Is It Worth Taking Free Online Courses with Certificates?

 

<The Sample Certificate of Harvard University CS 50>

In today’s economy, it’s more important than ever to be able to demonstrate your skills and knowledge to potential employers. And one of the best ways to do that is by taking free online courses with certificates. 

While the courses may not be as rigorous as those offered by traditional educational institutions, they can still provide you with a good foundation in the subject matter. And best of all, many of these courses offer certificates of completion that can be used to demonstrate your expertise to potential employers. 

So if you’re looking to expand your knowledge or beef up your resume, free online courses with certificates are definitely worth considering!

What is an online certificate?

An online certificate is a digital document that shows that you have successfully completed a course or program of study. Typically, online certificates are issued by educational institutions such as universities or colleges, but there are also many free online courses that offer certificates of completion.

Why take free online courses with certificates?

There are a number of reasons why you might want to take free online courses with certificates. Perhaps you’re looking to expand your knowledge in a particular subject area. Or maybe you want to learn new skills that can help you in your current job. 

Whatever the case may be, free online courses with certificates can be a great way to further your education and improve your career prospects.

The types certificates

Certificates of Completion

Certificates of Completion are certificates issued to a student who has successfully completed the requirements of a particular course or program. The certificate may contain the name of the awarding institution, the name of the student, the title of the program, and the date on which it was awarded. Certificates of Completion are often used to demonstrate that a person has completed a particular program or course.

Social Impact Certificates

The next level up from the standard certificate of completion is a social impact certificate. Social impact certificates are a relatively new type of certificate that is issued to individuals or organizations who have had a positive social impact. 

They can be used to prove that an individual or organization has made a positive contribution to society and they can be used to offset negative behaviors or actions.

Verified Certificates

Verified certificates are certificates of completion for courses with a fee that varies depending on the type of course. Many people use it for their work and school application. Upgrading to the verified certificate track will give users the opportunity to view graded assignments regarding the possibility of earning a verified certificate.

Simple Q/A about the free online courses with certificates

How rigorous are the courses?

The quality of free online courses with certificates can vary depending on the provider. While not all of these courses are created equal, some may be rigorous enough to count as college credit.

Do free online courses with certificates have any downsides?

While there are many benefits to taking free online courses with certificates, they aren’t for everyone. For example, you may not be able to earn college credit for a course with a certificate.

Can a free online course with a certificate help me get a job?

Yes, many employers will recognize that you have demonstrated expertise in certain areas by taking free online courses with certificates. So if you’re looking for opportunities to expand your knowledge or beef up your resume, free online courses with certificates can definitely help!

Are there any other benefits to taking free online courses with certificates?

Yes, many employers recognize that you have demonstrated expertise in certain areas by taking these courses. So if you’re looking for opportunities to expand your knowledge or beef up your resume, free online courses with certificates can definitely help!

Is taking free online courses with certificates difficult?

Many of these courses are very easy to complete, and some offer college credit for completing them. However, others may be more rigorous than you expect. So it’s important to look carefully at the course descriptions before you sign up.

How do I find free online courses with certificates?

If you’re looking to take free online courses with certificates, it’s important to find reputable providers. With that in mind, here are three trustworthy places for finding free online courses with certificates:

Google

Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

Google is an industry leader in digital marketing, and its trainers have created a comprehensive course that will teach you the basics. These 26 modules cover topics like social media integration or search engine optimization (SEO) to give users insight into how they work best for businesses looking at improving their online presence; all designed with real-world examples so there’s no guesswork involved! 

Google Analytics Academy Courses (Currently Unavailable)

Analytics Academy is the perfect place for you to learn about Google’s measurement tools so that your business can grow through intelligent data collection and analysis.

To excel in the digital world, you need to be certified in Google Ads. Choose from Search, Display, and Video advertising as well as Shopping Campaigns or App Promotion Measurement!

Google Marketing Platform

With the right plan, you can gain a competitive edge in today’s marketplace.

You should learn about Google Marketing Platforms so that your company has access to millions of potential customers and clients who are searching online for what they need from their providers like yourself!

