Some pretty narrow minded thinking there.
As any reasonably knowledgeable person would know, a Surgeon's career starts with face-to-face instruction, leading to close observation and hands-on practice under the watchful eye of a qualified instructor. Although your first sentence is pure nonsense, your last pretty much reinforces my point. Face-to-face instruction and hands-on experience under a watchful eye are required in order to learn many aspects of the trade. Do you really believe an online course is going to teach you how to proficiently and safely run a lathe or mill?
If I wanted to break into gunsmithing as a sideline, and wasn't prepared to spend $45,000.00 and dedicate 2 -3 years to learning the trade, I would start by taking a Machine Shop course - either day school or continuing ed. One needs those skills. Once that skill set is in hand, an online course might be of some value, but I think the money would be better spent by investing in some good books on the subject - such as those by Roy Dunlap, Walter Howe, Harold MacFarland and Bob Brownell. All are old books, but chock full of relevant information. And finally, there is any amount of free information on the internet - both sound and not so sound. Check out the excellent instructional videos put out by Midway USA.
