How to improve your career and skills on A budget
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
If you’re willing to put in some time and effort, there are many ways you can improve your career and skills on a budget that don’t involve forgoing your favorite hobbies or taking out a loan. In fact, these days it’s easier than ever before because the internet has made learning new things so much cheaper and more accessible. And with many free online courses available from top universities like MIT, Harvard, Stanford University, and Yale University, you have plenty of opportunities for self-improvement without paying an arm and a leg! You just need to know where to look!
Online courses
It used to be that if you wanted to learn something new, whether it’s a programming language or how to read sheet music, you had to go through the time and expense of taking classes at your local university. Now, thanks to the Internet, there are countless websites dedicated to teaching people about practically any topic imaginable. There are either free online courses or you can look for coupons and discounts, like Datacamp discount, for example, to reduce the cost of taking online courses. This way, you can work at your own pace, you don’t have to worry about commuting or scheduling around other people’s schedules, and there is no chance for you to get distracted by social media or television.
Online learning is also popular among employers. Many companies only expect applicants who have extensive experience with specific software programs or who have earned certification in certain skills that could help them do their job more efficiently.
Books
Even when Amazon was in its infancy they dropped their used book prices down significantly with their “Sell Your Books” section which allowed anyone to sell back any books that they had leftover from college or high school for a nice chunk of change that could be put towards future purchases. Then came AbeBooks which made it even easier to find both new and used books at great prices and sell your old ones.
On the other hand, many websites host online book clubs, where they announce a new book once a month and everyone reads it together at their own pace. This way you can take part in reading group discussions even when you don’t know anyone else in the area who has time to meet for book club meetings. Not only does this allow you to expose yourself to different genres and styles of writing, but there is also the chance that you will find a few like-minded individuals in your online book club.
You can join multiple groups and hopefully make friends with other readers along the way!
Free or discounted workshops
Plenty of organizations hold free workshops around the city on everything from starting your own business to learning how to create websites for personal or professional use. The benefits of attending these workshops cannot be understated. Not only will you learn something new at no cost, but there may also be valuable networking opportunities if the workshop is given by someone who works in your industry or one that interests you.
Check out events pages on your social media for more information on upcoming workshops near you!
Listen to podcasts
Podcasts are free to listen to and most of them discuss very interesting topics that can help with advancing your career or improving your skills. Plus there is no need to buy expensive equipment like microphones or headphones if all you want is to tune in while on your morning commute or jog.
Pick a few podcasts that interest you and check out the episode archive that will give you plenty of time and material to explore all their episodes and pick which ones look like they’ll be most helpful to you!
Software tools
Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
Even though you don’t have to pay for software these days, it can still be expensive if you buy all the most recent versions. To save some money, look into buying older models of software. Some places offer free trial licenses of premium software so check those out before committing to a big purchase on your credit card.
You can also use open-source applications that are highly functional but completely free to download and install on your computer. LibreOffice is one example that will work just as well as Microsoft Office at a fraction of the cost.
If you want to get ahead in your career or improve skills without spending a fortune, there are plenty of ways for you to do this on a budget. You can take online courses, look into used books, seek free workshops out there within your industry, listen to podcasts or just invest in some coupons for platforms on careers.