In this day and age, you can do pretty much anything online (including surviving a global pandemic). While those of us post-uni might not be keen on going back to full-time classes, we are sometimes confronted with a skill we want to brush up on or a new ability we’d like to have, especially when it comes to business. Online classes are a perfect way for an entrepreneur to build his or her skill set in order to improve their company. Need to learn a few words of Chinese to impressing your new clients? Getting a little rusty in accounting? Even if you’re good at using software like Excel, taking a class can make you faster, saving you precious time and frustration. If you’re getting ready to embark upon a new adventure, launching a new business in the near future, you can take an innovation course or a class that discusses how to secure funding.
Most companies on our list have both free and paid options. Both are beneficial, but you’ll need to evaluate your situation before deciding which is the most appropriate for you. All of these options are reasonably priced. And all of them make use of “massive, open, online, courses,” or MOOCs (pronounced mooo-ks) to impart knowledge upon students from around the world. The beauty of working online is that there may be five or 5,000 people taking your course, and it doesn’t affect your experience in any way. MOOCs don’t necessarily lead to official qualifications but are a fantastic way to learn with a low investment of time (usually 3–10 weeks) and money. Plus, you can take things at your own pace. Lectures are recorded, so you can watch whenever you have time and pause and rewatch parts that are difficult to understand.
If you haven’t seen Coursera yet, you’re missing out. This is, quite possibly, the biggest game-changer in education in years! It’s not new, but it just gets better and better. Here’s how it works: Professors and scholars at well-known universities from around the world record a MOOC in the form of weekly video lectures, quizzes, and some peer-graded assignments. You create a Coursera account and get access for FREE! There are, of course, paid options, and depending on how you plan to use the site, they might make sense.
The paid option allows access to assignments and “graded” quizzes. It also entitles you to an official certificate at the end. This is a nice option for people who want to post their accomplishment on LinkedIn or use it to leverage themselves for a new job or promotion. It’s also required if you’re participating in a degree program or official.
Some universities offer fully online programs, for example, University of Illinois in America has a fully remote MBA program. Imperial College of London has a program for a Global Master of Public Health. And HEC Paris has a masters program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, among others. For these programs, Coursera is used alongside the university’s own platform and will charge associated course fees. You can also use Coursera to earn professional certifications through companies like Google and IBM or specialisations.
Classes range from typical business courses like marketing and finance to languages. Interested in law? Constitutional Struggles of the Muslim World. Coding? That’s there, too.
Fees start at around £38.50 per class or up to £62.25 for a monthly subscription to courses in a specialisation.
Udacity is focused on tech classes, so if you’re looking for classes in things like AI, data science, or autonomous systems, this is the right spot. They even have a course entitled “Intro to Self-Driving Car!”
Don’t be overwhelmed if you’re not an expert yet. All levels are welcome here, and they even offer a “nanodegree” program that will set you up with a technical mentor, a career coach, and real-world projects to practice on from industry experts. These classes could help with a career change or even just helping you get an edge in your current position. For all of you entrepreneurs out there, consider this an extended — and better formatted — YouTube video for that thing you want to build.
Unlike Coursera, which can have 4–12 week classes, courses in Udacity can be up to six months. There may also be some prerequisites for some of the classes. This is more similar to actual school and requires more of a time commitment, but the outcome is more in-depth knowledge of the subject you choose. They work closely with companies like GitHub, Bosch, Amazon, etc. on curriculum, so rest assured, they know what they’re doing. They also partner with companies around the world that want to retrain employees or help them add value to their workforce by recruiting from course graduates.
On average, fees are £299 per month.
Khan Academy is 100% free. You heard me. No money. This is a nonprofit that wants to empower teachers and learners and eliminate the monetary obstacle to education. They have many supporters, including but not limited to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With noble goals like giving every child access to quality education, children aren’t the only ones who can benefit.
