Gaining skills is a lifetime process and it never ends. If you want to be a successful freelancer then your first step should be to learn the subject matter in-depth. But where can you learn those skills that you need to succeed in your freelance business?
Lifetime access
Udemy
Best online learning platforms where you’ll find the most renowned teachers & instructors.
Learn to code
TreeHouse
Subscription-based online learning platfor that best suits programmers & developers.
Massive provider
LinkedIn Learning
Subscription-based courses are separated into three main categories: Business, Creative & Technology.
There are hundreds of thousands of coaching & training centers all around the globe. But it’s really tough to become available & spend lots of money on training seasons, boot camps, etc.
More importantly, everyone can not manage the time to participate in those live classes, training, boot camps, etc.
In this post, I am going to introduce the best & authentic online platforms where you can learn new skills and brush up on your existing knowledge.
#1 Udemy -learn anything on your schedule
Udemy is one of the best online learning platforms where you’ll find the most renowned teachers & instructors.
From programming to storytelling, Udemy has popular courses in most fields. All these are video courses. And most of the courses also have quizzes, attached documents (where necessary), and other educational materials.
Udemy is not a subscription-based platform. That means you don’t need to pay bills monthly or yearly.
They sell every course with a one-time fee and you own the course for a lifetime. So you can take the course depending on your own schedule.
Another cool thing about Udemy is the teachers & instructors update their courses when needed. It includes adding new lessons, updating old lessons, etc. But you don’t need to pay any extra fees to take advantage of it.
Udemy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with any of its courses. And you’re free to get a refund within the stipulated time if you don’t like a certain course. However, manipulating this advantage can result in issues.
No matter if you’re a website designer, developer, programmer, writer, graphic designer, digital marketer, SEO expert, or something else, Udemy has courses for you.
#2 TreeHouse
TreeHouse is a subscription-based learning platform. You can signup for a 7-day free trial and then $25 per month.
Once you subscribed to their platform, you’ll have full access to all their courses.
Note that TreeHouse is only for programmers & developers. So if you want to learn a skill different than web development, programming, mobile app, etc then TreeHouse is not the right platform for you.
But if you want to learn new skills in the technology field then you can give it a try. Aside from programming, they also teach design, business, etc. See all the topics available on TreeHouse →
I personally used TreeHouse for a couple of months and I found their teaching process very smooth and easy to digest.
All these are video lessons with quizzes and other practice materials.
Anytime you finish a video lesson, it will take you to specific challenges and let you know if you’re eligible for the next lesson or not. Also, it will help you to practice code while learning.
That means it just not watching videos, you’re passing through a learning process.
#3 LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)
LinkedIn Learning (previously known as Lynda) has interactive online video courses in many different subjects. They also provide certificates upon course completion.
Their courses are separated into three main categories: Business, Creative & Technology. And each of the categories contains many different courses. From career management to full-stack web development, you’ll find all sorts of courses.
LinkedIn Learning cost $26.99 per month but you will be billed annually. However, you get a one-month free trial. If you don’t like then you have the option to unsubscribe anytime.
But if you want to make the payment on a monthly basis then it will cost you $39.99 per month. However, the price for LinkedIn Learning may vary from person to person. This is just because of their marketing policy. You can also get it with a LinkedIn premium subscription.
All these learning platforms are paid. It either comes with a one-time course fee or monthly/yearly subscriptions. Only Udemy has a few free courses along with paid courses (among the above platforms). Anyways, if you are looking for free courses, see another post that contains a wide list of free online courses in many different niches.
Conclusion
I used all these learning platforms myself and also some others that I have not mentioned here. I found the above platforms very easy to use and effective. Most importantly, their teachers and instructors are highly skilled, trained & have proven track recording of teaching students.
Except for Udemy, the rest of the two platforms contains hand-vetted instructors. Udemy has both good & bad instructors. It’s your job is to look around, see other students’ feedback and explore the right courses for you.
If you ask about my personal experience & recommendation, I will recommend Udemy first. Because you have the option to buy specific courses and you own them forever.
The subscription-based platforms are also good but I feel puzzled because I have access to hundreds of premium courses, and my mind forces me to complete all of them within a single month subscription. So it was frustrating for me but it may not be for you.
I may add more platforms in the future if I found any new & authentic sources. You have a couple of options at this moment. Now the choice is yours!
