What subjects are you self-educated in?

In My Humble Opinion
1

At the moment I’m trying to go through Exercise & Nutritional Science. I can’t claim to be an expert, but I do know a few things.

Next (after I get bored) I’ll probably move on to Basic Math and Logic. Actually maybe I’ll go back and finish that Advanced Stats books I never got round to completing.

These are my areas of interest at the moment, so I’m DIY’ing their asses.
So, what subjects are you self-taught (or are in the process of teaching yourself) in?
NOTE: this only refers to stuff that you are teaching yourself or have taught yourself in. No formal academic training.

2

A+ ceritifcation. Failed the Network+ a couple months ago, but will give it another try here soon.

3

I’m self-taught in C++. I took a class in it (AP Comp Sci) in high school, but it doesn’t count. The teacher knew absolutely nothing about programming; she was a Physics teacher who was given the class because nobody else would have it. Her qualifications were a one-month Java course at the community college and a copy of C++ for dummies.

Being of the sort that picks things up quickly, I flipped through the textbook, downloaded DevC++ (an open-source compiler), played around a bit, and figured out what I was doing. From that point on, I taught the class…literally. If I couldn’t figure out how to do something (read: if I didn’t feel like doing it), the class skipped that project. I gave the teacher a couple after-school lessons on different ways to accomplish upcoming projects. It was actually quite fun.

French I-IV were like that too, although I can’t quite make the same claim, since my teacher did in fact speak fluent French. It’s just that the class was full of morons who, despite having it pounded into their heads for four years, still couldn’t conjugate être (“to be”) from memory. Come on, people! We’re into the subjunctive and past perfect now, and you can’t $@%!ing conjugate “to be”?

I think my tendency to make outbursts like that were a large part of why the teacher allowed me to spend the class in the library, doing whatever the hell I wanted to do, as long as I showed up for the tests and maintained an A average. Because of that arrangement, I include French on the list.

I’m self-taught in philosophy, if you count the formulation of one’s own ideas as an “education”. I have a fairly comprehensive framework of interconnected beliefs, as well as ideals as to how to formulate and analyze such ideas, all of which comprise the fundament of my future endeavor I’m calling the Freedom of Thought Movement. Not exactly classical philosophy, but I came up with it on my own, so it counts.

I’m also trying to learn guitar, but I swear the accursed things were created by someone with fingers the length of Shaquille O’Neal’s and the width of a baby’s. Then again, I can play a C, an A, and a D, and that was good enough for the Beatles, so… :wink:

Cheap shots at the Beatles aside, that’s all I can think of for the moment. As far as I’m concerned, self-teaching is the way to go if at all possible. It provides a far better understanding of the subject at hand than simply learning from lectures and a textbook.

4

With the exception of computer programming itself, everything I know about computers is self-taught. I have taken two classes in Pascal in HS, and one semester of C++ and sort of a semester in C in college, but I forget almost all of it anyways. I was using a computer with Win 3.0 and DOS since I was 7 or 8. I even taught myself (basic) BASIC.

5

I have taught myself to play piano and keyboards, drums, bass, and acoustic & electric guitars; to compose and arrange songs; how all of the equipment in a recording studio works and how to use it to make multitrack recordings. Also, how broadcasting works and how to operate the equipment and use the voice to become a radio announcer and sound engineer. I’ve learned to restore old recordings to pristine shape on the computer, and how to scale down the functions of a studio to make multitrack recordings at home using software. I can also restore old photos and make DVDs. I taught myself to cook, and how to paint houses, inside and out. Best of all, despite having no role models or examples to follow, I taught myself to be a husband worth staying married to.

6

Im self taught in management of an IT helpd desk
HTML
ASP
PHP
Javascript
VB
C
XML

Basically anything i take an interest in i either scour the web or go to the library and borrow the books i need.

Best education you can get IMO

7

I’ve taught myself, or informally learned: basic meteorology and severe weather dynamics (ongoing, as it occurs here), basic radio communications and theory (very basic), beer making, and chromatography (also ongoing). I also taught myself BASIC (25 years ago) and some HTML.

Vlad/Igor

8

Computer troubleshooting, specializing in PC security. I’m the college’s expert on viruses and spyware.

Writing science fiction. I do have an M.A. degree in writing, but I started taking that after my novel was published.

Technical writing.

Desktop publishing.

Computer Graphics.

9

Every kind of computer-y stuff there is, starting with IT kinds of stuff waaaay back in the mid to late 80s up through 93 or so, then on into more hardcore coding. I’ve recently (in the past couple years) picked up enough Web stuff that I can do that as well. I still think of myself as primarily a C++/Database person, though (ie, that’s where most of my experience is.)

I’m also a damn good cook, and that’s mostly self taught. OK, I did take a couple week-long courses in French Cuisine, but most of what I know I’ve figured out through experimentation and reading. Like most of my hobbies, I tend to go hardcore into it; I like doing things from scratch and having from-scratch ingredients around.

Currently, my main pursuit is writing. This one I’m hoping to take from the hobbiest level into something I can do professionally. I toyed around with cooking professionally, but I don’t think the day in day out routine, coupled with the low pay, would be much fun for me. So writing it is. (It’s not computers, because there just ain’t much need for C++ coders up here in the middle of nowhere. Well, unless I can get that one software gig up and going…)

10

I have a strong interest in astronomy but no formal education. I taught myself the stars with star charts, and I keep current on celestial happenings and theory by subscribing to “Astronomy”.

Last year for awhile one could see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn at the same time in the sky. I got a kick out of showing the planets to the neighbor kids and showing them how the positions changed over time. I’d also point out the constellations. One evening one of the kids looked at me and said, “You’re just making that all up, aren’t you?” I got a kick out of that.

I have a degree in Computer Science, but back when I started it was pretty primitive, and all mainframe. The professor I worked for bought an early Mac, and I had a lot of fun teaching myself to use it. He was very impressed when I was able to build him a mailing list database that would use selected criteria to print out mailing labels.

There’s not much I can’t do with a computer if I’m willing to spend a bit of time on the drudgery of learning it. I do mainframe database software technical support, and really the only difference between me and the people who call me is that I know I have to do the dirty work and they know they can get me to do it.

11

HTML, tending bar, and I know a fair bit about railways.

12

I’ve taught myself to read music.

13

I don’t know anything about computers. However, I taught myself everything I know about the Civil War, especially Sherman. I’ve learned a lot about taking care of cats, mostly due to having to nurse an FIV+ cats through various mini health crises. I took art lessons when I was in grade school, but the stuff I do now, including sculpture and collage, all self-taught. Same goes for acting.

14

Hmm, let’s see here:

Cooking, engineering, business management, tech support for satellite phones, some electronics, car repair, PC maintence, and comparative religions.

15

Let’s see . . .

Web design (such as it is), Digital art (Photoshop, etc.), Calligraphy, and a few other things I can’t think of, I’m sure.

16

History-- which comes in handy because I work in a museum.

Sociology-- my husband teaches it at our local branch campus. He has a lot of wonderful books on the subject which I’ve read over the years.

Cultural anthropology-- I have a fascination with human behavior.

17

Poker, in particular (though almost all poker players are self-taught).

Civil War and WW2 history (I took the history courses in college, but I’ve learned far more before and since on my own).

18

At one point I would have been considered a Master Gardener.

Completely self taught.

Spending the long winters pouring over gardening books and catalogs beats watching TV.

If you actually saw my garden now you would point and laugh.

19

hmm, military history, guitar, telecommunications (all OJT), and cooking.

20

Sewing- I love costume history, and I’ve made a fair number of outfits. Spinning with a drop spindle. Cooking.