Online learning has vastly changed the way we discover and gain new skills. It’s much more accessible than classroom environments, and it’s considerably cheaper.
Not to mention that there are plenty of great websites that offer a wide selection of courses ranging from broad topics to specific tutorials on one subject or skill.
Udemy, one of the most popular online learning platforms, has over 150,000 courses from programming and design to business, writing, and more.
And unlike regular learning, you can choose when and where you want to spend your time learning. On the couch, on the bus, or even hanging out on the grass in the park.
For people like you and me, it means we can become a more valuable employee by gaining new skills and improving upon our current ones.
You’ll empower yourself to earn more money, climb up the company ladder, or even switch careers to something you love.
Unfortunately, not all courses are created equally. Some of the most common pitfalls are instructors who don’t know how to teach, outdated course materials, or expensive paywalls that block off the most important content.
This is why it’s important to pay attention to review websites and other student reviews before starting any course. Otherwise, you may end up wasting your time sitting through a course that fails to engage you or provides wrong information.
Here are some of the most highly-rated and trustworthy websites offering both free and paid courses:
If you’re looking to kick-start your career and improve your skillset, you’ll find excellent courses at any of these websites.
With so many courses available, it’s easy to get lost in the near-endless opportunities. Here are some of the courses you can take, which will instantly give your resume and skill set a massive boost.
How many times have you opened up Excel and stared blankly at all the options available? If you’ve ever wanted to unlock its full potential, there are plenty of courses you can take, which will guide you through the basics, such as developing your own spreadsheet, getting to grips using complex formulas, and learning all of the built-in functions.
Suppose you’re already familiar with the basics. In that case, you can take it one step further by learning how to visualize and manipulate data by creating dashboards and simulate scenarios based on the available information you have.
It’s rare for any job not to use Excel in some form or another. By becoming an expert user, you’ll become a valuable member of your team.
You don’t have to be a manager or want to switch gears and become a project manager to gain valuable skills from taking a project management course.
Taking a short beginner’s course is a wonderful investment you can make with your time as it will teach you not just how to plan projects, but how to tackle and overcome any hurdles and roadblocks.
Many project managers employ specific methodologies or a roadmap, which helps them ensure they’re on track and not falling behind schedule.
It’s their focus on planning and organization that makes project managers so valuable.
You’ll also learn how to encourage and measure accountability. Even if you’re not directly managing any projects, chances are you still have to work with other people. Being 100% clear on each person’s role and responsibilities will help to eliminate any confusion.
And finally, you’ll gain confidence in your own abilities to tackle any task that comes your way by planning and coordinating beforehand how you’ll complete it.
Coding bootcamps are immersive and challenging online courses that can turn you from a code-nobody to a coding pro. Seeing as we live in an era where technology, computers, and smartphones are part of our everyday lives, by learning to code, you can gain invaluable skills that allow you to create, tweak and fix any coding challenge you may come up against.
Knowing how to code is especially helpful if you interact with developers on a daily or weekly basis.
It’ll help you understand their work and also any concerns they may have. They’ll also highly appreciate that they’re communicating with someone who can fully grasp the technology they’re working with.
Coding bootcamps also teach you fundamental computer science theory, and how to work in a team, critical skills for anyone looking to level up their abilities.
A good way to find out whether a coding bootcamp suits you and your timetable, is to check out bootcamp reviews. Not all coding bootcamps offer the same subjects, teach the same coding languages, or have high-quality instructors. It pays to do your research first.
Communication is a critical soft-skill that many employees lack. Some people are naturally great communicators.
For other people, standing up in front of your co-workers and giving a simple talk can be a gut-wrenching experience.
If this sounds like you, then you may want to check out an online course in communication. Becoming an effective communicator is essential to your success, just for public speaking, but also crafting powerful messages that grab your reader’s attention.
These are a few of the skills you can easily learn online. There are many ways you can learn new abilities and enrich yourself, but there’s no arguing that online courses are one of the most comfortable options you can use.
Be sure to do your due diligence before starting any courses by checking review sites and reading other user reviews.
You’ll also want to ensure you aren’t piling too much upon your plate at once and becoming overwhelmed, especially because you’ll be a working student and will need to plan studies around your work hours. One of the biggest advantages of online learning is that you can set the pace, one that suits you and your lifestyle.
Kenny Sandorffy is the founder of top10codingbootcamps.com and passionately believes students should have access to honest information before paying even one cent towards any online courses. Kenny is also passionate about technology, education and empowering people by learning key skills.
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