6 Skills You can Learn Online for Free to Help you Land new Jobs:
Whether you’ve just graduated from high school, are in the middle of your career, or want to come back into the workforce, there are valuable skills that you can learn online for free which will help you gain experience and enhance your career opportunities.
In this article, we’ll explore the following 6 skills that you can learn right now for free and the jobs they can help you obtain.
Salesforce
Inbound Marketing
Google Ads
HTML
Python
Customer Service
1. Salesforce
Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that helps businesses organize and manage their current and prospective customer records. It’s arguably the most popular CRM platform in the world, and companies around the globe hire individuals with Salesforce skills for various roles. There are also a lot of great self-employment opportunities for individuals with Salesforce skills.
Salesforce offers a free learning program called Trailhead which provides hands-on Salesforce, digital, and soft skills training (including certifications) along the way. The Trailhead program can help you understand the technical
components of Salesforce, including development and administration, as well as how to best utilize the software for a customer management or marketing role. The best thing about Trailhead is that it’s completely free and includes access to the Trailblazer community, where you can find mentorship and job opportunities.
Entry- level jobs include:
Business Development Representative, $45,000 - $50,000
Junior Salesforce Administrator, $70,000 - 80,000
Mid-level jobs include
Salesforce Developer, $100,000 - $110,000
Marketing Manager, $100,000 - $110,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Senior Salesforce Administrator, $125,000 - 135,000
Inbound marketing is the process of growing a business by creating valuable content like blogs, webinars, and social media campaigns that attract customers. Just about every business today understands the need for an online presence with valuable content, which also means that inbound marketing is a high-demand skill to have.
HubSpot is a leading marketing platform and knowledge repository that offers a free Inbound Marketing and Certification Course. It covers the basics of inbound marketing, as well as specific strategies to use when building inbound marketing campaigns. Once you finish this course, you can also take advantage of the related HubSpot Academy courses, including Business Blogging and Social Media Marketing.
Entry- level jobs include:
Marketing Assistant, $40,000 - $45,000
Content Specialist, $50,000 - $55,000
Mid-level jobs include
Content Manager, $70,000 - 80,000
Brand Strategist, $95,000 - $100,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Director of Marketing, $130,000 - $140,000
3. Google Ads
Google Ads are the advertising options offered by Google that allow businesses to list their advertisements on the Google search engine and affiliated websites. Companies pay a lot of money to advertise on Google, which means they need individuals who know how to use Google Ads in order to run and bid on Google advertisement campaigns.
Google offers a free training and certification program where you can learn about the core aspects of Google Ads, practice setting up and managing campaigns, and then get certified on the various components.
Entry- level jobs include:
Assistant Digital Ads Manager, $50,000 - $60,000
Google Ads Specialist, $65,000 - $70,000
Mid-level jobs include
Paid Search Strategist, $65,000 - $75,000
Search Engine Marketing Strategist, $70,000 - $80,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Digital Marketing Director, $115,000 - $125,000
4. HTML
HTML helps businesses create engaging web designs and it is the coding language that powers roughly 92% of the world’s 1.7 billion websites. It’s a vital skill for anyone interested in website development, and codecademy offers an awesome entry level HTML course to help you build your HTML foundation. If you’re interested in coding in general, it’s also a great place to start building technical skills.
Entry- level jobs include:
Junior Web Designer, $45,000 - $50,000
Junior Web Developer, $45,000 - $50,000
Mid-level jobs include
Email Marketing Specialist, $60,000 - 65,000
Web Developer, $65,000 - $75,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Front End Engineer, $120,000 - $130,000
5. Python
No, I’m not talking about how to become a snake whisperer. Python is a coding language that is really popular in software engineering because of its versatile and relatively simple structure. It’s also been growing in popularity due to its use in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Knowing Python can open up a world of opportunities for you, and the Python Institute offers a 2-part Python Essentials course that is completely free. It’s intended to help you prepare for the Python programming certification tests, PCEP ($59) and PCAP ($295), which you will have to pay for.
Entry- level jobs include:
Data Analyst, $40,000 - $50,000
Junior Python Engineer, $65,000 - $70,000
Mid-level jobs include
Python Engineer, $100,000 - $110,000
Data Scientist, $110,000 - $120,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Director of Infrastructure Engineering, $160,000 - $170,000
Don’t worry, I saved the best for last (coming from a completely unbiased customer onboarding manager). No matter what career you choose to pursue, customer service skills will always be in demand. Customer service skills include being able to clearly communicate, use active listening and empathy to understand your audience, and staying adaptable and collaborative when problem solving. Even though the term has “customer” in the title, these skills are vital for everyone regardless of whether you work directly with customers.
The free Customer Service Training offered by Alison provides a 4-part course that will help you develop soft skills that are necessary in any career.
Entry- level jobs include:
Customer Service Representative, $30,000 - $40,000
Training Specialist, $45,000 - $50,000
Mid-level jobs include
Customer Success Manager, $70,000 - $80,000
Sales Engineer, $90,000 - $100,000
Senior- level Jobs include:
Senior Customer Success Manager, $95,000 - $105,000
Director of Customer Success, $120,000 - $130,000
Time to Get Started
The internet has opened up an entire world of opportunity for students and adults to take advantage of learning in-demand skills online for free. I recommend learning one of the first 5 skills listed above, and then pairing it with Customer Service training to make sure you have both the technical and soft skills that you need to succeed.
Once you’ve worked through the resources outlined here, you can also find free online courses through the popular learning platforms Khan Academy, codecademy, Udemy, and Coursera.
Happy Learning!
Krista Edwards is a Customer Onboarding Manager at Nice inContact with several years of experience in customer success and training. She loves learning new skills and sharing information, and her current goals include learning personal finance strategies that help people live happier, simpler, more financially stable lives. When she's not reading, Krista is playing soccer, rock climbing, or hiking with friends and family. She also loves music and dreams about being the drummer in a Prince cover band some day.
IM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the rising generation to understand and live a balanced life. The focus of growth is within the five key areas of: physical health, emotional health, intellectual growth, financial literacy, and spiritual balance. IM is working to bring forth the most comprehensive wellness solutions, to include IM Wellness Centers, into every school across the country.
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