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JOBS: Grow your career through upskilling
If you need to find a new job or a new career more people are turning to what's called "upskilling." These are low-cost to free online programs that offer professional skill development. FOX 26 Consumer Reporter Heather Sullivan shares more on how you can get started.
HOUSTON - If you need to find a new job or a new career, more people are turning to what's called "upskilling."
Many major colleges and universities offer free to low-cost online professional development courses, boot camps, and certificate programs that are helping more people grow their careers.
Online course providers, such as edX, that partner with these schools are reporting a big uptick in students.
EdX reports having 76 million students, with graduate numbers jumping from 55,000 in June 2022 to 70,000 this year.
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The World Economic Forum reports that registered students on another provider, Coursera, rose from 44 million in 2019 to 92 million in 2021.
"I didn’t have the time to go to a traditional classroom. I didn’t have time to commute, and I needed to be here with my kids," said mother of three, Jessica Barra.
Barra is a Nurse Practitioner who decided to go into product management.
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"I found a boot camp course in product management," she said.
In just 16 weeks, she earned a certificate in product management from UCLA through edX.
"I’m now the director of product operations and I bring the product that we're working on to pregnant women to a clinic in Houston. And it’s been really rewarding," said Barra.
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EdX offers online courses from major universities, including some Ivy League schools, and other educational platforms, ranging from certificates
to boot camps to professional development courses. Popular courses include coding, cybersecurity, data analytics, finance, and management.
"In three to six months, you get the upskilling that you need. You’re more in demand, and it’s a way to keep yourself from being obsolete," explained Esmeralda Garcia, a Director at edX.
She says costs for certificate programs average $11,000, which is much lower than a full degree program at many colleges. There are also many free courses.
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"There are over 1,500 free courses. We partner with a lot of universities through continuing education. Here in Houston, we partner with Rice University," said Garcia.
A 2021 Gallup survey found 75% of workers who completed skill development courses reported some kind of career advancement and increased their annual income by an average of $8,000.
"If you have something you want to do, even if your original career is completely different, I recommend looking into one of these programs. It will help you get to where you want to be," said Barra.
Courses can be found on college websites. Online course providers make it easy to see a variety of programs available and compare your options. Here are a few to choose from: