The global pandemic has altered just about every aspect of our daily lives — from our work and school environments to how we sustain our social circles. In a lot of ways, these changes have made our lives more difficult, but there are some positive outcomes as well. The way COVID-19 has changed business education and skills training by transitioning to online learning spaces could make it more accessible and affordable for individuals to build their professional skills.
From free online graphic design classes to real estate training and digital marketing workshops, there are plenty of opportunities to build up your resume and hone your expertise right from home.
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the top professional skills you can learn anywhere there’s an internet connection. To help you narrow down your sea of options, we’ve categorized these skills into their respective industries.
Digital Marketing
Thanks to the ubiquity of the digital world, digital marketing has blossomed into one of the most lucrative and important industries in the workforce over the last several years. And, with the ability to work from anywhere with wifi, digital marketing has become a relatively accessible field to enter. From SEO to graphic design and social media management, there’s tons of potential to start learning about the digital marketing world right from your home office.
Here are some resources to help you get started:
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SEO: Learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) with Moz’s Whiteboard Friday workshops. In this video series, you’ll gain insight into SEO trends as well as basic skills to get your bearings with SEO terminology and tactics.
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Graphic Design: If you’re more interested in the visual elements of digital marketing, you might want to turn to graphic design training. As you’re getting started, play around with free versions of programs like Canva and Adobe creative suites to gauge your interest and establish some basic technique.
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Social Media: Do you love social media so much you’d want to make it your full-time gig? You sure can! In addition to your user experience, you can also learn a lot about social media marketing with content marketing blogs like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Hubspot.
Tech
In addition to digital marketing, the tech world in general continues to thrive in 2020 and into the foreseeable future, experts say. If you want to cash in on the career trend, start building your skillset online with these resources.
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Web Development: If attention to detail, IT, and problem-solving are some of your top strengths, web development may be worth pursuing. Not only is it typically a lucrative career path, but it also tends to be pretty flexible with remote work and freelance options. What’s more, there are tons of web development courses to develop and test your skillset.
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UX, UI: User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are important elements in both digital and tangible products. Good UX/UI means a product is easy and enjoyable to use, while bad UX/UI could quickly render a product useless. If testing products and engineering solutions sounds interesting to you, check out resources such as: Udacity, DesignTalk, and Hack Design to learn more.
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App Development: Dreaming of building a revolutionary app that sends you into early retirement? Start with the basics. EduMobile, IOS Dev Center, and Treehouse are great resources to get your bearings with app development before you go to launch.
Real Estate
Have a passion for house hunting, number-crunching, or making deals? Real estate may be just the perfect profession for you. Plus, there are a surprising amount of online sources designed to help you launch a career in real estate. Check them out:
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Financing: If number-crunching is your thing, you might consider getting into the financing realm of the real estate world instead. The first step is enrolling in an MLO license training course, also known as mortgage loan origination. These programs will show you how mortgages work, what approval processes look like, what the laws are in your state, etc.
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Agent Training: If you’d like to represent buyers and sellers, the real estate agent path may be ideal for your interests and skills. Luckily, getting your real estate license is relatively straightforward and there are plenty of programs that offer online options, including, Drexel University, Baruch College, and Boston University.
Final Notes
Advancing or evolving your career in the midst of a pandemic may seem nearly impossible to do, but there are tons of online resources that can make your professional goals come to fruition, right from the comfort of your own home. Use these tips as a guide to get started, best of luck!
