Self-education is often far more important than the education we receive in schools with increasingly weak curricula. This is for the simple reason that when you do it willingly yourself, you are determined to continue and finish the long and hard courses.
There are various sites with free or paid courses that teach you various skills. With those skills you can earn money on the freelancing markets or you can use them to get hired somewhere, even in an online job.
Self-education consists of willpower and simple, logical steps to follow. You can learn programming, Photoshop, Copywriting, etc. on sites like Coursera or Udemy. It is not difficult, and with a lot of will, and a dash of luck, you can become a professional in your field.
Education is primarily required to prepare for the market jobs. The labor market is increasingly competitive and requires both a good knowledge of the field and promptness in customer requests, or as we would say in our freelance language… to be responsive… that is, to be found quickly online.