If you have priced online education lately, you have been probably been a victim of sticker shock. According to information I found on the Internet, prices can vary between about $5K to $23K a year. Ouch!!!
Enter lynda.com. Although it doesn't offer degrees or credits, lynda.com is a viable choice for those who are looking for a place to learn in order to increase their marketable skills. They have a variety of business and technology courses in subjects that include business, marketing, IT, computer programming, video, web, photography audio/music and 3D/animation.
How much does it cost? Only $25 per month for unlimited access to all of their courses or $250 a year if you buy an annual plan. If you want to watch offline and have access to project files, you'll pay a bit more. Still, it is only a fraction of the cost of many other online learning options.
So, how is lynda.com? I signed up for a free trial and discovered that the courses are very high quality and well produced. They are generally broken down into small segments so that it is very easy to watch portions of courses when you have free time.
The content is first rate and up-to date. The Raspberry Pi course I took provided a lot of information which will be helpful for me in my job. I completed a course on "Big Data" which was excellent and very thorough. I have other courses in the queue that I will probably complete before I even pay a dime. Most courses have certificates of completion that you can easily post to LinkedIn or your web site if you desire.
If you are interested in improving your skills with high quality training, lynda.com is a no brainer!
For more information, visit: www.lynda.com.
Update: Lynda.com announced on 4/9/15 that they entered into an agreement to be acquired by LinkedIn. From the communication I received: "LinkedIn's ability to connect professionals to the people, knowledge and opportunities and lynda.com's incredible library of high-quality skills content is a very powerful combination. Our missions are perfectly aligned: we both want to help people be great at what they do." For more information, see the FAQ and the announcement.
