Do Not Enrol in an Online Course without Reading This: An Honest Review

‘Online courses are scams!’ — Saw this often? But all those netizens forget the very point that one should never generalise.

Firstly, I am eligible to write on this given I have spent a considerable time on courses conducted online including — Post Graduate programs in Artificial Intelligence from top-ranked US University, course tracks on Datacamp, language learning on Busuu, Duo Lingo, and several courses in Coursera, Udemy ranging from technical courses from Michigan’s to that of management courses from London Business School.

Getting straight into the point, let’s dissect our thinking around the topic by asking questions, to bring out our own answers from within.

Note: Dear Reader, To save time, navigate directly to your question

Q1. Why are we spending our valuable time doing online courses?

I am sure your answer would fall under one or more of these categories:

• I would like to learn a new topic/act or deepen my current knowledge
• “Side hustles” would be the keyword for the post-pandemic era
• Get better at the current job or aim for a better job
• It will improve my resume / LinkedIn profile
• To add certificates from Ivy League colleges to my profile (quench my thirst to pass out from a reputed college)
• Everyone is doing something — FOMO or it will improve my status — It will sound cool!
• To add credits for your higher education

Now this above draws us into the next question

Q2. Does the course fulfill the above chosen needs? Is this course worth the cost and time?

Probable answers

• The syllabus, sample videos, projects mentioned, teaching style have all been found suitable
• I have read the reviews, spoken to people who completed the course and the majority of the reviews are positive
• Worth the cost given I am sure I can earn from that knowhow and recoup the money spent

Q3. Why does this question arise about the use of these certifications in the first place?

Throughout my reading across many forums and discussions with people, found out these reasons through which they belittle some certifications.

• Given the world where a certification indicates ‘possession of knowledge’, people have been convinced that certain online learning platforms do not ensure that the necessary knowledge is imparted to the learner.
• Lack of practical experience in a specialisation, absence of appropriate testing methodology lands the learner nowhere near to being specialised in a particular field.
• Some courses are not from institutes, but from individuals who proclaim that they are experts in their fields. Imagine what if the individuals guide you through their point of view, which is incorrect or not acceptable in the market.

Let’s frame this above thought into a question.

Q4. Which platform to choose?

Several times I have taken up research online to study the platforms, courses, and inhibitions, but my writing here remains unbiased and is based on my own experience. Accordingly, only a few platforms were chosen for comparison here based on the courses I have completed — original work:

• Coursera — Individual section-wise tests exist, unevaluated write-up exists, which are multiple-choice/write-up, which are not very intuitive or tricky. Towards the end, it is peer assessment, which is fine to some extent but you will lose on expert feedback and further learning from it — which is very important. Adding to this, usually, you would not get a response to a doubt raised from the course maker. On the other hand, where else can you get teaching from world reputed colleges at the comfort of your home. Best for management courses and overview/introduction to technical courses (not in-depth) due to lack of expert feedback and practical exercises.
• Udemy — You look at all the videos and tada! Course completion certificate arrives. Did you watch Netflix or play PS5, while playing your management course on Udemy on mute? Again no one to answer your doubts or explain to you personally. But are you looking at learning from others at dirt cheap price, exploring new skills and not for a completion certificate — Udemy is your place to go. Best for self-learning given lack of required efficient testing methodology.
• Platforms such as Great Learning (Similar include Upgrad, Simplilearn, Edureka etc.) — Lectures are in a hybrid combination of Live/recorded. Live lectures do give a chance to pose questions and there is an excellent feedback mechanism along with support from the institution even after the course completion. Best for in-depth technical courses given the feedback mechanism, testing methodologies including topic-wise projects, and a capstone project.
• Datacamp — Different genres altogether with an innovative way of teaching programming languages and other IT skills. Recorded videos and exercises for every topic. ‘On the go’ learning with coding even on mobiles and bite-sized lessons. Tests have hints and additional practise added to this learning will help us gain good grasp of the topics in less amount of time.

