Don’t get frustrated when you first start out. Take your time, look around on different platforms and choose what you like the most. Talk to people, check out your options. Because believe me, you have thousands. In case your English is not good enough start with that! There are multiple options you can choose from both with groups or you can learn by yourself. It depends on what you prefer.

We also wrote a post about How to learn languages quick & easy where we collected all the platforms we use to learn languages. We currently learn Italian. However, our native language is Hungarian and we were both in our twenties when we finally seriously started to learn English. I’m not super proud how lazy I was despite the fact I always knew I’ll need English if I want to lead a life I always imagined. BUT I changed and you can too.

In case you’re not sure what kind of jobs you could find or you’re worried that you couldn’t find a job in the country you’re currently live in you should check out our post on How to find real remote jobs online. You will find answers to many of your questions. You are probably wondering how can you decide if a course is reliable and would be useful and not a big waste of time?

I. Your first step should always be to check all the information you can find on the person who created the course. They’re usually accomplished professionals or professors but it is worth the time to check.

II. Check how much support you will get while taking the course. It’s not always included. So, you should just go ahead and ask. Maybe if not from the educator but from other students.

III. Check if you get any verified certification. It’s not important if you just take a course because it’s your hobby or because you’re interested and would love to learn more about the subject. However, it is the most important factor in case you’re taking the course because you want to improve your CV hence your career.

IV. How much time you have to invest on a daily basis? Another very important factor if you work, study or have children while taking a course. These things take up a lot of time of your day and you should consider that before you start a course. Especially with the first ones.

It can mean the end of your online adventures if you start and fail right at the beginning when everything is new and you have to deal with way too many things at once. Again, take your time. At first, you can consider taking courses that help you to learn how to manage time or how to learn by yourself etc.

V. Be sure you’re ready for the course you choose. Yes, I’m talking about this one again. BE SURE before you start if you’re English is good enough or if you have enough time. Don’t be lazy on these points and do your research. It’ll be worth it.

Who enrolls in online courses?

Everyone and anyone. Smart, competent people who are always eager to learn more in favor of advancing their life and career. It can help you in between jobs, with your current job, if you’re a student or even if you just do it for the sake of learning and having some quality fun. Are you often bored? Not anymore! Really, everyone takes them these days.

From college graduates through career-changers and managers to people who are simply curious and are happy to learn new things. From writers and singers to programmers and astronomers everyone is taking online courses to advance their life and career. Why shouldn’t you?

You’ll enjoy the benefits of a good online course in your career and in your personal life as well. Just imagine how good it looks on a CV that you recently finished a Java programming course at MIT. You can often find courses like these on EDX for example. It tells your employer that you’re always ready to learn and improve your skills, that you’re not afraid of hard work, and that you’re always trying and looking for the best quality. So why shouldn’t you take one? The opportunities are finally endless and they are out in the open waiting for you to take them.

Since we know of higher education, the prices were always high, now thanks to the massive online open courses out there, this is changing. In case you are thinking of getting a college degree, these courses can help you achieve your dreams. You can earn college credits with these courses and actually enroll to earn a diploma, even in Ivy League Universities such as Harvard.

Of course, it is also cost efficient since you’ll earn a diploma online for a third of the price. You can be location independent or you can decide to move to the city of your chosen university and start taking the classes in person. Or you can just simply enjoy the unlimited knowledge that is all yours if you want.

You can learn how to sing, learn more about the human body, nature or learn all the secrets of the universe.l Degrasse Tyson for less than $10.

Where Can You Find The Best Online Courses?

First comes first. You have to know why do you want to take a course and what would you like to achieve. Someone, who wants to advance their career would have to take a different path from a student or a hobbyist. These are the best places to go. Have a look and make the first step towards a better future.

EdX offers free online courses and classes, it was Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012. Their goal is to increase global access to quality education by connecting learners to the best universities and institutions from around the world.

Masterclass offers entertaining and useful courses led by some of the most successful people on our little planet. No matter if you’re interested in art, business, writing, singing or cooking you’ll find a Masterclass that suits you.

Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that offers free practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace.

Coursera Venture-backed, education-focused technology company founded by Stanford professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera offers 2000+ courses and is taught by top instructors from the world’s best universities.

Skillshare is a learning community for creators and makers. Skillshare is a learning platform with online classes taught by the world’s best practitioners.

The Open University is a public distance learning and research university, its mission is to be open to people, places, methods, and ideas.

Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages including Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, and Sass, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS.

UDEMY is a great place to teach and to learn new skills from arts to sciences that will help you achieve your goals.

More Resources & Inspiration on online courses

If you want to do a deeper research on online courses you should check out this post on the 50 top online learning sites. TED is also a great place where you can learn just about anything. These three talks will help you understand more about learning & online courses and how they can advance your life.

Anant Agarwal: Why massively open online courses (still) matter

Daphne Koller: What we’re learning from online education

I also have to mention Sir Ken Robinson, he has multiple talks on TED. Which I’m sure you’ll enjoy and will inspire & motivate your journey to get started. Today. Not tomorrow. You can consider watching these videos as your first step. You can also check out his 10 favorite talks on TED.

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

Do you have any experience with online courses or unconventional learning styles? Share with us!