Have you been looking for a way to add an extra ingredient to your resume? Perhaps one that will give your character an additional punch of flavor. But you need to fit this extra something into your busy schedule, whilst you’re on a budget. Right? That sounds tough but not impossible! I’m here to help you. There are multiple valuable courses you could take, all from the comfort of your home if you choose. And the ones I’ve listed are either free or very reasonably priced.
So I said reasonably priced because, in order to get graded and receive an official certificate, a fee is required in some cases. However, for most, taking the course itself is free. Either way, if you are looking to improve on your overall abilities, having another skill under your belt will set you apart from the heard. Gaining more knowledge on a particular subject counts as a skill too.
I’ve listed platforms, and for most of them, I have also provided some links to sample courses. There is truly a ton out there, with a surprising amount of free options.
On a side note, I thought it might be helpful to include this savvy tool to manage your daily activities. You may have heard of it, todoist.
Let’s get right to it.
1. edX
edX, an extension of MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012. It is also a non-profit and open-source, which is something they are distinguished by.
This platform offers a variety of courses from some of the world’s most renowned universities. The University of California, Berkeley is one example. This is in addition to Harvard and MIT, of course.
edX has a global community of students. So it doesn’t matter what country you come from, you can enrol for courses with edX.
They have a great range of options that include:
1. Languages
2. Psychology
3. Writing
4. Electronics
5. Introduction to Public Speaking
6. Digital Product Management Certification by Boston University
7. Communicating Strategically
8. Harvard University’s Introduction to Computer Science
9. Academic and Business Writing
10. Chinese Language: Learn Basic Mandarin
In fact, having been started by Harvard and MIT really gives edX an edge, opening up many doors and possibilities.
To start taking courses for free follow these steps:
1. Go to edX
2. Login/Sign Up
3. Find a Course
4. Select the ‘Audit this class’ option
And boom! You can take the course for no cost.
2. Skillshare
As advertised when you look up Skillshare, this site offers over 17,000 courses and online lessons across multiple domains. Some of which include, design, business, technology, photography, film, writing, crafts, and so forth. Basically, Skillshare caters to a variety of distinct skill sets.
A lot of these courses are indeed free but you know what, you can get 2 months of Skillshare Premium for less than Rs. 70. Some have described Skillshare as the Netflix for education.
Skillshare offers courses that include:
1. Blogging Basics (FREE)
2. Accounting Fundamentals: Understanding Financial Statements,
3. InDesign CC Masterclass
4. Introduction to Aerial Videography
5. UX/UI Design Essentials
From what I’m finding, it looks like Skillshare is one of the better options out there.
3. LinkedIn Free Courses (Lynda)
Yes, LinkedIn offers a great range of free courses you can take. Most of these courses are taught by industry experts, which gives you the chance to learn from the best in your field. Additionally, you can really add some value to your credentials and give your career a little boost.
LinkedIn already has credibility so your experience will be recognized. You can also add this as a skill to your LinkedIn profile, increasing your chances of recruitment.
Some of the categories Lynda offers include:
1. Data Science
2. Marketing
3. Programming Foundations
For the first month, which is a free trial period, you can take their courses for free! Just follow their sign up process and get started.
However, you should probably bear in mind that after your free trial, Lynda can get pretty pricy. Moreover, Lynda is not community-based as some of the other platforms are.
4. Udemy
Udemy now offers over 100,000 courses. Some of the educators have had decades of experience in the field, some with international credibility. As such, you can expect that the courses offered are curated well, and kept up to date. Their credibility is therefore reflected through their consistency and quality.
Udemy offers courses that include:
1. Programming
2. Introduction to Graphic Design
3. Advanced SEO: Tactics and Strategy
4. Learn Adobe Illustrator From Scratch
5. Secret Sauce of Great Writing
Udemy has a number of free and discounted courses. Follow the links to access both, and choose what suits your interests! Like I said, they have over 100,000 courses.
5. Coursera
Coursera does offer a lot of short-term free courses. So what you can do is, choose a training program that you are interested in and then enrol at no cost. This is essentially like a free trial. If you happen to like the course, you can then pay and continue till completion. Let’s say you don’t want to pay, then you just have to enjoy the free content for as long as it lasts.
Coursera highlights its three main features as follows:
1. Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes, and projects.
2. Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
3. Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Coursera offers courses that include:
1. Digital Marketing
2. Analytics Techniques
3. Managing Innovation and Design Thinking
4. Digital Product Management Certification by University of Virginia
5. Marketing in a Digital World
6. University of Michigan’s Programming for Everybody (Python)
7. Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills
8. New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs
9. High-Impact Business Writing
You will also find free business certifications, free training, free certifications, and so forth. Coursera is more university oriented in its style.
6. Udacity
Udacity offers real-world projects from industry experts, 1-on-1 technical mentorship, personal career coaches and services, as well as flexible learning options. They specialize in nano-degree programs, accessible globally.
Udacity started an experiment by two Stanford instructors who advertised a free online course in “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. They received an exceptionally large amount of sign-ups, some 160,000 from over 90 counties. Hence, Udactiy was born.
