Are you seeking to discover what is online learning about? This is a review of Wealthy Affiliate University, one of the internet’s oldest and most successful online training and learning platforms.
It is more than an online platform though. There are many facets to the environment that makes it more of a home and a community than a platform. Many online successes emerge here and many lives are changed.
The members of Wealthy Affiliate, (WA), number over 2 million and come from a rich and diverse background. Almost every country in the world is represented there and, either in spite of that or because of it, it is viewed as a highly respected place of education and learning.
I am currently in my sophomore year and enjoying remarkable success. Allow me to share some insights for you to consider.
The Traditional Experience
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Like most of you, my early education was done in the traditional years and started in the late 60s.
I started preschool at the age of 3, learning the basics like reading and writing. My grandmother could not do either one and I was expected to learn quickly and help her when she needed it.
At the age of 5, I started primary school at one of my country’s top Catholic public schools. Whilst I do have some fond memories of it, I tended to enjoy the time spent with my grandmother in the market more. It was a colourful and vibrant environment and I had the opportunity to meet new people every day and listen to and observe all the adult happenings.
It was never dull and always very entertaining.
At the age of 7, I was taken to England and continued my primary education there. Then it was on to secondary school having successfully completed my first nerve-wracking school placement examination at the tender age of 10 years.
I continued on through the British system of O’Levels, AO’Levels and A’Levels – all successful – and started at University.
Then in the early 80s, I was introduced to the world of computers and my learning and education took a different twist.
The Online Experience
In the early 80s, I qualified as a Programmer and Systems Analyst working with some of the best mainframes of the day. It was an absolute delight.
To qualify, although I did have coursework to follow and exams to take, I was able to study at my own pace. In addition, I had the opportunity to implement what I was learning and see it come to fruition right before my eyes.
That was captivating and highly engaging.
I spent many, many late nights and very early mornings studying and practicing my craft as I wrote programs and experimented with the systems I was creating. It was my first experience with the potential of technology to educate in a different way.
Over the years, as my career moved through different touch points, I never strayed far from technology. It was a pleasure to be able to use technology to make learning and education easily accessible.
As technological improvements were made, it soon became possible to learn from the palm of my hand. Resources such as podcasts, blog posts and webinars available online meant that any information I wanted was right there. All I needed to have was a good internet connection.
The Discovery of Wealthy Affiliate University
According to worldometers.com, the current world population is over 7.8 billion (11 January 2021).
Of this 7.8 billion, almost 4.7 billion are internet users, with over 66% residing in Asia and Europe. Therefore, when you are on the internet you are connected to over 50% of the world’s population.
Think about the potential for learning and education and the possibilities for networking, trading, and earning. When you Google in the mix as your encyclopedia, there is absolutely nothing that is outside of your reach on the internet.
It is this vast educational chamber that facilitated my entry to Wealthy Affiliate University (WAU), in October 2019. I was searching for information about coffee, stumbled upon an article about one more cup of coffee and clicked on a few words that took me to WAU.
It was so easy to get started, learning about online entrepreneurship and how to build a website. What really attracted me to it was the fact that it was FREE to get started and try it out. What traditional university do you know that would give you that opportunity.
So I did just that and began my education about Content & Affiliate Marketing.
Getting Started
What really engaged me at WA was the fact that I could benefit from earning while I was learning. No university I know would do that for me unless I was working for it. I would be on a fixed-income though and certainly not be given the opportunity to invest in the university!
If I followed the training, I could graduate with a successful, growing online business in the real world, with current and up-to-date learning.
Do you realise that a lot of the information you are paying to get at university is redundant and no longer relevant by the time that you graduate?
Yep! That realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks!
I continue to work through my own (re)learning at WA and participate in the global internet business space. It has brought home the awareness that we would be failing our children if we did not get them involved in this kind of education as early as possible.
For a brief moment look back at the pandemic of 2020 and the need for home-schooling, working at home, home education. Actually, home everything!
The world was not prepared for it and without the internet, you would have been left behind.
Education Streams at WAU
My initial route at WAU was the Online Entrepreneur Certification course.
A 5-phase program with 50 lessons on Affiliate and Content Marketing. The first 10 lessons are FREE.
You can learn and discover at your own pace, go over the program as many times as you like and communicate with members of the community who are available to help you 24/7.
The second stream is the Affiliate Bootcamp. In this program, you will learn how to become an Affiliate Marketer for the WAU and platform.
It is a 70 lesson program that teaches you how to navigate social media, understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to write content to promote your Affiliate business.
All in all, you take yourself through 120 lessons in the 2 programs before earning your certification badges at WAU. But it does not stop there.
In the same way that you go onto to complete higher and further education at traditional universities and colleges, you do the same at WAU.
There are tutorials, webinars, ongoing training and live classes almost every day of the week. These are supported by the members of the community who are always available to support you and answer any question that you may have.
Comparing Financial Investments
Whilst there is prestige in attending higher places of learning and institutions, the financial outlay can be prohibitive if you are able to get accepted. The competition is fierce as this video from CNBC shows you:
The average cost of an undergraduate degree is between US $25,000 to $50,000 per year for 3 years. Compare that to using the 3 years to study online and graduate with more earnings than that in your bank account.
Which seems more attractive?
Within the WAU community, many members are students who are either studying and also learning to build their online business or they have chosen to invest their money and time in building their earnings online.
WAU starts at either US $49 to $99 per month, depending on the membership plan that you choose. That is US $600 to $1,200 per year.
During my first year at WAU, I have earned enough to pay my way through graduate school, IF I felt the need to. But, why would I when I am learning and earning at my own pace and without limits?
Choose Your Path
The objective of learning and education is to facilitate your growth development and success. It should afford you an opportunity to experience joy in what you do and to earn sufficient to build a comfortable lifestyle for yourself and your loved ones.
So many traditional graduates are struggling in the current global context to gain an education, become qualified and earn a respectable income.
Online learning may be the opportunity that you need to enable you to do all of those things in the comfort of your own space and at your own pace.
I encourage, as someone who has travelled both paths, to give yourself the benefit of the doubt and explore both options. You would then be making better-informed decisions for your life and your future.
I currently live in my Birth Country, Trinidad and I am the proud mother of a truly beautiful 10-year old daughter. She is a very talented Dancer, Ballerina, Moko Jumbie and Swimmer.
As an Entrepreneur, I have started businesses in New Zealand, the USA and here in Trinidad. I have lived and worked all over the world – England, USA, Africa, New Zealand, Central America, (to name a few).
We LOVE! to travel and explore cultures.
In October 2019, after drifting around the internet, I launched my Digital Entrepreneur Footprint with Wealthy Affiliate.
Today I manage 3 profitable websites, coach other Digital Entrepreneurs, design training programs to strengthen the personal leadership required for business and, I educate my daughter through travel and other human and cultural experiences.
Would you like the freedom to build your own successful online business and enjoy the lifestyle that suits you best?
Leave a comment below and let me know if I can help you join the growing profession of Content & Affiliate Marketing.
It will be my pleasure!