Time Well Spent: Take Advantage of These Free Online Courses While Staying At Home

It’s currently 8am and I’ve already eaten a bowl of oatmeal, one bagel, two slices of cake and a handful of hot cheetos.

Just like my breakfast, my time in “quarantine” has been sort of an unbalanced mess. Now don’t get me wrong, my job has definitely helped me maintain some type of normalcy and has been keeping me surprisingly busy with this whole “work from home” deal, which by the way is a real thing, who knew?

I will admit though, this alternate universe that we’re currently living in has made me really reflect on a lot of things, including: my love life, finances, and career. Now the whole love life part will take a lifetime to sort through, so let’s just focus on the more pressing issue at hand: this MONEY.

With all of this uncertainty hanging in the air, this is the perfect time to expand your knowledge and offerings. Besides “Youtube University”, there are a number of sites that offer a ton of free online courses including: graphic design, computer programming, financial accounting, customer analytics and so much more! You can use these courses to kick start your own side hustle or bolster the one(s) you already have. You can also also use these courses as resume boosters and even use them as a selling point when asking for a promotion.

With the help of a few of my friends, I’ve rounded up our fave sites that offer free online learning. Check them out below and leave a comment if you or someone you know has taken advantage of any free online course offerings or you can just say hi!

Alison offers over 1000 free online courses across nine distinct categories. The types of courses across the categories include:
Certificate Courses, Diploma Courses and Learning Paths.

edX is the trusted platform for education and learning. Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX is home to more than 20 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies. As a global nonprofit, edX is transforming traditional education, removing the barriers of cost, location and access. Fulfilling the demand for people to learn on their own terms, edX is reimagining the possibilities of education, providing the highest-quality, stackable learning experiences including the groundbreaking MicroMasters® programs. Supporting learners at every stage, whether entering the job market, changing fields, seeking a promotion or exploring new interests, edX delivers courses for curious minds on topics ranging from data and computer science to leadership and communications. edX is where you go to learn.

Every course on Coursera is taught by top instructors from world-class universities and companies, so you can learn something new anytime, anywhere. Hundreds of free courses give you access to on-demand video lectures, homework exercises, and community discussion forums. Paid courses provide additional quizzes and projects as well as a shareable Course Certificate upon completion.