Gone are the days when no one respected online courses. Today, you could land your dream job thanks to an online degree. Even better is that you can qualify for a lucrative position after taking a ten-week free online course.
Before you worry about the time commitment, know that you don’t have to spend an entire day doing an online course. If you only have 30 minutes to spare, that’s enough time to learn.
Again, many of the courses below are either free or cost less than $50. What’s more, these are courses taught by people who’ve excelled at what they did. Without further ado, here are the top ten online courses to sign up for.
Beginner to Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is an essential skill for most design jobs, so if you don’t know how to use the program, take advantage of free Photoshop classes. Udemy, YouTube and Adobe Know-How all have free beginner courses.
The courses teach you what you can do with Photoshop and help you install the software. They also offer you basic guidance on how to use simple Photoshop tools to create visually impressive images.
For people who deal with illustrations, photography and design work, an advanced Photoshop course might also come in handy. The courses cost less than $50 as mentioned and they can elevate you from an amateur to a Photoshop expert.
Online Marketing for Beginners
In this era of the Internet, every business wants to run a successful website. But guess what? Many business owners don’t know what to do to increase online sales, retain customers or rank their sites on search engines.
That where’s online marketing skills come in handy. You can learn how to manage or promote an online business free of charge. You can then turn it into your career to help small businesses grow.
Marketing is a broad topic though. So, while you can take a free course to get an introduction, you could later specialize in one of these areas:
- Social media marketing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Paid Advertising
- Influences marketing
As a side note, you want to take the latest online marketing course. That’s because the industry evolves quickly and regularly. And as such, some tips relevant in 2014 might not be helpful to a marketer in 2020.
Money Management Course
When was the last time you took a money management class? Yet, you probably wish you could spend your paycheck better. If you are an investor, a gambler or someone with a lot of bills and debts to clear, sign up for a money management course.
A general money management course can help you learn how to clear bills before you budget money for shopping. However, a niche-specific course might be your best option if you want to optimize your expenses in your career.
This list of gambling money management tips, for example, caters to casino players. As such, it talks about choosing a bankroll and playing with money you can afford to lose. By comparison, a budget course for stocks traders would talk about diversifying your portfolio, paying yourself first and keeping records.
Introduction to Public Speaking
Ironically, we all need public speaking skills despite talking to people every day. In all fairness, not everyone gets to speak in front of crowds daily. Still, you need these skills to gain confidence when you have to speak at a public gathering.
More importantly, you must learn how to be friendly, energetic and clearly deliver your message. You can learn the basics of public speaking online and improve through experience.
But if your career involves a lot of public speaking, you might need more than a beginner course. A ten-week course that explores everything, from body language and voice control to audience interactions would be more helpful.
A Professional Writing Course
The University of California Berkeley offers an introductory course that covers both academic and business writing. It’s a short course divided into five lessons for a total of 30 hours.
However, it’s an exceedingly useful course if you are still in school and want to improve your writing skills. It’s also helpful for workers as it helps sharpen their thesis writing skills, or how to address businesses accordingly.
If you struggle with writing, therefore, consider taking on a business or academic writing course. You’ll learn how to craft powerful states precisely but accurately. To become a better writer, though, consider taking more lesson on a specific discipline.
Learn a New Language
Contrary to popular belief, you can learn a new language in as few as two days. What’s more, you can learn it online thanks to video tutorials and apps that teach you how to pronounce words correctly.
In case you are wondering, learning a new language can open a lot of opportunities in your career. You could get a lucrative job at a foreign company or get a position at an organization that communicates with foreigners regularly.
The best part of learning a new language is that makes things easier when you travel to a country that speaks that language. You won’t need to hire a translator or struggle to communicate.
Learn an Accounting Course
Are you an accounting student or someone with a dream of working as an accountant? Consider taking an online ACCA or CPA course. These two programs teach you to be a certified accountant in over 200 countries.
You can get a job as an accountant with nothing more than a CPA or ACCA certificate. But if you want to land a better-paying accounting position, a degree will be necessary. Due to that, CPA and ACCA courses are better suited for people who are already pursuing accounting degrees.
Unfortunately, neither ACCA nor CPA costs cheap. Quite the contrary, you’ll need at least $300 to learn either course online. Nonetheless, they are essential programs for anyone who wants to become a certified public accountant.