Khan doesn’t have quite the range of classes as Coursera, but they are the basics that create the foundation for a well-rounded education. Think secondary school. Things like Calculus, Chemistry, World History all make the cut, but so do classes like computer programming and computer programming. They also have uni test classes, but they’re mainly relevant for various professional schools, for example business and law, in America. When you sign up, pick your categories, and suggested classes will populate your profile.
There is a place to ask questions to other learners in the community and badges to earn and keep you motivated as you move along. Lessons are made up of videos and practice problems with project options for some courses. A great way to remind yourself of some of the relevant topics from primary and secondary school. After all, it’s probably been a while.
General Assembly, or GA, is another great option when it comes to online learning. Classes on this site come with downloadable resources, articles, videos, etc. And they really focus on working to connect students to their hiring partners to benefit both parties. Many of their students are even funded by the company they work for.
Marketing, design, coding, data, and business. A slightly more focused list of choices here. And expensive. Most classes sit just under £1000 for 10 weeks.
GA offer in-person events, workshops and classes at their campuses around the world, including London. Depending on where you live or what your schedule looks like, staying online might be the best choice.
Courses are offered with full-time, part-time or short-form options. Some classes are self-paced while others are more structured. GA has a different approach when it comes to instructors. Unlike Coursera’s instructors, most of whom come from well-known universities around the world, GA’s teachers come from influential businesses like Amazon, Google, and AirBnb who go through an extensive training program in order to better impart their knowledge and experience in a way conducive to learning.
You may also be impressed to know that all courses are updated twice a year to enhance or improve content or make it more relevant to present day.
Udemy is offering classes for promotional prices as low as £9.99 until the 13th of June, from £12.99 after, and have an easy-to-use setup with reviews next to each listing. You can even see the “best sellers.” Check out “The Complete Digital Marketing Course” that got an average of 4.5 stars from 53,024 people. If that’s not a powerful indicator of the quality, what is? Make sure to take advantage of the sale, though, as some courses can be hundreds of pounds.
From marketing and photography to business and personal development, there are over 100,000 courses available here. Udemy seems to have to widest selection of classes, so there’s really no excuse for not learning! There is definitely something for everyone here, and included with the cost are lecture videos, articles, downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion. You can, of course access these on mobile apps and on your TV.
There is even a place to see the number of lectures and hours each course contains. Remember, all classes are self-controlled, so you can complete them whenever you have some spare time. It also means that if you want to cram 24 hours of coursework over a week, that’s ok, too. Sometimes, the skills you need to expand your business is learning to meditate. After all, if the founder isn’t in the right headspace, it’s hard to expect anyone else to be. Udemy has a class for that.
One aspect this platform has that can also be very useful is a personalised class recommendation list. All you do is answer a few questions, and descriptions of classes you may enjoy pop up. Go forth, and learn.
Similar to Udacity, your company can team up with Udemy to retrain employees or simply expand the skills of your workforce. You can even schedule a demo in order to look before you buy. Adidas, Booking.com, and Volkswagen have all jumped onboard.
While I’ve only used one of these companies, I look forward to branching out and seeing what the others have to offer. From my perspective, there are perks and drawbacks about each of these. Coursera has basic classes in a wide range of things and can be taken for free or paid for as part of a degree program. This is a great way to explore your interests or get an actual degree. If you’re trying to make a career change or learn a skill in order to get a job, GA seems to be very focused on getting you hired. Udemy has loads of options that the others don’t. And for anyone looking to focus on their tech skills, Udacity seems like the clear choice. The basics are well-explained in Khan videos and are also free. So I guess what it comes down to is what you’re looking for. You can’t really go wrong.
On all of these platforms, you’ll be working with people from all over the world. It’s an excellent example of how bringing together people with different backgrounds and ideas can enrich classroom discussions while be loads of fun. Many of them offer funding options like scholarships as well.
Take a day or two to figure out where your interests lie, and go start learning again! Education at any age should be valued not only for how much it will translate to your bottom line but for how it allows you to find new passions or enjoy learning for learning’s sake.
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