Self-education works when treated as a structured system. The framework: (1) Define a specific target role or outcome. (2) Research 20 job listings to find the actual market requirements — the top skills by frequency are your curriculum. (3) Build your learning stack with foundations first — SQL before Python, HTML before JavaScript. (4) Choose one primary resource per skill and commit. (5) Build projects as you learn — see How to Build a Portfolio While Learning. (6) Set milestone-based progress checks every 4–8 weeks. (7) Seek feedback from communities, mentors, and peers. Self-education fails when treated as a series of interesting courses you take when motivated.