It is the first quarter of the year, and with the year’s resolution still fresh in mind, you’re thinking about learning new skills. There are several services online that can help you achieve that goal, no matter it be sewing or figuring out quantum physics.

Learning new skills can be fun and rewarding, but on the downside, it can be a time consuming and expensive. Knowing where to look for quality lessons with flexible timetable while keeping fees low can be hard. One place to explore and shop around is via online, where there are several online course providers available to suit different needs.

Here are four websites that are designed to keep you engaged and entertained as you learn new topics, advance your career and grow to new heights!

1. Skillshare

One of the most popular online learning sites, Skillshare offers both free and paid courses, with the latter available when you subscribe to their premium membership. This paid tier of timed subscriptions will open up the entire library of courses in Skillshare. This makes Skillshare an enticing option for those who are able to pick up topics fast and would like to pursue multiple courses within a relatively short span of time.

There are plenty of courses to choose from, and they are categorised under Animation, Design, Illustration, Lifestyle, Photo & Film, Business and Writing.

There is a heavy skew towards creative-focused courses on the site. These are offered as classes to encourage fellow students to learn and share together, with projects to encourage application of taught knowledge. Each course is accompanied with video presentations, making the whole experience more livelier.

Skillshare has partnered with various well-known figures around the world to become teachers in some of their classes, but you may also apply to become one if you meet their requirements. Note that these courses are not accredited by any institutions, which means that Skillshare is primarily a site to learn new skills for personal growth, not to pad your professional resume with.

You can take classes on the go with their app available through the Apple App Store or Google Play, which provides convenience to the busy individual.

Skillshare’s well designed site and app makes it simple for learners to skillup anytime, anywhere and it also offers scholarships to their premium membership; offering students and those with lower income to apply for free or to subsidise the premium membership fee.

2. Udemy

Udemy features nearly 130,000 courses with multiple languages supported, with topics including programming and web design, business, and data science. Based on its website, the top 3 courses are the Python programming language, photography, and web development.

Udemy’s fee model is different than Skillshare’s; each course is priced individually and range from $40 to $250. Once paid, you will gain access to the course permanently.

Learners looking to gain specific set of skills or gain more expertise in that field would appreciate Udemy’s fee structure. Courses periodically slash prices, so take advantage of this. If you are unsatisfied with the course you have purchased, Udemy offers a 30-day money back guaranteed if their refund policy is met.

Because of the extensive list of courses available, Udemy provides a comprehensive filtering tool to help students search for the right course. Some of the filters available are pricing, review rating, course difficulty and language. Yes, there is a 5-star rating system with written reviews from participants, allowing you to browse through feedback to help you make your choice. This ensures that highly-rated courses with exemplary content is able to stay visible amongst the thousands of courses on the site.

Udemy provides a community platform for both instructors and users, providing a space for discussion boards, sharing or just fun. Similar to Skillshare, Udemy has an app for both iOS and Android to provide users access their course content on the move.

3. Coursera

This site differentiates itself from other online course providers by providing professional certifications. These are industry-recognised certifications that can help you further your career path. For example, IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate provides the foundation to would-be data analysts looking to kick start their career.

Some classes on Coursera follow a scheduled timetable of learning similar to traditional on-campus classes. This strict timetable will most certainly be an issue to those having to balance between studying, work and family.

If following a scheduled timetable proves too difficult, Coursera also offers what it calls Mastertrack certifications. They are online modules taken from the full sized courses, and count towards course credits if you are accepted into a full Master’s degree. Coursera also provide shorter courses, with on-demand lectures with guided projects that can be completed within a day or two.

To access paid content, Coursera has implement a hybrid system that offers paid subscription, premium membership, and also per-course fee. It’s premium membership called Coursera Plus, provide unlimited access to a selection of courses and specialisation.

 

4. LinkedIn Learning

Being associated to LinkedIn gives LinkedIn Learning (LL) an immediate advantage in terms of recognition and familiarity. All courses that are provided by LL will reflect into your online resume in LinkedIn. The integration streamlines the experience between the two, and all learners must have an LinkedIn account before they can start. Data from both sites are leveraged against each other to produce a personalized and tailored experience for you. LL would be able to make course recommendations based on the data, making it LL’s greatest advantage above the rest.

LL has a similar subscription system to that of Skillshare, providing unlimited access to all of its courses for the duration of the subscription. Courses are divided into three broad categories; business, creative and technology. What makes LL unique are their selected group of courses that have been reviewed and approved by the Project Management Institute (PMI) under the Authorized Training Partner program.  These include technical project management, business management, and leadership.

Finally, by subscribing to LL, you will also gain full access to LinkedIn Premium. This feature turbo-charges your LinkedIn account, giving you access to salary and job insights, unlimited profile viewing, InMail credits, and more.

 

Conclusion

Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and with the help of these online course providers, age, money and location is not a barrier anymore. Equipping yourself with a plethora of useful skills will ensure that whatever may come, you are always prepared to jump through that window of opportunity.

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Are you ready to increase your growth potential? Give one of these sites a try and let us know how it goes in the comments below.