Last updated on January 23rd, 2019 at 06:18 pm
Who remembers the late 1990s?
This was when the internet arrived in many homes here in The Bahamas.
Thanks to the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (at the time referred to as BaTelCo), we had direct access to the world wide web.
Although internet page load times were distressingly slow, it was worth the wait to see what would unfold as the information appeared drip by drip.
Who actually understood what this meant for the future of The Bahamas? I sure didn’t.
After all, during that time, research for school projects was done at the library or with a set of encyclopedias. Whatever was written in those books was considered true and trusted.
Unless you traveled much, your exposure to other cultures came through your daily interactions with teachers and foreign nationals living around you.
What we knew of colleges and jobs came mainly from school guidance counselors, college fairs or employment opportunities that existed in our community.
Once secondary education was complete, you usually had 2 options;
1. Go to college – either in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the USA or
2. Get a job – usually here in the Bahamas
Fast forward 2o years
Today, the internet is faster than ever. One hasn’t the time to wait longer than 3 seconds for pages to load.
Today, research for a school projects can be overwhelming. Not because of the lack of information, but because of the abundance of information which is sometimes contradictory or misleading.
It’s never been easier to connect directly with colleges, job opportunities or individuals from around the world. The middle man isn’t a necessity anymore.
Cultural exchanges can happen directly over the internet.
And since you’re reading this, you know that education can be found at your fingertips or with the slide of your index finger.
The Playing Field is Now Level
But let’s talk about how this flat world has leveled the playing field for your post-secondary education options.
There is now a 3rd option to consider once your secondary education is complete.
And it is……
3. Careers online.
Online careers can take the form of employment with a company online, or online entrepreneurship opportunities.
No longer are your career choices restricted to what’s available in the local classified ads.
The good news is, with a little creativity and determination your new career can be online based and serving thousands, or millions of people around the world.
With the creation of websites like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer this is very feasible.
Are you interested in graphic design? Awesome! You can study that for free online, create a portfolio for yourself and then use it to reach an international audience. This can be done without stepping foot out of your front door.
Whatever you’re interested in doing, you can now connect directly with bloggers, freelancers, or entrepreneurs and learn the ins and outs of that career path, without even leaving your couch.
Unlike the past, there’s really no need to go into a career blindly or with partial information.
Because of all of this, I can say that the world is now flat (economically)!
The world is your oyster, and with consistent effort and patience you can do almost anything.
What are your goals? Can the flat economy help you achieve success with them?
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