&gt; willingness to put ones life on hold for a predetermined amount of time.<p>That is almost the definition of a degree. During a degree, every class expects you to devote time and resources to learning. The degree programs we see today are structured in such a way that they expect you to drop everything else and learn (or research, in graduate studies).<p>If you can&#x27;t &#x27;put your life on hold&#x27; in order to study you won&#x27;t be able to do it quickly or coherently enough to generate the large body of knowledge that a degree represents.