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- Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other major companies offer free classes online.
- They help students prepare for industry exams, build employable skills, and earn certificates.
- Below, you’ll find 28 programs in topics that range from data science to cloud technology.
Just like many top universities, major companies such as Google, Amazon, IBM, and Facebook offer free and cheap courses on e-learning platforms edX and Coursera.
Companies use their online courses for myriad reasons. They help train their own employees, build skills they want in applicants (especially for rapidly growing, tech-heavy roles), prep students for certification tests, or serve their philanthropy. As a result, these online courses are typically taught by employees who are industry experts, such as Romeo Kienzler, IBM’s chief data scientist.
Below, you’ll find a few of the programs offered by Google, Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and more. Most of the classes are either free or under $100 to enroll in, while multi-course programs may cost a few hundred dollars.
P.S.: If you plan to take many online classes this year, and they’re included in the membership Coursera Plus, you may want to look into that annual membership ($399/year) to save yourself money in the long term. (Its members get access to 90% of the site for $399. You can learn more here).