With technological aptitude and data analysis becoming some of the most in-demand skills in the job market, there's plenty of great reasons to add some knowledge to your portfolio. Luckily, in this day and age, there are so many free and paid resources available that anyone with enough motivation can start their journey relatively easily.
On the other hand, the enormous amount of available resources can make picking the right ones much more difficult. As the industry of online tech learning expands, there are both immensely useful resources and those that are less so. As such, we've outlined the five best online learning platforms that will help you skyrocket your journey.
1. Scraping Experts
Pricing: Free.
Scraping Experts is one of the top learning platforms for those looking to advance their skills in data acquisition and management. Hosted by a leading proxy and public web data acquisition service provider, Oxylabs, the company offers short-form lessons intended to develop practical skills.
Unlike many traditional online courses, video lectures can be viewed anytime without any prior requirements. All the learning materials are completely free, allowing anyone to join in.
Additionally, Scraping Experts is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to brush up on their skills, as each video lists all the sources mentioned in the lesson. As such, it's easy to get started and continue down a highly detailed topic, providing an opportunity for self-paced learning.
Finally, the company offers the opportunity to send questions by email. Each of these is answered by the associated expert, providing the perfect opportunity to add new skills or enhance existing ones with the proper guidance.
In the end, Scraping Experts is one of the best free online learning platforms for those that want to brush up their data science, acquisition, and management skills while also getting knowledgeable about a relatively new field.
2. Codeacademy
Pricing: Some courses are free. Free trials are available for students, and courses are available from €12.99 monthly for individuals.
Codeacademy is a one-stop shop for people looking to improve their computer science, web development, and even some graphic design skills. It's one of the most popular online learning platforms, with many courses for people of various skill levels. While the courses focus mostly on development skills, nearly anyone will be able to find something for themselves.
The online learning platform offers a mix of paid and free courses, with the large majority of them falling into the former category. As is often the case, all high-quality courses require payment but also provide the most value for those seeking to learn new skills.
Additionally, all of the learning materials are structured similarly to university courses and include certificates of completion. While going through Codeacademy won't earn you a Master's Degree in computer science or any other area, the certificate program has become respected enough to be considered valuable by most businesses.
In the end, Codeacademy is one of the best online learning platforms on the market, especially for those who want to excel at development, programming, and associated fields.
3. Udemy
Pricing: Courses are priced individually.
Udemy is likely the most popular online learning platform, aimed at a more casual audience and niche topics without accredited certificates. There are, however, numerous well-respected and highly valuable courses available, so with careful consideration and selection, Udemy can be tremendously helpful in developing one's skills.
Course offerings range from development to creative skills and anything in between. Udemy sells courses on nearly any topic, no matter how niche or unique it may be, so there's definitely something for everyone.
Udemy also allows experienced individuals to create courses and publish them on the website, which quickly adds to the library of available learning sources. It should be noted, however, that quality may vary, so taking a look at reviews and evaluations should be considered the starting point before purchasing something.
All in all, Udemy is definitely one of the best learning platforms due to the sheer amount of online classes available. With careful selection, the value that may be gleaned from the platform can be absolutely tremendous.
4. FutureLearn
Pricing: Single courses cost about €69. An unlimited license is available for €169.99 per year.
FutureLearn is an online learning platform that mostly focuses on providing university-level courses and online classes. Most of their content providers are well-known universities such as King's College London or major corporations such as Microsoft. As such, all the courses are known to be of supreme quality.
The online learning platform offers a wide variety of courses with different lengths. Users can choose between short courses that only last a few weeks and certification programs that can build up to an entire degree.
While FutureLearn lacks in volume when compared to Udemy courses, the quality more than makes up for it. All the learning programs on offer are provided by reputable authorities in the field, and some courses even have (academic) celebrity instructors.
As such, FutureLearn is best for those looking for online degrees that have a meaningful impact on their future employment possibilities. The online learning platform is as close as one can get to being enrolled in one of the top universities.
5. LinkedIn Learning
Pricing: Free trial available. Subscription costs €19.99 per month (if paid annually) or €29.99 per month (if paid monthly).
LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform associated with the business-oriented social media network. Many of the courses available on the online education platform come from reputable industry veterans and experts, so the quality of online lessons is always top-notch.
Additionally, since it's associated with a professional social network, LinkedIn Learning provides sharing options when a person completes e-learning courses. Adding these certifications to the profile can provide social proof of one's skill set.
All of the courses on the online learning platform are intended for industry professionals, so while they do issue certificates, no degrees are provided. These certifications, however, are often more than enough for people seeking to change their career or improve existing skills.
LinkedIn Learning, as such, is one of the best online learning platforms for professionals on the market. Since it's tied to the social media platform for career development and growth, it's a great source for those who want to improve their profile in the eyes of employers.
