan your website and create a marketing strategy. Build out your site and then launch when you’re ready.
4. Use the Internet to Become an Expert
The internet is a vast resource for knowledge, advice, tips, tricks, and wisdom. If your goal is to advance your career or just be more effective, search for information that will help you become an expert in your field.
For example, start by searching for free advice on YouTube. Then, try course websites like Lynda, Coursera, and Udemy. You’ll find a wealth of information on course websites, and they’re not usually that expensive.
Anything new you can learn will help you become an expert in your field. It helps to have a well-rounded view of your industry. For instance, learn about your clients’ industries. It will help you establish more rapport with them, which will then increase your value to them.
Online Businesses can be Extremely Lucrative
If you’ve never launched an online business, you might be wondering if they’re all that profitable. The answer is yes, although it will take hard work to make your business profitable. However, the results will be worth the effort.
