I decided last week to sign up for Steve Ramsey’s “Powered Up” online course. I figured I’d blog about it, and shoot video, although I don’t know what I’ll do with the video just yet. (As of right now, the course is still open. But it closes soon.)
Chances are good that if you’re interested in my blog and/or YouTube channel, you already know who Steve Ramsey is. But on the off chance you don’t, Steve has been producing YouTube videos on his “Woodworking for Mere Mortals” (WWMM) channel for ages. He’s one of my online heroes, and mentors, although of course he doesn’t know me from Adam. That’s how YouTube works, right?
Anyway, about a year ago he started an online woodworking course. I think he limits the number to 2,000 people at one time. I’m not sure how often he opens it up.
The course consists of plans and videos for making 5 projects, and I assume the complexity increases with each project.
My course started on Thursday (I think), but I had to finish my Perfect Dados video before getting to work on the first project. Right now I’m modifying the SketchUp model for the first project to something that will fit in my garage workshop, and to better suit my needs. More on that in another post.
Is it worth it?
[EDIT: 2019-01-21] As I mention in the next blog post, when I wrote the comments below, I was mis-remembering the actual cost of the course. And while it’s still not cheap, it’s not as expensive as I was thinking when I wrote this. Still, I’ll leave the rest of this post unedited, because I think it’s still valid.
I’m not going to talk about the exact cost of the course. If you want to know, go to “Powered Up” and see what you can find out. I will say, however, that it’s not cheap. Is it worth the money? At the moment I have mixed feelings.
Part of my problem is, I know what it takes to create the kinds of videos and plans that Steve has created for this course. Not to mention the incredible amount of work behind the scenes that most of you will probably never think about. Like setting up the website, legal ramifications, handling registrations, answering tons of questions, etc. It’s got to be a real struggle to meet everybody’s needs.
So how much is that worth? If it wasn’t for the fact that so much is available on YouTube for free, and $5 or $10 is a common fee for plans these days, I’d say it’s absolutely worth the cost. As a software developer, I’ve done plenty of courses like this, and they’re rarely cheap.
And of course, I think everyone should get paid for their efforts. I work really hard on my videos. 7 days a week, and I probably average 7 or 8 hours a day. The Router Lift video was over two months of 7-day-a-week effort, all by itself. And I’m not complaining here (or maybe just a little), but I probably did all that work for about $1 an hour. Good thing I’m retired, and don’t need to earn a living doing this.
Anyway, my point is, I don’t begrudge Steve making whatever he can on this course. I’m happy for him, and I’m not even jealous, because he’s paid his dues and then some. But it’s almost impossible for me to judge what the course is worth.
Also, even though I call myself “Newbie”, and truthfully I’ll be doing a lot of things I’ve never done before, there’s nothing in this course that scares me at all. I could easily learn how to do any of this by referencing free videos and other online resources. One of my biggest gifts is the ability to learn very quickly. And in that respect, I’m not like most people. So whether this course is worth the money to me specifically or not, I’m not sure how to judge its worth for other people.
I will say that the one thing I’ll be doing in this course that I’ve never done, and I’m not sure I’ll be any good at, is putting a nice finish on something like an office desk, or dining table.
So I amend my previous statement, because that does scare me. I don’t have a lot of patience, so we’ll see how that turns out. 🙄
Questions?
Feel free to ask questions, and I’ll answer what I can. I just sent the team an email asking some questions so I can be sure I don’t break copyright rules, and those kinds of questions always take a while to make sure we all understand the rules.
More later. I’ve rambled on too long.
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