If there is one thing that's true about the modern day workforce, its that technology is changing so fast that you have to be continually learning to keep up with it. This is not so much a strategy for what to do while one is between jobs, although it definitely applies, as it is a life strategy. The traditional strategy for this has been to enroll in classes and attend conferences where new products and visions are discussed. But what do you do if you can't afford to enroll in those expensive seminars (which are probably teaching last year's skills anyway) or travel to that hot conference? Welcome to the world of GoogleU.

These days, I meet more young people, those who are high school or college age, who tell me for some subjects they never even crack open their text books. Instead they do most of their learning online. If they can do it so can you.

For instance, I'm working on my PHP skills in order to be a better Wordpress blogger. A quick search on Google almost always finds me the answer I need. If not, there is likely a forum with a helpful soul, or even better, someone who has already asked the same question. This is how I learned CSS as well. Call it situational learning.

The other big segment in online learning is video/presentation recordings. If you're taking art history at Podunk University, shouldn't you also be watching the Harvard Art History Professor's lectures on the same thing online? You can, and they're free. Checkout Education Portal as a great starting point to find more lectures.

Can't make it to that important industry conference? There's a good chance that someone either live blogged the session you're interested, a video of it was posted on YouTube or Vimeo, the slides are on slideshare, the author posted their notes on their blog, or even all over the above. I've been taking a crash course on Affiliate Marketing and found some great lectures from a conference I didn't even know existed two weeks ago. Now, I'm much more likely to attend in person in the future if I find work as an affiliate manager.

So what are the take aways here? If you're not yet in the workforce, the most important thing you can learn is how to learn. This will set you up for a lifetime of continued learning as the world changes around you. If you are in the work force, maybe you can talk your boss into devoting a few hours a week to this sort of virtual learning. If not, it's quite simple to do at home. If you're between jobs, devote some time each week to keeping up with the skills you use in your career, and learn as much about that job you are interviewing for, sometimes based on lectures from the very company you're hiring into.