One of the less orthodox methods of learning is by correspondence. The TAFE organisation OTEN is a great resource for learning courses by correspondence and one that I highly recommend.

Learning your course by correspondence can bring some great advantages.

1. 1. Can learn at your own pace (faster or slower)
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3. 2. You can do your course at any time of the day. You can fit your course around work, meaning you can still have a full time job and get that income whilst you study.
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5. 3. You don’t have to drive to a place and save on travel costs.

I just recently completed a Property practice course through OTEN which was a great experience. I received all the relevant course materials to complete the assignments and as long as you have access to a computer, you can load the course material CD’s up and get started right away.

Because of the fact that you can do the course material at any time of the day, it is great for career changers particularly. They can keep up their previous career whilst studying something else.

With this method of study, there are some drawbacks. There is the drawback of becoming less motivated to complete the course when you know you have a long time to complete it. You can slip into being lazy with learning by correspondence. However, what should motivate you is the quicker you get your course completed, the quicker you can start looking for that great job! Also, you usually have to pay front up for the course, so if you don’t complete the course you know that you will lose that investment.

You receive all the relevant support through the OTEN support line if you have any questions about your course.

I think you will be surprised what you can do by correspondence. Check out the OTEN website at www.tafensw.edu.au/oten and see what options are available for you.