How To Grow Your Career For Free – Part II

Upskilling, reskilling and retraining are amongst the most important things that you can do for your career in the 21st-century workplace. In fact, research by the The World Economic Forum’s tells us that a workforce with diverse talent sets, and those within it who are willing to learn continuously, will survive the ongoing automation of roles. With high costs of education and the constant struggle to find time, why not engage in an on-line learning course?

Also remember that not every piece of education you do must be career relevant! Employers love that you enjoy learning. So if you don’t feel like doing something specific, indulge an interest or follow a passion instead. You never know, it might just be the key that opens the door to your next role.

ICYMI: 9 Ways To Grow Your Career For Free

Some courses in this article are free to access, costing only an investment of your time, while others are at a cost to you. I always suggest that you try before you buy. So if you are interested in doing a course, sample it risk-free first to see if you genuinely like it. Only then invest your hard earned cash.

Something fun

If you want to learn something that you enjoy and have always wanted to study at one of the top universities in the world now is your chance!!

Maybe you’re interested in Chinese culture and history? If so, why not check out this Harvard course that explores Chinese culture over its 6,000-year history. Have you always been interested in Chinese culture and history?

The University of Berkeley is running some fantastic courses over the coming months across a vast range of areas. You can take short courses in anything from Journalism for Social Change, to Electronic Interfaces, to (my personal favourite) The Science of Happiness.

If you are considering becoming an entrepreneur Berkeley are offering a course exploring the link between Creativity and Entrepreneurship. While MIT does a six-week boot camp on global entrepreneurship called Show me the Money.

I love some of the courses on offer by University of Pennsylvania. If you love the glitz and glam of Hollywood what about their course on the birth of film and the rise of the internet Hollywood: History, Industry and Art. If like the rest of us you are perplexed by the state of affairs with President Trump, check out Top 10 Social Issues for the President’s First 100 Days.

While Wharton, one of the most prestigious graduate schools in the world, has modules on Digital Marketing and E-Commerce for your Business.

If you always wanted to go to Arizona Sate check out their courses on Health & Wellness, An Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy and Western Civilisation.

More Serious – Learn to code?

If want to learn to speak, write and understand the language of HTML, CSS, Python, Ruby or JavaScript on your daily commute, check out Lrn. Lrn?is a free app that guides you in a fun and engaging way with mini-quizzes, skills reviews and flashcards to help. This is convenient learning at it’s best.

Maybe you would prefer a certification from Microsoft on your CV? Introduction to HTML and JavaScript is five-week free course that introduces you to the basics of coding.

If you want to get a little more serious after dipping your toe in coding, check out Code School a web-based platform with a huge rage of languages available to choose from. Some courses are free while other carry a charge but for unlimited access to all coding courses. All learning is project based and you go at your own pace.

If you would like to get more seriously about injecting code into your career, check out Thinkful. This is not a cheap option, but it is highly recognised by some of the major global tech employers. On the flexible learning option, you must commit 20 hours per week for six-months. During this time, you are assigned a one-to-one mentor and a pathway to employment module.

All learning is beneficial to your career, not just more ?traditional? career related courses. Current and prospective employers love to see proactive engagement with education, and there are some incredible learning opportunities available directly to your phone or laptop for free. Remember there’s no such thing as a wasted course all learning provides you with the opportunity to grow your career.

By Sinead Brady

@CareertoLove