Once you graduate college, you have this realization that learning is… actually kind of fun. Sure, taking one class might not be worth the thousands of dollars you paid for it in college, but knowing that you have the freedom to study everything and anything? You don’t know how good that feels until it’s gone. Fortunately, many educational institutions offer courses for free. Yes, that’s right, free! Here are some of the subjects you can study – and some of the amazing schools you can study from.
Entrepreneurship 101: Who is Your Customer?
Starting your own business isn’t as easy as going on Shark Tank, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to even get to that point. Learn the basics of how to build a business, how to select a market, and how to get customers to pay for your product. Yes, it’s not the most glamorous part of entrepreneurship, but once you have this part down the rest will be smooth(er) sailing.
Reading Music
Sheet music is more than just a cool DIY tool, it’s also a great way to appreciate the music that you already love. You don’t need to play an instrument or be a singer to read music, just take this course and you’ll learn all the basics in no time! It’s much easier than it sounds, and you can use your newfound skills to impress your friends the next time you’re at a concert.
Gender & Media
You don’t have to be an engineer to study at MIT. While the courses do mostly focus on STEM subjects, their other classes – like this one on feminism, media and technology – focuses on the intersection of gender identity and media. You’ll learn how both subjects affect each other as well as how technology helps and hinders social constructs. It’s the perfect complement to keeping up with current political events.
Introduction to Negotiation
Regardless of where you are in your career, it never hurts to brush up on your negotiation skills. This free course is from Yale University and it focuses on more than just keeping a straight face. You’ll learn to analyze the situation and how you can discover the underlying interests of others. Plus, you can practice with other students in the course. It might be online, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have in-person results!
The Art of Storytelling
Have you dreamt of creating the next Pixar movie? If so, you’re in luck. It was recently announced that a new storytelling course will be offered on Khan Academy’s website and yes, you guessed it, it’s created by Pixar. The class focuses on Pixar’s storytelling process and how you can use that to tell unique stories of your own. Khan Academy also features other Pixar classes as well, including animation, color science and others that will help you hone your technical skills.
The Music of the Rolling Stones
Sometimes, you just need something fun to distract you from your typical day-to-day living. What better way to do that than by learning about The Rolling Stones? You can listen to their greatest hits now and thank us later.