Google Digital Garage 

The future of your business is in a range of free learning content that can help you succeed. You have options when it comes to how much time and effort are put into the modules, whether or not an entire course ends up being too much for one session – making sure there’s something perfect no matter what they need!

YouTube Management & Growth 

This course is for professionals in the music industry who want to learn more about copyright law. It’s also designed specifically with enterprise partners and media agencies alike so that you can keep up your skill set as technology changes!

Google AI 

Google AI has a lot of exciting research going on! They are advancing the state of our art in this field with artificial intelligence applied to both products as well as new domains. You can learn a lot from Google AI. 

Microsoft

Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional

Microsoft’s new Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional program is an excellent way to stay ahead in this competitive market. With courses and exams available for absolutely free, you can learn how best to utilize your ad spend while also gaining valuable knowledge on what it takes to be successful with these advertising strategies!

Linkedin

Become a Digital Marketing Specialist 

This course guides you through the best practices and principles of digital marketing, including analytical skills that can be used for business growth.

Become a Project Manager 

The best project managers are the ones who can manage change. You can learn how to use proven techniques for the beginning and end stages of any given endeavor using this learning path.

Become a Graphic Designer 

Become a graphic designer and bring your ideas to life with industry-leading tools. Use the right resources for creating innovative design projects that will inspire people all over the world. This course equips you to be an ideal graphic designer. 

Become a Software Developer 

The path to a successful career as an IT professional begins with the right skills. This learning module will get you started on your journey towards becoming proficient in programming languages and understanding core technologies used for web development, software creation, and more. 

Master In-Demand Professional Soft Skills 

You can set yourself apart from the pack by getting essential soft skills that employers value most, such as communication fundamentals and being a team player. This course will give you an edge when it comes to getting hired for your dream job.

Become a Financial Analyst 

To be a successful financial analyst, you need to have an understanding of current and historical economic data as well as analytical skills. You will also learn how these two areas impact one another through the use of various tools such as Microsoft Excel or other software packages available on board. 

Build Your Skills In Customer Service

Discover how to provide great service and make your customers feel heard, even when they’re unruly or abusive towards you. You can learn skills for listening actively so that all of their needs can be met in order to turn these difficult clients into true allies who will tell others about what an amazing experience it was dealing with them because everyone deserves good quality from businesses as well.  

Become a Sales Representative 

In today’s competitive sales environment, it is crucial that you learn the skills necessary for success. From negotiation and closing strategies to creating emotional engagement with your audience—this course covers all of these topics as well more!

Mentioning key concepts such as selling partnerships or how people make decisions based on emotion rather than logic will give buyers something valuable at their fingertips when they are making tough purchases decision time comes around again soon enough.

Prepare for the CompTIA A+ Certification (220-1001 and 220-1002)

This learning path will help you prepare for the CompTIA A+ exams by teaching system administrator skills. The course offers in-depth training on each exam domain and provides valuable resources that can be used when studying to take these challenging tests. 

Prepare for the CompTIA Network+ (N10-007) Certification (Currently Unavailable) 

The CompTIA Network+ certification is the first step to becoming a successful network administrator. This learning path covers all of your basic networking skills, and it’ll help you understand how those components work together in order to manage them easier.

Digital Transformation in Practice: Virtual Collaboration Tools

Digital transformation requires organizational and individual mindset shifts, and it invites us to work and collaborate in exciting new productive ways. This learning path complements the Digital Transformation for Leaders and Digital Transformation for Tech Leaders learning paths, highlighting key ways to collaborate and communicate in the modern workplace. 

Build Your Excel Skills 

Excel is the world’s most popular spreadsheet program and it just got even better! Learn how to organize, and manage data with key features like formulas & functions while learning all about formatting. Plus don’t forget those shortcuts-you’ll be glad that they’re at your fingertips when you need them most

Build Your Critical Thinking Skills (Currently Unavailable) 

The best way to problem solve is by using critical thinking skills. With this course, you will be able to make good decisions and determine what’s right for yourself in the end.

Build Your Analytical Skills with Statistical Analysis

Statistics is a necessary skill for any professional. It’s important to know the terminology, formulas, and techniques involved in performing common types of statistics so you can use them effectively when exploring new topics or calculating future outcomes based on what has already happened before.

