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Online Options to Upgrade Your skills
May 08, 2020
If you are looking to upgrade your skills, now is the time!
Coursera
Coursera offers courses, degrees, and certificates from well-known companies and universities around
the world. You can learn at your own pace and choose from more than 3,900 courses, 13 professional
certifications, and 20 degrees and MasterTrack certifications — and many of which are free to take.
Udemy
Udemy has a whopping 100,000 online courses available. Categories include business, design,
photography, development, marketing, IT & software, and personal development, with many of the
courses providing certification exams included in the class cost. Often, Udemy runs specials where
several of their courses cost only $10.99US and once you purchase a course, you have access to it for life.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a nonprofit that provides free content for both learners and teachers. They also offer
personalized learning focused on core classes, such as grammar, science, and history.
Thinkful
Thinkful is geared towards individuals who are looking for tech jobs. It's structured a bit differently than
other online course platforms; instead of learning on your own, you receive day-to-day mentor guidance
and career coaching throughout the program.
Software engineering, data science, data analytics, UX/UI design, digital marketing, and product
management are some of the courses offered through Thinkful. According to their website, they
guarantee that you'll get a job in tech within six months of graduation — and if you don't, you get your
tuition back.
MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT OpenCourseWare offers actual MIT courses previously taught in a web-based publication. Girls Who
Build, Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy, and Shaping the Future of Work are examples of courses
you can find on this site.
CreativeLive
CreativeLive is for the creative at heart — and the creative in business. More than 1,500 classes are
offered and taught by some of the most well-known artists in the world, including Grammy winners,
best-selling authors, famous entrepreneurs, and award-winning journalists.
You can access all CreativeLive courses on-demand with a monthly or annual class pass. You can also
purchase courses separately, with some courses available for free, as well.
edX
Looking for university-level classes? Choose from more than 2,500 online courses through edX. Teachers
come from top institutions, including Berkely, Harvard, and MIT, to teach disciplines within the
humanities, business and management, engineering, and computer science.
Alison
Alison offers certifications and diplomas for many of its more than 1,000 free courses. Popular courses
on the site include Operations Management, Human Resources, Principles of Occupational Health and
Safety Management Systems, and General Data Protection Regulation, to name a few.
Language Skills
Learning a new language has several advantages. It gives you a competitive edge, helps you gain a
multicultural perspective, and improves your memory and listening skills. There are numerous free and
low-cost options available to fit your learning needs and budget.
Duolingo
Duolingo makes learning a new language fun with the rewards you can achieve. You can earn virtual
coins, increase your fluency score, unlock new levels, and more. Bite-sized and personalized lessons
make learning easier — and it's free to use.
Open Culture
Open Culture allows you to access free cultural and educational media from one location. The site has
compiled free resources, from audiobooks to YouTube videos, for 48 different languages.
Mango Live
Mango Live adapts lessons to your learning style. Start with a free trial, and choose from dozens of
languages to learn from anywhere.
Livemocha
You can learn any of the 18 different languages that Livemocha offers via their website or app.
According to their site, they have more than 15 thousand new users per month from around the globe,
so it's an increasingly popular platform for learning a new language. It's also free to use and offers the
ability to practice with native speakers.
Busuu
Busuu offers lessons for 12 different languages along with the ability to get feedback from its network of
native speakers for the language you're learning. Using machine learning technology, lessons can be
enhanced with speech recognition and personalized study plans, and you can also download lessons to
learn offline. Busuu offers a free trial period and language certifications, which you can list on your
resume.
Hard Skills
The following three platforms offer certifications for in-demand, tangible hard skills you can add to your
list of credentials.
SuperHi
SuperHi is for those professionals looking to up their game in the tech field with courses focused on
everything from visual design to HTML, CSS, and Javascript coding. SuperHi offers short-term courses for
$149, 4-week courses for $299, and 8-week courses for $499, with a 20 percent student discount on
courses.
With SuperHi, you get lifetime access to the course purchased and its community of students and
teachers, as well as one-on-one sessions during the course.
Skillshare
Skillshare allows you to choose from different categories to learn hard skills. Need to up your writing
game? They've got courses for that. Want to learn graphic design or character animation? They got you
covered. While some classes are free, you can also sign up for a free two-month membership trial to
access unlimited courses.
Codecademy
Codecademy offers training for some of the most in-demand coding skills; you can learn HTML, CSS,
JavaScript, Python, CDM Line, and SQL, depending on your area of focus. If you're not sure where to
begin, you can take their handy quiz to help you get started.
Certifications
Although many of the above platforms offer certifications, the three options listed below are
certification-only programs designed around specific credentials.
Microsoft IT
Microsoft IT allows you to achieve industry-recognized Microsoft certifications. Choose from nine
different career paths, including developer, administrator, data engineer, and functional consultant. You
can take the certification courses for free and then pay to take the certification exam.
Google Digital Garage
Google Digital Garage provides certification in the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing. With 26 modules
created by Google trainers, the course is free to take and accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau
Europe and The Open University.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers several certification preparation programs, as well as programs that qualify for
continuing education credits. Prepare for certifications in Adobe, Amazon Web Services (AWS), video
editing, business analytics, project or operations management, and more through LinkedIn Learning.
Learning plans can be purchased on a monthly or annual basis, with a one-month free trial to start.
Looking to make a change in your career? Want to explore the perfect career for YOU?
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