Your education doesn’t have to stop after high school or college. Online certifications provide an opportunity to broaden or strengthen your expertise and skillset, whether for seeking career advancements, a job in a new field or just the pursuit of knowledge. From network and data center training to accounting and finance, certifications exist for many fields and have much to offer.
Staying Current
Employers want to be sure that prospective hires stay on top of current developments in their field. This is especially true for information technology careers, where some certifications may expire as products are updated. Additionally, new developments mean new skills become necessary in one’s career; making sure to get re-certified makes you a better candidate for hiring or promotion because it shows that you have both the skills needed and the initiative to expand your skillset.
As Flexible as You Need
Continuing your education while working can be difficult when you have to budget your free time. Traditional classes have a specific weekly schedule that full-time workers could struggle to keep up with. Many online certifications, though, provide options for asynchronous education, with prerecorded lectures and coursework that can be done at your own pace. Some of these courses also include mobile learning features so that you can access them on a phone or other mobile device.
Advance Your Knowledge Quickly
An associate degree takes about two years to complete, and that can be a long time preparing to start work in a new field. In contrast, certifications require much less of a time investment. Most can be completed within a few months, and some as little as six to eight weeks. Tuition isn’t an issue either, as certification courses have a substantially lower per-month cost, with some material even being accessible for free. This makes it much easier for you to branch out in your career path without worrying about how you’re going to support yourself in the meantime.