Coursera.org

Our first stop on the professional development tour is Coursera.org.  Coursera is an exceptional site offering college/university level coursework from well-known collegiate institutions for FREE.   For instance, you can take an MBA-level Marketing course from Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania), Introduction to Finance from the University of Michigan, Cryptography I from Stanford University, or The Data Scientist’s Toolbox from Johns Hopkins University.  Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Rice, and Vanderbilt are also represented with a variety of coursework options.  You can take the course for free, or pay a small additional amount and receive a Verified Certificate.  All students who successfully complete a course typically receive a Statement of Accomplishment from the instructor.  These are all real courses presented by the actual college and university instructors that teach them daily.  The universities and colleges providing courses have purposely partnered with Coursera to offer these classes for universal access.    

You can read about the course syllabus, course format, language availability, suggested readings, resources required, and recommended background for taking a course at Coursera.org prior to signing up for a class.  Sign up for the site is also free and will allow you to target courses for email reminder that you may want to take in the future.  If you would like some additional coursework to pad your resume or take that next level step in your education, give Coursera.org a try.  To your career success!