The coronavirus quarantine is one of the most worrisome times in modern American history. Not only do we all have to contend with a virus that kills people but also with the largest global economic slowdown where we cannot even work if jobs were aplenty. The longer the lockdowns continue the harder it is becoming to visualize what the future might look like. We don’t know how long it will take for the massive numbers of unemployed people to find jobs again.
So the question remains as to what can we do to mitigate stress in these uncertain times? How can we increase our chances of getting employed? One excellent option is to use the time and resources made available to upskill during this quarantine period for better job prospects.
Several websites and organizations are giving free access to online courses during the pandemic. This is of great help to people who are in or were thinking of entering a new domain. It also helps you learn skills that make you a better fit for jobs with good growth prospects.
Free/Affordable Courses Available Now
We have compiled a list of some free or low priced courses that also have a good chance of being recognized and accepted by employers. You can use them to upskill or just gain an idea of whether a career would suit you before making a plunge with a more expensive professional qualification.
Harvard EdX Courses
Harvard is offering 64 of its courses for free, during the quarantine period. Their catalog includes the following courses offering very relevant skill training:
- Game Development
- Mobile App Development
- Python & Javascript Web Development
- Computer skills for lawyers
- Nonprofit Financial Stewardship
- Data Science
- Introductory Artificial Intelligence
- Contract Law
- Entrepreneurship
Coursera
Coursera online courses, unfortunately, require payment to obtain a recognized certificate, but one can audit their courses for free. There are several companies though that are more concerned with people possessing requisite skills than paper degrees. They have numerous courses from the faculty of extremely reputed universities including The Wharton School, UPenn etc. They even offer curated programs leading to an online Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
A few courses are freely available to deal with COVID-19.
The courses that are quite in demand nowadays are:
- Business Analytics & Development
- Finance
- Software Development and Web Development
- Health Informatics
- Cloud Computing
- AI applications
Free YouTube Videos
There are numerous free resources available on YouTube to learn high-demand skills such as marketing, search engine optimization, analytics, etc. Many leading companies also provide free professional development course snippets.
Udemy
The platform offers free and paid courses in diverse fields from leading professionals who act as mentors. There are courses in marketing, finance, photography, social media marketing etc.
You can also consider developing soft skills in communication, negotiation, statistical skills etc. These skills are foundational to any professional success and are often transferable when you attempt to switch careers.
This can be a taxing time especially if you have lost your job. While you apply for unemployment benefits, keep yourself occupied by indulging in some self-care and self-improvement. Try not to think about outcomes you cannot control.