Build Your Data Analysis Skills (Currently Unavailable )

Data is like any other information, and just as with words, it can be powerful when used correctly. The first step in understanding data requires that you identify the questions or insights your team needs to ask themselves so they know what kind of results are desired from their analysis; next, determine which tools will provide these answers (Excel for numbers); then think about how best visualization might help communicate strategically-with visuals instead plumes.

FreeCodeCamp

Responsive Web Design

You can be a professional developer with this course. You’ll learn the languages that builders use to create webpages: HTML for content and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) stylesheets, which are used in the design of online pages or sites. 

JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures 

JavaScript is the most important programming language for creating interactive web pages. In this course, you’ll learn how to write code in JavaScript that makes your website more engaging and dynamic with variables & arrays; objects & loops; function statements.

Front-End Development Libraries

With this course, you’ll learn how to style your site quickly with Bootstrap. You also get an introduction to web development and basic CSS skills that are necessary for more advanced topics like algebraic stylesheets or implementing responsive layouts using media queries – all in one course.

Data Visualization

In this empowering course, you’ll learn how to present different types of data with ease using D3.js and its powerful library that allows for creating charts, graphs, or maps in just minutes! You will also be familiarized with JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) which is used by many APIs such as Google map API – giving your presentations an extra edge over competitors who do not know what’s coming next because they’re limited within their own learning capacity vs ours at earlier stages.

Quality Assurance

You’ll learn how to write tests with Chai, the renowned tool for testing ECMAScript 6 applications. This certification will equip you not only in knowing what it takes but also give an advantage when developing on browsers like Edge or Chrome which don’t yet support natively-available features of our newest scripting language standard.

 Machine Learning with Python 

With this course, you’ll learn how to use the TensorFlow framework for building several types of neural networks and explore advanced techniques like natural language processing. You’ll also dive into these topics by examining deep recurrent convolutional neural systems.

Information Security

This course will introduce you to the fundamentals of online safety by building a secure web app with HelmetJS. You’ll also learn how to do some basic penetration testing, which can be an important part of good security practices in the general information age.

Scientific Computing with Python

With this course, you’ll learn the basics of Python—variables, and loops. Then we move on to conditionals and functions! Later in the series, we cover more complex data structures like lists or trees; networking with sockets (or HTTP); designing databases using MySQL/PostgreSQL alongside other popular database systems such as SQLite3 which is built into Android OS – not just iOS anymore.

Data Analysis with Python 

This course will teach you how to read and process data from sources like CSVs or SQL using libraries such as Numpy, Pandas & Matplotlib. You’ll also learn the fundamentals of analyzing your first set of real-world numbers in this course

What Do Employers Think of Your Online Certificate?

When it comes to online certificates, employers typically think of one of two things: either the certificate is evidence that the employee has completed a rigorous course of study, or the certificate is evidence that the employee has wasted their time and money.

In general, employers prefer to see online certificates from accredited educational institutions rather than free online courses. However, there are some free courses that offer certificates of completion that are equivalent to those offered by traditional educational institutions. So if you’re looking to take a free online course with a certificate, be sure to do your research and choose one that will be seen as credible by potential employers.

Ultimately, whether or not an employer views an online certificate as being credible comes down to the individual’s personal preferences. If you’re looking to beef up your resume, free online courses with certificates are definitely worth considering!

Conclusion

Free online courses with certificates can be a great way to learn new things and improve skills, while also being good for your resume. There are free certificate programs that will help you get ahead of the game in terms of credentials and experience, so don’t count them out! 

When looking at free certificates from free course providers, it’s important to do some research beforehand. Do they have any downsides? What is their reputation among employers? 

The more information you have about free online courses with certificates before signing up or taking one on offer, the better off you’ll likely end up when applying for jobs or school applications down the road.

Here are some suggested posts to read for you:2022 Free Online Courses From Harvard University/ 8 Best Strategies For Successfully Completing Online Courses/ 5 Reasons Why You Should Take CS50 Harvard University

Smartly Josh

Smartly Josh

Smartly Josh is the founder and chief editor at LearningSmartly.com. He is passionate to learn new skills. His aim is very simply. Just help you take the right courses for your future.

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