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Level Yourself Up With These Online Courses

With so much time on our hands now that we’re pretty much working from home for a while longer, there’s got to be something that can fill our empty after-work hours. Something that, perhaps, could help us on the road to self-improvement. Something like online courses for example?What better way to supercharge your professional life by, well, becoming more professional — or more skilled? Despite the doom and gloom of the recession upon us, there are still ways to make sure you remain competitive — so that in due time, your income will level up alongside you.We’ve compiled a list of websites and online courses (with their course fees) you can pick and choose from to begin your self-upgrading work ASAP.Everything For Everyone (And SkillsFuture Claimable) SkillsFuture Price Range: Depends This shouldn’t be new to any of us. If you’re reading this and you’re above the age of 25, congrats — you qualify! Don’t forget the SkillsFuture credits we’ve gotten from the government. That’s essentially getting a SkillsFuture course — or two — for free. SkillsFuture has everything you could want from online courses: from professional development to learning how to bake bread. Notably, it’s the only one on the list that includes physical classes, if that’s your preference. If you’ve already used up your SkillsFuture credits, remember to look in the ‘Free/Special Rate Courses’ for more free courses, or those that come at a discounted rate. Note: Another SkillsFuture credits payout of $500 will be carried out in October 2020.Udemy Price Range: $16.99 – $20.99 per course Udemy has over 100,000 online courses that range from coding to picking up a musical instrument. Many of Udemy courses are taught by industry experts. Lessons are executed in video format, and are highly rated. Most Udemy courses are on sale as of today, but these prices might change later! However, an upside to Udemy is that some of these courses can be paid for using your SkillsFuture credits, so remember to check which of those are eligible.Professional Development LinkedIn Learning   Price Range: $39.99/month (monthly plan) OR $24.99/month (annual plan) It shouldn’t surprise us that the Facebook of the professional world also offers training courses. For those curious but not yet ready to commit, LinkedIn Learning has a month-long trial you can hop on to see if it fits. LinkedIn Learning offers business, creative, and tech courses. The online courses are also nicely categorised into role-specific themes, useful if you are gunning for a career-switch. You’ll receive a LinkedIn certificate of completion for each course you have completed. However, this certificate is not recognised by third-parties.Online Degrees and Professional Certification Coursera Price Range: Free OR $29 – $99 per course Coursera distinguishes itself by focusing on career-specific skills, they also collaborate with established universities and professional organisations to provide degrees and certification. which can be useful for specific careers. Not all Coursera classes have to be paid for, some are free — so remember to look out for those as you’re scouting out potential courses to take. However, if you want to be professionally certified or university accredited, you will need to pay.EdX Price Range: Free OR $50 – $300 for a verified certificate While similar to Coursera, EdX also provides classes to learn humanities, such as history and psychology. It’s also free to sign up for EdX and benefit from its many university courses in Data Science, Business and Management, and Humanities. They even have courses from Harvard curriculums. They also offer a MicroBachelor’s program in collaboration with established universities, which are catered towards working adults. Like Coursera, you’ll have to pay should you want to be officially certified by a university.For The Creatives Creative Live Price Range: $29 – $119 per course Creative Live, as the name suggests, suits those in the creative field more, offering creative courses taught by industry professionals, such as professional photographers. Creative Live charges you per course. Currently, its prices are all discounted, but they might change at a later timing so remember to check back regularly.Skillshare Price Range: $138 per year Skillshare is also more focused on the creative field but provides a large range from animation to writing. Many of Skillshare’s courses are created and conducted by industry professionals, you might even see the familiar Youtuber or two on the platform. Skillshare differentiates itself by charging a yearly fee, while this might look intimidating, but the upside is that you get unlimited access to all of Skillshare’s courses.Masterclass Price Range: $255 per year What do RuPaul, Anna Wintour, and Timbaland have in common? They’re all your instructors if you choose to run with Masterclass to get that dose of upskilling. Do note that Masterclass leans more towards the “soft skill” side of things, but can still be equally beneficial for those who’re genuinely interested in learning from the best in the arts and entertainment. Their videos have high production quality and are well-structured to make learning engaging. Masterclass yearly fee is far from wallet-friendly, however, but you can work around this by splitting the bill with a friend (or two) to lighten the financial load.This list has been updated as of 24 June 2020.