Things are not as they were even 10 years ago.

Technology advances at such a rapid rate, that it is almost becoming somewhat alarming.

While we can all sit here and think about how the machines are eventually going to take over the world, we could also make the best of the technology we have available today.

Other than just serving as one of the main sources of entertainment in the world, the Internet as we know it is a tool like no other.

Perhaps calling it a tool might seem a bit misleading as it is so diverse. A more appropriate name for it would be a “resource”, which is seemingly infinite to the average person.

Allowing one to look at cat videos one minute, then to study the importance of the Italian renaissance the next, it truly is a resource like no other.

Of course, other than just knowledge, we also have access to many tools which would be unthinkable mere decades ago as well as opportunities which were not so commonplace before.

For example, the ability to sell just about anything online, with relative ease, or buying design software like the Adobe Suite, or even maybe some CAD software which would otherwise be almost exclusively reserved for workshops.

If you put your mind to it, the world is your oyster. And with the number of opportunities presented to us in this day and age right in front of us on our own monitors or phone screens, we just don’t have too much of an excuse to not go ahead and grab them.

So, what are you waiting for?

Let’s look at just a few amazing opportunities available to you online, which you could go and get involved in, starting right now.

Get educated, get qualified, get skills

Whether you want to actually learn a skill or two, or you just want a fancy piece of paper with your name on it to appeal to some influential people, both options are fully available to you.

If you just want to learn to do something you are passionate about and know that if you get good enough at you could make a living off it, freelance or not, then you could even theoretically do it for free.

There are more than enough online tutorials and learning resources which are free of charge, scattered all over YouTube, personal blogs and tutorial websites.

Whether it happens to be graphic design which you want to get into, 3D modelling, or even programming, there is something for you out there to help you on your way.

Lessons can only get you so far with these kinds of things, but in the end, you need to put in the work yourself, practicing and experimenting.

If you wish to get qualified “properly”, with teachers and certificates and a program which teaches you the cutting edge industry standards, it won’t be free, but definitely still worth it.

This can range from just about anything, but to give you an idea of the scope of online teaching, you can even get an online psychology degree.

Of course, you can also go and learn all those things previously mentioned, in the proper, correct way, which will save you a lot of trial and error after hours.

The best thing about all this, is due to its online nature, the time schedule for these kinds of online courses is mostly pretty loose and rather flexible.

This allows you to partake without giving up your steady income which puts food on the table and a roof over your head.

Even if you feel like you are stuck in your job without much prospects and the rat race is really getting to you, just remember that these opportunities exist and you can make a career change even if you are already working your average 9 to 5 job.

Opportunity to run a shop

If you have access to stock of any kind, or you know someone who makes something, or perhaps you have previously acquired some skills which allow you to make something yourself, then we now live in an age where you can sell those things to anyone across the globe.

Online shopping has become such a staple part in people’s lives, that it is basically the standard right alongside normal old-fashioned shopping, and any physical outlet worth its salt has an online shop as well.

No matter whether you are selling arts and crafts, keychains, t-shirts, old things you find around the house, or something more along the lines of computer parts, smartphones or headphones, you can start running your online shop in no time.

Now, whether you decide to put these up on an existing online selling platform like Amazon or eBay.

Or you can host your own online shop on your very own website, that is entirely up to you.

If you host your own shop, it will most definitely seem a bit more prestigious and people will most probably be willing to dish out slightly more cash for your products.

That said, this will only work on certain markets, not to mention, your website does not get automatic exposure, unlike listings you make on an existing website.

If you put up your products on eBay or Amazon, they get included in people’s search results just by virtue of being on that website, and considering they are currently the two leading platforms in online shopping, it might be worth setting up an account.

Of course, at the end of the day, nothing is stopping you from running both, an online shop on your own domain, and a separate outlet on eBay, Amazon, Zazzle or Etsy.

In case this all seems like too much hassle for what it is, just keep in mind that the alternative is to get your very own venue somewhere in the city.

Pay rent for or buy said venue, keep it well maintained, deal with potential break-ins or robberies and a plethora of other issues which get completely taken out of the equation when your shop only exists in a virtual space.

Not that having a physical shop doesn’t come with its own merits, but it cannot exactly be ran from your bedroom or your garage.

Isn’t the Internet great?