There are so many online courses platforms and resources. Ten years ago when I took my first online course there were only a fraction of courses compared to what is available online today. The last few years have really shifted learning online and for those of us who work remotely, it seems like an obvious way to continue learning.
The sheer volume of content does however make me question the value and credibility of the courses readily available. Does it have to be a big institution for the course to be recognized? Does it have to cost a lot, or do bargain courses hold their weight in the employment market? What is a credited course or platform, and are certificates enough?
I can’t answer all these questions, but I can give my honest opinion based on experience. I think there are a lot of online resources that can deepen your skills and improve upon your professional experience, especially as a developer. There are the platforms I have selected to recommend based on my own opinion.
Udemy: This platform has a lot of courses. Some are fantastic and some are only ok. With a large range of reviews, I would take a read through some of the courses you are interested in. I’ve been working on a react course by Maximilian Schwarzmüller for a bit now. The course has 494 lecture videos, which is almost 50 hours in the course time. Needless to say, it is a very in-depth course for React and It’s been a great learning tool for me. I am about to start React Native with the same teacher. Each course is around $120 and is a fantastic value for the amount of content received. Chances are you can find the course you want at a discount as I did. Recommend it, but would put the time into vetting the instructor of the course. Are the courses recognized? Honestly, I don’t know, but the Udemy website claims to help big brands build employees’ career skills.
Linkedin Learning: I find Linkedin learning is great for practical skills. I like it for things that will assist me in my daily life, like Quickbooks for example. I haven’t used this platform for learning programming languages so much, but it’s perfect for getting multiple small courses in. It is a subscription-based platform, so you do pay a monthly fee. I don’t know how far it would go on the resume, but it’s credible for building skills in multiple everyday tasks. I’m sure some courses are recognized, as Linkedin is a large professional-based tool.
Do you have any recommendations for online course platforms? I am always looking for great resources.