Growing Your Career with Affordable Continuing Education

The start of a new year is a great time to reflect on your career goals and to identify what is missing in your skill portfolio. Do you lack skills that prevent you from achieving that next promotion or a new position? Do you want to move into a new career field and lack the skills required? If so, there are many opportunities to help achieve your goals without breaking the bank. Starting small with cost-saving continuing education options can help you determine whether a bigger commitment to a degree program is right for you.

The internet can be your best friend for finding courses, certification programs, and many other types of continuing education opportunities. There are several unique learning platforms out there that offer a wide array of educational courses. All you need is a little time and access to a computer, smartphone, or tablet to get started learning a new skill immediately. If you’re not sure where to start, there are a few options for consideration below with varying levels of time commitment and cost to help you choose the platform that best suits your needs.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn¹ is a valuable social platform for professionals to network and search for new career opportunities worldwide. It allows users to highlight their education, licenses, and certifications. LinkedIn offers a unique branch on its platform dedicated to education called LinkedIn Learning².

If you’re in the market for freshening up your business, software, project management, marketing, leadership, creative skills, and many others then LinkedIn Learning may be a good fit. Many companies will offer to cover the monthly cost for this platform or have it included in their educational program for their associates. Researching your organization's provided learning programs and discounts may result in this service being offered to you at little or no cost.

Many of the courses result in a student receiving a certification upon successful completion of a course. This is a great way to show off your continuous education efforts and skills to your organization or to find new opportunities. The courses are broken down into smaller learning segments to make it easier to fit into busy schedules. Whether you have 15 minutes or an hour, there’s something you can learn on LinkedIn Learning. The courses can be taken through the online website or on the app on your smartphone or tablet to make learning on the go super convenient for busy professionals.

Skillshare

Skillshare³ is a great online platform that offers both web and app-based learning for professionals. This program does require a membership commitment, but it’s worth it for the number of courses offered across a wide variety of topics. Many of the courses offer certificates as well upon successful completion of a course.

A unique offering of the Skillshare program is the ability to upload your completed work to the class section to receive feedback from industry-leading professionals in that field. This feedback helps take you to the next level in achieving your learning goals by learning from the experts. The platform has a wide array of courses to cater to a variety of fields of interest. Is public speaking or business writing a skill you’ve wanted to improve? Skillshare has classes for that and much more in manageable segments to make learning achievable on any schedule. Whether you want to further your skill sets in your current field or pursue a new field altogether, SkillShare can help you take your continuing education goals to the next level.

Udemy

If membership commitment isn’t your thing that’s perfectly fine and that’s where Udemy⁴ may be a good fit to consider. Udemy offers similar courses to LinkedIn Learning and Skillshare, but courses are purchased individually with lifetime access to that course. There are courses to fit every budget and skill set. The Udemy platform is also available both web and app-based to make learning easy from anywhere. Again, check with your organization as they may offer reimbursement for course programs through Udemy or have a corporate learning program that includes Udemy.

Udemy also offers some free courses throughout the year to allow users to try the platform. Many of the paid courses provide a certificate of completion that users can print or showcase on their social platforms. The sky is the limit with the types of courses available through Udemy. The platform highlights the key learning outcomes of each course and what is included to ensure the course meets learning objectives prior to purchasing.

Coursera

Coursera⁵ is a great option if you feel a degree or certification program is of interest and offers online-only options for increased accessibility. This platform offers the ability to take courses from several leading universities and well-known companies. Many of the courses have required project assignments to ensure learning objectives are met. Users have the flexibility to switch between courses, earn certifications, and potentially earn a degree all while learning at their own pace for a flat monthly subscription cost. 

Coursera has a section on its platform that’s dedicated to helping users identify courses best suited to a career field. This comes in handy when you’re unsure where to start or what skills you need in a new field of interest. The platform offers classes online and offline to allow for easy access to learning. Users can track their learning progress through each course and module of a program. The certification and degree program options are a valuable way to showcase your skills and commitment to learning when looking for new career opportunities or just moving up in your current field. 

Get out there and learn

There are so many unique ways to make learning a part of your day at work and at home. Continuing education can help you both professionally and personally. No matter what your goals are for this year and going forward, continuing education is easier than ever to integrate into busy schedules. So, get out there, learn something new, and challenge yourself in ways you did not know were possible with these great educational platforms.

References 

1. https://www.linkedin.com/
2. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/
3. https://www.skillshare.com/
4. https://www.udemy.com/
5. https://www.coursera.org/

Disclaimer

These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or approval by BSM Partners of any of the products, services, or opinions of the corporation or organization, or individual. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

 

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About the Author

Heidi Wilson is a former Business Development Manager for BSM Partners with over 12 years of experience within the pet food industry. Prior to joining BSM Partners, Heidi was focused on pet food product innovation, private label development, and e-commerce execution. She currently serves as Director of Business Development at ADM, and resides in central Texas with her dogs, cats, mini pigs, donkeys, and a horse.