Not impressing potential employers? Not feeling the love from your boss after that last project? Feel like your college degree isn’t enough?
You don’t have to go back to school to learn something new. Thanks to the internet, there are a bevy of sites offering free or low-cost online education on a number of topics. Everything you could ever want to learn, from coding to how to invest your money, is online and ready for you.
Here are 17 websites to explore when you want to gain some skills for professional development or personal growth:
Coursera
Take the world’s best courses, online. Coursera has partnered with top universities and organizations to offer courses for anyone.
Lynda
Lynda.com is education at your fingertips. For a low subscription cost, you can learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals from their video library.
Udemy
From programming to yoga, Udemy has a little bit of everything. Taught by expert instructors, Udemy.com’s 40,000+ course library is on-demand so you can learn, whenever and wherever.
Skillshare
Want to explore your creative side? Check out SkillShare and learn a variety of topics from the world’s best creators.
Khan Academy
Need to brush up on your math skills? Want to learn a little more about science? Try Khan Academy. They offer practice tips, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard to help keep you motivated.
TedEd
Want to expand your knowledge on topics quickly? TedEd is perfect for you. As the educational initiative from TED, with a constantly growing video library, learning something new has never been easier.
Open Education Consortium
Take college courses from a variety of institutions from your computer wherever you are in the world from Open Education Consortium. From MIT to the University of Cape Town, courses, instructional material and access to educators is available to anyone.
iTunes U
Several colleges and universities are now making their coursework available on iTunes U. Learn anything from Cognitive Psychology to Creative Writing.
Alison
Alison features high-quality online education resources to help you develop essential certified workplace skills. From soft skills to digital literacy, and from IT to learning Italian, it’s on Alison.
Google and YouTube
Want to learn a specific skill, how to solve a specific challenge or tackle that DIY project? Google it or see if there’s a video on YouTube. You never know what you’ll discover.
Chandoo
Become awesome at Excel! Chandoo has everything from basics to advanced topics. You’ll be a whiz in no time.
Spreeder
Don’t let your reading speed hold you back. If you’re like most people, you have a lot to read on a daily basis. On Spreeder, learn to speed read and make your life more productive.
LearnVest
From better budgeting tips to saving for retirement, LearnVest.com is here to help. They help you create a customized financial planning program and connect with a real financial planner who can help answer your questions.
Code Academy
Learn the basics of coding in a quick, easy and interactive way on Code Academy.
Code Combat
Learn to code while playing a game? Who could say no to Code Combat?
There are hundreds of education sites available. Take advantage, and you’ll soon have the knowledge and skills required to impress employers, your manager… or even yourself.
Do you have a favorite online learning platform? Let us know in the comments!
About the Author: Lauren Kirkpatrick is YouTern’s Social Media Manager. She graduated from San Diego State in 2011 with a Bachelors degree in Public Relations and the University of Southern California in 2013, with a Masters degree in Digital Media. In her personal life, Lauren is never more than 3 feet from her iPhone or Macbook – she says “they have their own side of the bed” (and our guess is they probably also have their own iNames!). Lauren is a sports junkie, TV aficionado, and expert baker. Follow Lauren on Twitter!