For any career development, lifelong learning is very important. This is because it can help you to remain current by advancing professionally. Unfortunately, most people struggle to find adequate time to further their education. Thankfully, online education tools are increasingly changing the way we are learning. With just a device and internet connection, there are many websites that are empowering millions of people to develop their skills, create meaningful changes in their lives, and launch their businesses. Read below to find top 5 sites to learn online skills that will improve your career.

1.) Udemy

Udemy is perhaps one of the most popular online learning platforms. It’s also the go-to place for millions of people who are interested in developing their careers. Offering more than 45,000 courses including marketing, business, writing, coding among others, you cannot go wrong with this site. However, since it’s not an accredited organization, you will not be given any certificate once you are through with your studies. However, many of the instructors and the developers of the courses are not only helpful, but will also provide you with a lot of information. Examples of their courses include machine learning A-Z, Hands-on Python among others. These courses provide more than 40 hours of video learning and a number of resources and other articles to read. Their tuition rates are also very much affordable, hence you don’t have to worry.

2.) Lynda

Found on LinkedIn, Lynda is a leading online platform that can help anyone who wants to learn online. Coming with a 30-day free trial, you can learn a variety of courses including Machine Learning. They offer short online courses for averagely 1 hour for beginners and some aspects of Machine Learning to advanced learners. In fact, one of the best courses to learn is the Mathematica machine learning. However, what you need to know about this platform is that you have to pay after the free trial period elapses. You also need to know that this does not operate on a course to course basis. As a learner, you are required to pay some monthly fee and get access to more than 6,000 courses available on the platform. The good thing is that you can cancel your subscription and rejoin whenever you’d like.

When it comes teaching technical skills and techniques, this site is just exceptional. Apart from providing multimedia training, it also helps people to pick up money management advice, business principles, and much more. When you need to train fast and learn some skills, Lynda is the best website. Although it’s a subscription-based service, there are some videos that can you can preview free of charge. Although you can try it out for 10 days, you’ll need to fill in your credit card details in order to access the services. While a basic plan is $25, if you want to take annual subscription you’ll need to pay $19.99. Although the charges are reasonable for the kind of training that you’ll receive, there are several ways to get the same content free of charge. You do not need to enter PayPal account details and credit accounts. They also offer programming courses that are broken down into short videos with some taking only a few minutes.

3.) Udacity

Udacity is currently one of the biggest learning platforms. It provides a wide range of nano degrees and courses which will allow you to master on-demand skills. They believe that with their degrees you can get a job within 6 months, hence they are even willing to give you refund if you don’t get a job. What’s unique about this platform is the fact that they believe that education is very important in all stages of a person’s professional life. Teaming up with industry giants such as Facebook, AT&T, Google, and Cloudera, Udacity will offer classes and programs which are meant for those who want to become Data analysts, Web developers, and Mobile developers. Some of the classes that they offer include Introduction to Java Programming, Android development for beginners, and Introduction to virtual reality among others. If you are looking for something with affordable tuition rates, then you’ll find these courses at Udemy.

Just like Khan Academy, Udacity both produces and hosts content. However, since its programs are offered together with corporate sponsors, Udacity courses are recognized by industry leaders to help them advance in their careers. Although the course content is free to peruse, you are required to have a proof of enrollment. It provides both times programs and self-paced courses. Although the courses are self-paced, they are designed to last for at least 2 weeks at 6 hours per week.

4.) Khan Academy

Khan Academy is also one of the best online learning platforms. As compared to others, it’s a nonprofit organization that believes there should be a free online education. Used by many people around the world, it’s not only a very popular website, but is also tailored and designed to help motivate you. The website provides exercises and teaching videos that can make your learning easy. Some of the topics covered include engineering, science, finance, and economics. They also partner with institutions such as The Modern Art Museum, NASA, MIT and The California Academy of sciences. Other classes offered include entrepreneurship, Hour of Code, Finance, and GMAT.

5.) EDX

Since it was founded by MIT and Harvard University, EDX is among the leading and the most prestigious e-learning platform. Nowadays it has moved beyond these institutions to provide top-notch courses from any of the institutions and universities. Since they offer a variety of courses for each level, if you are searching for a course you can filter results according to the universities and interests. If you are interested in a specific university, you will easily get one. More so, if English is not your first language, you’ll be glad to understand that some courses are also available in different languages. With this website, you’ll join over 5 million learners in highly actionable courses.

These are the top 5 sites to earn online skills. The good thing is that most of them have affordable tuition rates.

Annabelle is part of the Content and Community team at SmileTutor, sharing valuable content to their own community and beyond.