Above is the analysis of a sample of platforms available in the market and just give a thought as to where in the above your course / platform categorizes. Every platform is unique and every learner’s needs and goals may be different. Based on the goal, courses / platforms are to be chosen.

Let’s talk post course completion by taking up a single strand from the earlier discussion, bringing us to the next question — one among the most asked online on Reddit / Quora

Q5. Do the recruiters value such certifications?

Let’s step into the recruiter’s shoes for a minute.

• Usually, any extra efforts to learning indicates the applicant is open to learn ‘the way things are done in their company’ as well as bringing in knowhow from other sources of learning from the world
• Certificates prove that you are a lifelong learner and can also show that you have the determination and can self-motivate to execute a project from start to end with flying colours

Some recruiters who themselves have taken such courses know in and out of the platform and judge your certificate based on their own prejudices.

Let’s assume the recruiter doesn’t care about such certifications, then what will be his next step?

Two sub-questions may arise —

Q. 5.1 Can this qualification fetch me a career transitioning job?

Only a qualification may not fetch you a job but it may drop you till attending an interview for a beginner / slightly higher position. In a few fields, it may get you into a managerial position over and above the technical teams, if you have the functional expertise (E.g. Manager of Data Scientists even if you have not handled a data science project yourself directly). All this depends on several factors including your present position, your experience, job role, field, track record, and most importantly the job requirements.

Q. 5.2 Will the recruiter reject your application based on this fact despite you possessing the necessary qualifications for the job or will he weigh you more than another person with the same qualifications that you have?

Obviously, never will an extra qualification add as a deterrent unless you are diversifying your fields way too much indicating to the recruiter that your lifelong learning may be a threat with the possibility of you jumping career fields more than once. Here I do not mean to say that one should not try to lay hands on multiple subjects but not to showcase the entire gamut when you are aiming at a specific interview.

So, we conclude that the recruiter will give some weightage to applicants who have grabbed those extra points. Anyway, your knowledge will be tested during the interview and his impression of you developed based on the certificate can all water down in a few minutes. Well, but the course can atleast take you t the selection of ‘let’s call this applicant for an interview’ phase.

Now the main question pops up.

Q6. How should I stand out or leverage the knowledge earned from this course?

Hard truth: Online courses (most of them) just offer an introduction or an overview and will never cover any topic in-depth. If you read the latest research paper on the course topics, you will always find it difficult to understand it. Recruiters, though may not expect this ‘research-grade knowledge’ for hiring in beginner’s position, know this fact. But to be true to ourselves, a specialisation in a specific topic indicates we are well versed even with the current trends — how does outdated knowledge help? Staying current is crucial. So, to tackle this issue let’s build up the steps:

• Keep building the wall — Your learning should never end with the online course completion certificate. This is just a starting step, yes, you heard it right ! Stay updated and keep learning
• Build a portfolio to showcase — Only include those projects which address the real-world problems. Building baby beginner’s projects (which most of the courses guide you through) won’t look good anymore in this course saturated world!
• Networking — Gain contacts on LinkedIn, subscribe to your favourite blogs, writers on Medium, Twitter and establish interaction channel with the pros, which will bring meaning to your certificate

Let’s summarise folks:

• Choose the platform wisely based on your requirements and hence depends the recognition from recruiters
• Grab a course that provides you with hands-on experience. Even if your course has theoretical content, you additionally and sincerely work on the practicals part to engrave your knowledge
• ‘Fake it till you make it’ certificates hit a wall in front of the interviewer. Don’t fool yourself!
• Your learning doesn’t stop with the completion certificate. Tame it by updating yourself before it eats away the efforts you put in, leading to your learning and skills gained slowly fade away — I say: “Update yourself, before it becomes your mandate”
• After all the above, do not worry about the criticism, on LinkedIn or elsewhere, around completion of courses, after putting in your most sincere efforts. Some of them may just be jealous of your achievements!

Dare to dream, hit it the right way, and be persistent. Happy Learning!

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