FREE OR PAID FREELANCING COURSES

Free or Paid Freelancing Course! What are the pros and cons of taking paid or free online courses? In this 6th episode of the Getting Started with Freelancing series, we will be discussing the pros and cons of “Free or Paid Freelancing Courses,” and you may decide which is favorable or not in honing your skills. 

Pros and Cons of Free Freelancing Course:

PROS –  You don’t have to pay or spend anything. You don’t have to ask for money from your parents or your spouse or find it anywhere. You don’t have to get it from your savings.  There are a lot of resources on the internet today. So it’s not something that’s hidden, it’s not something that you need to really seek. You can just go and type in a keyword and all of the resources will be available for you.

CONS – It will cost your time. You need to be spending a lot of time watching many videos and will do a lot of research in order for you to gather and grasp what you need to know. Yes, there are a lot of resources. But when you go through those resources, after creating an application, nobody would be dedicated enough to really give feedback and will assist you when it comes to the output. When you are doing something or you’re learning something, you don’t know whether it’s right or wrong. There’s no feedback and guidance when it comes to providing the output. Nobody would be sharing what you need to do, for you to be competitive and exemplary in this freelancing world. Since there’s no curriculum or course outline that is being followed, then there will be no follow-through when it comes to the next steps to be done. There’s no zero to hero as a guide in becoming a successful freelancer. 

Pros and Cons of Paid Freelancing Course:

PROS – 

1. You are guided. 

Usually, when you are paying for the course, somebody is there guiding you. Somebody is there really showing you where to click, what’s going to be done next, where to upload, where to download, what are the things that you need to do when it comes to the topic that you enrolled into. So it’s guided. 

2. It’s personalized. 

It means that the coach or the company selling you the course will have a prompt answer to your questions in relation to the course taken. They already have all the necessary documentation for you to quickly understand the course. They will be a guide for you. You will not be lost, trying to figure out and research what’s next and what’s the best resource.

3. You are a part of a community.

There are a lot of community-based online courses that will assist you. There are learning groups. If the coaches are not there, there are avenues where you can share something and everybody will route you for that, or everybody will be applauding you or be giving you guidance. So it’s good because you’re not alone. You’re not trying to figure it out on your own. 

4. Route from hero to zero.

It usually has a curriculum that will share avenues for success right from the very beginning. Beginners to paid courses become competitive and exemplary. Usually, it even has after-course guidance. After core support, like an apprenticeship, different opportunities when it comes to working, referrals, and internal hiring. They will give you that because it’s a part of a course package. It’s an end-to-end process when you are in the paid freelancing courses.

It can also be one of the pros when you’re paying and will give you the time to empower yourself, developing and ensuring that you’re learning the skills.

CONS–  It will cost you money and time. Not much more on time, but the money. So, of course, you have to pay. Usually, it’s around P2000.00, P5000.00,  maybe even higher than that. And the time is going to be spent positively or more directed. If you’re not managing your time wisely, it can be your downfall. It can be something that you just enrolled and paid for, but you’re not able to be certified or finish the course because you don’t have the time. 

Freelancing Tip of the Week:

May you be a freelancer, a marketer, or a business owner, be customer-centric. It means all of your operations, all of the things that you’re providing out there, may it be a product or a service, needs to be geared to the customer’s needs. When you’re crafting a branding template,  creating content, doing assessments, and providing value to your customers, make sure that you understand their pain points. Make sure also that you are gearing down everything the value that you’re providing to the very needs and to the direct answer and solution that you’re providing to your customer. 

Key Takeaways:

Every price has a price.  May it be the free course or the paid course no matter what it is, the things that we are pursuing are going to be worth something. If it’s going to be given for free, it’s not going to last long. However, if we are going to pay the price, we will be able to reminisce and enjoy the price that comes with it. Because every price has a price that we need to involve or work into or give ourselves into.