I once heard it said that opportunity is not attracted to need but
to ability.  In other words, if we want opportunities to come our way
the way that happens is not through wanting it bad enough (sorry law of
attraction/The Secret types), but becoming the type of person who can
carry out the opportunity.  (I realize that statement completely takes the spiritual realm out of the equation, so don’t e-mail me to death.)

Therefore, if you want more opportunity, you need to develop your
skills and abilities.  You need to work on personal development.  You need to develop and refine the gifts that God has given you.

Today it is easier than ever to make that happen because of the
Internet.  There is a wealth of information available, amazing podcasts
for download, libraries can share resources miles apart, and one can
get a master’s degree quite easily.

And soon you will be able to take courses at M.I.T. FOR FREE.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology will become by year’s end the first U.S. university
to offer all of its roughly 1,800 courses free on the Internet,
a school official said on Friday.

"We started this project because MIT believes that one of
the best ways to advance education around the world is through
the Internet," said Anne Margulies, head of online curriculum.

Source and the rest of the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070310/wr_nm/mit_online_dc

Now
these classes are not for credit.  But I think while a degree is
becoming more irrelevant, an education is becoming more important.
While these classes may not be of help to you and your field, I believe
it is a preview for what is to come.