3 Skills You Can Learn Online Quickly

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Looking to start a new career or just learn a new skill while you’re cooped up at home? Check out these three courses found on Coursera, which is a great site for people who want to learn new things for free!

Work with actual teachers and professors, pay nothing and go at your own pace. Read on to discover some of the best free courses you can start right now!

Coding

Learning to code will provide you with an extremely valuable skill. Code is behind our modern world; it’s the fundamental structure of every web page we see. The surprise most people find? It’s easier than you think!

Want to get in on the action? If so, we recommend “C for Everyone: Programming Fundamentals” with Ira Pohl on Coursera.

The course description is as follows:

This course is for everyone. In the new world we live in, coding is a universally valuable skill, whether you’re a scientist, artist, or a humanist. Algorithms are everywhere, and we all have to understand how they work. The C language is particularly well suited as an introduction to coding: It’s a tried-and-true language, and it allows you to understand computing processes at a deep level.

No prior knowledge of coding is needed for this course. We’ll start at the beginning. The time estimated time commitment for this course is five hours a week for five weeks.

SEO

Much like coding, Search Engine Optimization is a fundamental skill that’s taken over the internet world.

To learn more about SEO, why not try “Introduction to Search Engine Optimization” with Rebekah May?

The course description is as follows:

Ever wonder how major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo rank your website within their searches? Or how content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users? Welcome to the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This course is the first within the SEO Specialization and it is intended to give you a taste of SEO.

You will be introduced to the foundational elements of how search engines work, how the SEO landscape has changed and what you can expect in the future. You discuss core SEO strategies and tactics used to drive more organic search results to a specific website or set of websites, as well as tactics to avoid to prevent penalization from search engines. Discover how to position yourself for a successful career in SEO should this subject prove interesting to you. We hope this taste of SEO, will entice you to continue through the Specialization.

Psychology, counseling and mental health

Therapist’s jobs are known for being safe because, well, people will always need therapy! If you’d like to get a taste for the industry before jumping into an official program or simply have more tools in your arsenal for improving mental health, we recommend “Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health” with Sonia Kumar.

The course description is as follows:

In today’s world, mental illness and distress are common and these account for a significant burden of disability within our community. At the same time, there is a growing interest in understanding and enhancing positive mental health and wellbeing; particularly from developments in the fields of positive psychology and mental health promotion. Positive Psychiatry is a new term (Jeste et al 2016) that describes a dual approach to mental health, where we build strengths, supports and healthy lifestyles as well as treating illness and distress.

In this course, we will explore different aspects of good mental health as well as provide an overview of the major kinds of mental disorders, their causes, treatments and how to seek help and support. The course will feature a large number of Australian experts in psychiatry, psychology and mental health research, and we will also hear from “lived experience experts”, people who have lived with mental illness, and share their personal stories of recovery.