The misunderstood concept of “self-teaching”
“Self-taught”: one of the words we often fail to translate. Even though humans have always learned by observing, experimenting, imitating, and innovating, today it seems hard to understand how people teach themselves a subject, while self-taught professionals are often met with skepticism. Self-taught designers, artists, content creators, writers, and editors may have a hard time proving their value, despite having beautiful work to show. Living in the most technologically developed age, it is really worth wondering why this is still the case.
So, what does it mean to be a self-taught professional? According to the dictionary, “self-taught” means “taught by oneself (a skill or knowledge) without the aid of formal instruction.” While there is nothing wrong with this definition, it barely scratches the surface of the concept. So, let’s try to expand and enrich this definition.
Being self-taught also means…
Curiosity & Passion
Genuine curiosity and interest are what drive people to teach themselves a subject. They don’t have to. They want to. Self-taught individuals often had the choice of another career path—probably safer, easier, and more straightforward. But their passion and enthusiasm for their subject led them to choose what they love most.
Accountability
Many people think being self-taught means not liking to study. But it really means choosing how you study and taking full responsibility for your learning. Teaching yourself something means that you are both the teacher and the student. You are responsible for both roles. As a teacher, you have to choose sources of knowledge that are interesting and engaging, find learning methods that suit you, and ensure that you are progressing. You may want to go deeper into something or just briefly read it, choosing what to include and what to exclude based on your interests and needs. As a student, you have to do the work and stay consistent, even when you find it hard to, because you are aware that your progress relies completely on you. You have the freedom to choose your terms, but also the responsibility to do the work.
Risk-taking
Self-teaching comes with great risk and no guarantee. Nobody promises success, status, or opportunities when you decide to learn something on your own. You just hope that one day, somehow, you may have the opportunity to practice what you learn. This hope and genuine interest are all you have. You learn simply because you want to challenge yourself and because you love the subject.
Creativity
Creativity often comes with a passion for innovation, and self-teaching is usually chosen by creative individuals. Creativity is about finding new connections and approaches. It is the ability to combine concepts that seem irrelevant and/or have not been combined before to make something new. As self-teaching is driven by personal interests, it is often the case that a self-taught professional has chosen to learn subjects that seem completely irrelevant to each other. This means that they carry a unique blend of knowledge from different subjects, which they incorporate into their work, making it unique, interesting, and often innovative.
Resilience & Determination
“Free time” is usually when self-teaching happens. Someone who is self-taught probably learned while having a full-time job, being a student, or having a family already, etc. Self-studying means that you invest the time and energy left from your daily life to learn something. Does it mean staying up late or waking up early to study and practice? Or pushing yourself even when you’re already tired? Maybe. But what it surely means is that, through time, you build resilience and confidence in what you learn. That makes you keep going
Polymathy
In Ancient Greece, a polymath was someone whose knowledge spanned many different (often complex) subjects. Polymaths were usually self-taught (although the term didn’t exist back then) and were often praised for their creativity and ability to innovate. Today, many self-taught individuals are polymaths as well. They have a passion for learning and experimenting with new subjects, seeing no limits to what they can explore. If something is interesting and necessary, they are happy to learn even if it’s outside their expertise. This benefits the individual, but also others, as it allows innovation and inspiration to happen. Initial ignorance and willingness to experiment are what bring fresh ideas to a field. For example, an artist who learned how to create content for social media approaches the subject in a different, fresh way than a digital marketer who is already experienced with the subject.
This is just an alternative approach to self-teaching. Now, does that all mean that self-teaching is better than studying in an institution? No. It doesn’t work for everyone, and it is not the appropriate technique for all subjects. But we can see this information as an invitation to consider that behind every degree or the absence of it, there is more than we see. There is a story worth-telling. Knowledge says nothing if someone is not driven to use it.
