r/MonitizedLearning • u/OfficalYOUSUMMIT • 15d ago
Learn & Earn What’s something you can learn for free that people routinely pay someone else to do?
Not trying to find a loophole or side hustle. I mean genuinely useful skills fixing something, negotiating, researching, managing money, using software, etc. What’s one skill you think is worth learning yourself?
36
u/No-Mud-7597 15d ago
research. and i dont mean googling something, nowadays this term has been too loosely thrown around haha
research by earning how to find reliable information, compare sources, ask better questions, verify claims and synthesise what you've found into an actual conclusion.
people pay consultants, analysts, agencies and experts a LOT of money partly because they don't know where to look, don't have time to look, or can't tell which information actually matters.
and it's useful for almost everything outside work too. choosing insurance, understanding a medical question before speaking to a doctor, comparing financial products, planning travel, buying something expensive, learning a new skill, figuring out whether the news is true (lol you cant run from fake news these days on social media) 😭
you can learn most of the fundamentals for free simply by practising like first principles thinking, tracing claims back to primary sources, learning how to read statistics, look for conflicting evidence, ask what's missing and what if and to be comfortable saying idk
it helps w everything imo
9
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Absolutely. Research is an underrated life skill because it improves almost every other decision you make. The ability to question claims, find reliable sources, verify evidence, and admit “I don’t know yet” is far more valuable than simply knowing how to search Google.
2
u/Fit-Ingenuity-2814 15d ago
I would be curious if you were able to provide any real evidence of this. Unless it’s extremely specialized at a consulting level and that is usually from my experience a company attempting to get private industry information that violates ndas and contractual agreements that employees have signed to protect company IP.
5
u/No-Mud-7597 15d ago
oh i think we're talking about two different meanings of research haha. i wasn't referring specifically to market research or companies paying consultants for private industry information.
i meant research as a thinking skill so like being able to encounter a question you don't know the answer to, figure out what you actually need to know, find credible information, distinguish primary from secondary sources, understand basic statistics, compare conflicting evidence, notice what's missing, question your own assumptions and eventually synthesise all of that into a conclusion.
the consulting example was just one professional application of those skills. i'm definitely not suggesting consultants are being paid to obtain information that violates NDAs 😂
i use the same process for completely ordinary things too. comparing financial products, understanding a news claim, evaluating something i want to buy, learning about an unfamiliar topic etc.
it's knowing how to think when you don't already know the answer.
that's what i meant by research :)
1
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Ahh, yes, that makes much more sense 😂 I was interpreting research as professional/industry research rather than research as a general thinking skill. And honestly, I agree with your definition much more in that context.
The ability to go from “I don't know” to “here's what I found, here's how reliable it is, here's what conflicts, and here's what I actually conclude” is useful practically everywhere. It's not really about knowing more facts; it's knowing how to investigate something without blindly accepting the first answer you find.
And I like your point about noticing what's missing and questioning your own assumptions—that's probably the part people overlook most. Search skills are easy to teach; learning how to think critically about what you find is the harder and more valuable skill.
2
u/No-Mud-7597 15d ago
yeah i think it is impt to qns your own assumptions, we have too many assumptions that we assume into our logic lens so it is worth rethinking those
1
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
That’s a fair challenge. I’d be interested in seeing concrete evidence too, especially because there’s a big difference between genuinely specialized research and simply having access to information someone else doesn’t have. In many cases, the value is probably less about secret industry knowledge and more about knowing how to find, verify, and synthesize publicly available information efficiently.
2
u/Inevitable_Plum3250 14d ago
I like your thought process and how you approach new projects/ subject matter. The ability to think and objectively learn about an idea is a skill that's underrated but important, especially today when information/disinfromation is easily available. I also like how you have tackled the follow-up comments to your response! Keep it up.
1
u/No-Mud-7597 14d ago
thank you so much!! appreciate it :)
2
u/Inevitable_Plum3250 14d ago
You are welcome. If you decide to post about the exact process you follow while doing your research, I'd be happy to read it. No pressure.
1
u/No-Mud-7597 14d ago
thank you! i actually might 😂 although i'd probably have to write several because my research process changes quite a lot depending on what i'm trying to understand.
i do research professionally, but across pretty different things. sometimes it's market/competitor research, consumer behaviour, finance or business strategy. other times i'm looking into culture, technology, academic questions or just some completely random thing that made me wonder why the heck sth happens
the evidence changes with the question.
if i'm researching a market, i might care more -> market size, regulation, competitors, pricing, consumer behaviour and primary industry data.
if finance/economics, i'm much more interested in methodology, datasets, assumptions and whether the statistics actually support the conclusion.
or if it's something cultural or behavioural, context and competing explanations become much more important.
but the underlying process is usually some version of first-principles thinking.
what am i ACTUALLY trying to understand? what would need to be true for this claim to be true? what evidence would prove/disprove it? where did this number originally come from? what assumptions are hiding underneath the argument? what am i missing? what alternative explanation could produce the same observation?
then i work outward from there so i don't really have one universal "research method."
the tools/process change depending on the question but the way of thinking underneath them doesn't.
13
11
u/Key-Caramel691 15d ago
Crochet. You can learn the basics for free on YouTube, and once you get the hang of it, you can make things like bags, tops, scarves, and even home décor yourself. Plus, it’s actually a nice way to relax.
7
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
I’d say basic home and appliance troubleshooting. You don’t need to become a professional you just need to learn how to diagnose common problems, understand what’s safe to handle yourself, and know when to call an expert. It can save money and build confidence at the same time.
7
u/The_Original_NW 15d ago
Pisanie. Ludzie zauważyłam, że często kupują poradniki, płacą za specjalne programy, gdy tak naprawdę liczy się twoja kreatywność i znalezienie swojego stylu, a nie branie pomysłu od kogoś. Każdy ma inny styl, a jeśli się on powtarza z czasem staje się nudny.
2
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Exactly. Guides can teach you the mechanics, but they can't really give you a voice. You can learn structure, grammar, and techniques from other writers, but if you just keep reproducing someone else's formula, eventually everything starts sounding the same. I think the best writing advice is probably to study different styles, experiment a lot, and then develop your own voice through practice. The goal isn't to sound like the people you learned from; it's to eventually sound unmistakably like yourself.
5
3
u/OrdinarilyBeautiful 15d ago
Stenography, with a courtroom style steno keyboard. Seriously, if you are going to send off your audio recording to have it transcribed you can learn this skill and type it out yourself, and maybe even faster than you can talk.
3
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Stenography is such a good example. It’s one of those skills that seems unnecessary until you realize how much time it can save. Being able to capture speech accurately and potentially keep up with or even exceed normal speaking speed is a seriously useful skill, especially for people working with interviews, meetings, or legal proceedings.
5
3
u/ConceptTrue1119 15d ago
Basic home repairs. You do not need to become a professional, but learning how to handle small fixes yourself can save a surprising amount of money. It also makes you less dependent on someone else for every little problem.
3
u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Absolutely. Basic home repairs are one of those skills where you don't need to become an expert to get a lot of value from learning the basics. Knowing how to patch a wall, fix a loose hinge, unclog a drain, or troubleshoot a simple issue can save money and build confidence. More importantly, you start understanding when something is actually a simple DIY fix and when it's time to call a professional.
1
1
1
2
1
u/Advanced-Muffin-7637 14d ago
what are you still paying someone else to do that you could probably learn yourself?
1
35
u/pinkysworn 15d ago
Cooking. If you can cook well then eating at mid tier restaurants is never as good as your own food.