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3 reasons you should take Coursera courses, ESPECIALLY if you went to university

I’ve taken my small share of Coursera courses (the latest that I finished was Competitive Strategy, and I’m currently taking Strategic Innovation) and I’m often surprised by the number of people who don’t know about Coursera or could never see themselves using it. Here’re my reasons why I think you should be taking Coursera courses, especially if you went to college/university.

1. They’re free, and maybe not forever

Let’s lead with the most obvious one.

My husband was fond of saying for a while that he’ll enjoy driving a car while we still have the privilege of having access that allows a single person to drive a car (without passengers). This has probably changed the longer we live in the city, but it reminds me that just because something exists now, don’t take for granted that it’ll exist forever. Right now, you can access university courses from top-level universities FOR FREE, where others pay thousands of dollars to attend them.

2. You already have the skills to ace the class

If you went to university and graduated, it hopefully means you already have the skills to buckle down and study a subject in a university-like setting. This is one of the reasons why I do really like Coursera, and why I finish the courses I’m really committed to.

There are quizzes, deadlines (so there’s time pressure to finish), and I especially like when there are projects that keep you on track. When you’re working in a cohort, moving at a similar pace to everyone means you have tens of thousands of people theoretically available on the forums to discuss course topics with.

3. No-risk

Don’t finish a class? Good thing you didn’t waste thousands of dollars on a “real” degree program.

I have used this also as a filter … there are a couple classes that I have literally “tried” to take multiple times, and I can’t motivate myself to finish them (I’m looking at you, Networking). That says more about me than the course material, to be honest, and that’s great to find out in a low risk fashion.

Have you taken any courses? If so, what?

5 Replies to “3 reasons you should take Coursera courses, ESPECIALLY if you went to university”

  1. I enrolled in two courses, one about relationships in literature and the other one about English writing for academic purposes. Very interesting but very tough, since I work full time and English is not my mother tongue. We’ll see, I hope a can finish at least one of them (if not, no prob, they’re free 😛 Thanks for your article!

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