Is a cannabis education worth getting?
Now that the pandemic has shuttered entire industries, leaving millions with less income, many are considering upgrading their education so that they can have a fair shot at a new career. It's the perfect time to do it, especially with so many courses being offered online, but is cannabis a viable path that's worth the time and financial investment?
What types of cannabis education options are there?
It still feels new and exciting, but that doesn't mean there's any shortage of options when it comes to different types of cannabis education. You could be signing up for edibles courses that could get you licensed and ready to bake canna-sweets in the comfort of your kitchen. Or you could enroll in an official cannabis college course if you've got an interest in more specialized fields such as cultivation or business. Some universities are even rolling out in-person and online options that are easy to take advantage of.
The more you look, the more you'll realize that there's a lot of professional work that goes into building a thriving cannabis industry, making the options for positions and topics nearly endless. Hence, there is something out there for almost everyone. However, the average cost of getting a cannabis education depends heavily upon what type you're looking to get into, and you might be surprised to learn that it's a pretty vast difference from one to the next.
How much do they cost?
If you're not looking to commit to anything long term, then it might be best to start with something small like a cannabis cooking or extraction course to give you a feel of what might be involved, without spending a fortune to find out that you're not interested in something. These kinds of courses can cost anywhere from $50-$1500 depending on the specialty and what you get to take away from it all at the end of the day, a relatively reasonable investment that will take you one step closer to cannabis jobs.
Cannabis college and university courses, on the other hand, can range from 1-5 years worth of commitment, so depending on the program chosen, you may need to be ready to commit a fair amount of time. If you are, then the actual cost will depend on many things, like the complexity, length, and specialized nature of it, but some of these options can also be relatively affordable, ranging between $500 and $10 000 per course year.
Benefits of getting a cannabis education
The most significant benefit of getting a good quality education in cannabis is the opening up a whole new world of cannabis jobs that you might not have ever known existed. Even if you had known, without proper accreditation, you wouldn't be able to qualify for such a position, and the pay for cannabis jobs is rarely towards the lower end of the scale, so there is quite a bit to look forward to once you finish.
The other major benefit that most don't consider is that the majority of the skills learned through cannabis-based education will be in one way or another transferrable. An edibles course could lead you to great places in kitchens just about anywhere, including those without cannabis as a hot menu item. Growing weed might not land you in a greenhouse, but it could eventually evolve into expertise with other types of gardening.
Is it worth it?
In the end, whether or not it's worth it depends on you because each person's situation is unique, and what is ideal for some might be the worst possible option for another. That's one of the big reasons why we highly recommend trying something short and efficient, even if it's just an online course so that you can have some idea of whether or not you could spend the next several years of your life dedicated to doing it.
Most people, however, take away something positive from cannabis education, considering the opportunity to learn transferable skills, even if it doesn't lead to the career they had always dreamt of, which is why we think that it's almost always a worthwhile endeavor.