Their mission states, “..virtually anyone on the planet with an internet connection and a commitment to self-empowerment through learning can come to Udacity, master a suite of job-ready skills, and pursue rewarding employment.”
The courses offered by Udacity include:
1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Blockchain
3. Digital Marketing
3. Data Analysis
4. Deep Learning
5. Google AdWords
6. How to Build a Startup
7. Product Design—Validation and UX Through Design Sprints
8. How to Build a Startup
Udacity also offers a choice of free online courses as part of its Android Basics Nano-degree programs, supported by Google. The duration of these is approximately two weeks, and they are for beginners.
Check out their nano-degrees here!
7. FutureLearn
This one is based out of The United Kingdom. But it has managed to reach students all over the world through its online courses from top universities and specialist organizations. FutureLearn does offer free courses, in addition to the more specific (in-depth) degrees.
FutureLearn gives you an option to choose from short courses, in-depth programs, or online degrees. After completing the online degree, you do indeed earn an internationally recognized qualification.
FutureLearn offers courses in categories that include:
1. Business & Management
2. Health and Psychology
3. Tech & Coding
4. Teaching in addition to History
5. Languages & Culture
6. Law as well as literature.
8. Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative
Well, this one is a little different. Carnegie Mellon’s OLI programme does offer a good amount of content and some excellent course options. Their costs are relatively low but they do also offer free material online for independent learners, globally.
Some of the courses offered by OLI include:
1. Physical Sciences and Engineering
2. Technology and Design
3. Language and Speech
4. Evidence-Based Management- this one is open and free
Carnegie also offers certificate courses. Some of the other options on their website are rather cheap, so you should definitely at least check it out if you’re interested.
Here is some more information on OLI. If you scroll down on the page I hyperlinked, you’ll find a table that compares course types. It’s very helpful.
9. Harvard Free Online Courses
Whoa! Could this be? No way, right? Harvard is one of the most expensive schools out there, not known for offering anything free or low cost. Well, I suppose they are now. In fact, the website has an option titled “price”, under it you can select free. Here is the direct link to a list of free courses.
Additionally, amongst others, don’t forget that edX is listed as a platform on this website. Plus, this is Harvard, so you have a ton of different “schools” within Harvard itself to choose from.
Some of the free courses offered include:
1. Hinduism Through Its Scriptures
2. CS50’s Introduction to Game Development
3. Fundamentals of Neuroscience, Part 1: The Electrical Properties of the Neuron
4. Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology
5. Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry)
10. TedEd
Most of you I’m sure to have watched your fair share of Ted talks, or at least you’ve heard of Ted talks. Personally, I am fond of them. There’s always so much variety, enough to tickle my curiosity. Anyway, TedEd is Ted but with lessons and courses instead of lectures and talks.
As with Ted talks, TedEd has a ton of concise, yet interesting, videos on a number of topics. They also have lessons on subjects like philosophy, social studies, religion, and teaching & education. TedEd is different, more niche in a lot of ways.
TedEd offers students the option to join Club Programmes and then, perhaps, proceed to present your ideas in Ted-style talks. Follow this link to learn more about how TedEd helps students.
Some of the super cool (in my opinion) lessons that TedEd offers include:
1. A brief history of dogs
2. What “Machiavellian” really means
3. The wicked wit of Jane Austen
4. Turbulence: one of the great unsolved mysteries of physics
5. How to hack your cells to fight cancer
6. How far would you have to go to escape gravity?
7. Can you solve the stolen rubies riddle?
8. Does time exist?
9. History through the eyes of a chicken
10. What’s a smartphone made of?
I got a little carried away there. Man! All of those lessons sound super interesting. I’ve already started taking the lesson on “Does Time Exist?”
40 More
1. Alison Free Certificate Courses
2. Free Programming Tutorials
3. Khan Academy
4. Cyberastro
5. Free Digital Marketing Courses
6. Open Culture Online Courses
7. Academic Earth
8. iTunesU Free Courses
9. iOS Development Training
10. UC Berkeley Class Central
11. Codecademy
12. Code
13. Free Cyber Security Training Online
14. Free Social Media Courses
15. MIT OpenCourseWare
16. Open Yale Courses
17. Stanford Online
18. General Assembly
19. National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning
20. Amazon AWS Certification
21. Blender Tutorial
22. Buffer
23. CopyBlogger
24. HubSpot
25. CommLab
26. Golang Tutorial
27. BBC Podcasts
28. LessonPaths
29. Memrise
30. Global Speechwriter
31. Sam Altman at Stanford University
32. Open2Study
33. Easy Shiksha
34. Deutsch-Lernen.com
35. Unreal Engine Tutorial
36. Blockchain Certification
37. Oxford Home Study
38. The Odin Project
39. Chandoo.org
40. Creator Academy at YouTube
Want to get a college education but tuition’s getting in the way? Don’t Sweat it! Just download StuCred now and say hello to college!
Tags: Online Courses To Enhance Your Skills, Online Courses To Boost Your Skills, Online Courses To Improve Your Skills, free online courses for students
