Q&A: Should I self-study or get a tutor?

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I want to learn subject XYZ but there aren’t any adaptive learning systems for it. Should I self study to the best of my ability, or hire a tutor?

Answer

It’s hard to say because the effectiveness of self-study (and consequently the value-add of an human tutor) depends greatly on how effective a self-study system you’re able to set up.

Some people manage to set up a self-study system that, while less efficient than one-on-one tutoring, is efficient enough to reach their goals in a reasonable timeframe. Other people don’t.

For some people it works out that the extra efficiency boost of tutoring is worth the price. For other people it doesn’t.

I would recommend to just give it a shot, see how efficiently you can self-study, see how much more efficiently you can learn with a tutor, compare that to the price, and make the best decision for you based on that data.

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