'Optional' Online courses - Should you take them?

Photo by Thomas Lefebvre on Unsplash

During quarantine, I started to dabble around various websites that offer free online courses like Edx and Coursera. Because I love studying, a total Rory Gilmore, I signed up to take the HarvardX CS50 course on Edx. Should you do the same?

Are the courses really free?

Let's clear the air a bit on these courses. You can take the course, granted some information and examinations might be left out, for free. This means you are auditing the course. However, when you finish your free course, you will not earn your certificate, proof that you actually took the course, because that is a separate fee. 

This is the moment in which you need to ponder the motive for taking the course. Do you simply want to improve your skills or learn something new? Or, do you want to expand your resume and Linkedin page? The audit option is the choice for those who just want something to do in their extra time while being productive. In my case, I chose to pay for the certificate on my course, because I knew the course would be challenging and wanted to show my future employers that I have some sort of coding background. The certificates can be as inexpensive as $20 or as expensive as $300+. It all depends on the course and who it is by. 

Certifications on resumes and college apps

I think that having a certification, especially if it's related to your potential major and job, is a great benefit and improves any resume. Also, once you receive the certificate for the course, you can add it to your Linkedin page with the verification code. From then on, any potential employer can quickly see all of your verified certificates.

Regarding college applications, a lot of students are freaking out for what to do during quarantine. Universities typically search for some sort of summer job/internship from their rising seniors. While these are still valid options since you can work remotely from home, taking an advanced course (maybe even more than one) clearly shows to the admissions offices that you take your interests seriously and are willing to improve upon yourself. I think that if you are unable to receive a summer job/internship, earning a certificate from a university is a great alternative. As a side note, try finding courses published by your potential universities/colleges, so you can demonstrate them, you can succeed in their rigorous classes. 

Google Digital Garage 

Recently I found that Google offers digital courses on a variety of topics and offers a free certificate for two of those courses: Digital Marketing and AI Intelligence. Again, if either of these two topics interests you in any way, take the class! They can only help you in the future. To check out these courses, I have them listed under the Downloads and Resources page on this blog.

To close...

Just because you are stuck at home, it does not mean that you should not take the time to focus on your academics and skills. Taking an online course is a 'simple' way to impress college admissions officers and future employers. Also, take your time to research more platforms that offer free certifications. If you find any, do let me know, so we can share it with others. If you have any questions or suggestions for future blog posts, leave them in the comment section. See you in the comments!