If you’re currently out of work due to the mass layoffs caused by the pandemic, then it’s likely that you have more time on your hands right now than usual.
Take advantage of that rare opportunity by padding your resume with new skills or knowledge that can make you more attractive to employers when you start job hunting again.
The good news is that you can do this without leaving your home or spending your extra money.
Learning for Free
There are currently thousands of online college courses you can take for free if you audit these classes.
If you really want a certificate as proof that you finished a certain course, you can choose to pay to earn it. However, recently laid off individuals may qualify to get free certificates from Coursera.
According to Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO, local government can offer the sites’ courses at no cost for people who have been affected by the ongoing pandemic. The online learning platform currently has around 3,800 courses covering subjects like data science and job skilling.
Expert Taught
Another great thing about the online college courses available today is that a lot of them are taught or have been approved by top learning institutions and professors.
For example, Coursera and edX host classes that are offered by over 900 universities from around the world. The platforms’ library of courses even includes several that are being taught by Ivy League schools.
Some timely courses you may want to look into are the University of Michigan’s ‘Finance for Everyone’ and the University of Maryland’s ‘Innovation for Entrepreneurs’.
A Side of Fun
If you’re looking to take a class for fun, you’ll also find a lot of interesting courses available online.
Got the time to finally learn Spanish? The University of California-Davis has a Coursera class on the language’s basic vocabulary.
Interested in brewing your own beer at home? EdX has an entire category of courses dedicated to this topic.
But before taking a deep dive into learning these coming months, experts recommend that you start your journey with a class about learning itself. The University of California-San Diego offers something just for that with their ‘Learning How to Learn’ class on Coursera.