These days I’ve been considering taking graduate studies or focusing on continuing development seminars. I have a big passion for writing and would like to study more literature but alas, it doesn’t pay my bills. If I wanted to project my future to be like a renowned writer who only waited for royalties at home, I’d have to be as prolific and as effective as J.R.R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman or J.K. Rowling. Realistically, I’m not as talented as they are and in terms of practice, my funds wouldn’t allow me to stay at home and work on my piece without thinking about fees and payments. Even J.K. Rowling had a day job before a publisher accepted her series. With all the available learning platforms, I decided to go for LinkedIn Learning. Most of the topics I took were relevant to my current job — it’s not surprising since LinkedIn is where I establish my professional portfolio.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning is not that different from the more popular ones like Coursera or Udemy; it offers self-paced courses with audios, videos, and modules and promises to provide professional certificates after finishing requirements like quizzes or exercises that may help build one’s resume. Since it’s already connected to LinkedIn, it gives a professional vibe to it -bear in mind that I use that term loosely, not saying that Coursera nor Udemy provide less than professional certifications. A LinkedIn user can use the platform for free for about thirty days and can pay for the succeeding months when deemed necessary.

The pricing is relatively cheap as I can choose to opt for Monthly or Annual payments or pay for a specific course.

My One-Month Experience

I managed to finish 14 courses in the span of thirty days and as mentioned they are all relevant to my current job and the skills I want to focus on. However, I want to highlight that LinkedIn Learning also provides an array of courses for different skillsets and interests. For example, you can see I also took a short course on Making a Web Series and The Surprising Upside of Procrastination (as if I need an excuse to procrastinate).

What I liked about the whole experience is the fact that I can choose to finish a course at my own pace – which is in fact common among other online learning platforms. However, I see the Continuing Development Units (CDUs) I gained from the LinkedIn Learning certificates as added value.

Will I continue to use LinkedIn Learning?

I see the potential of continuing to use LinkedIn Learning and I like the whole payment scheme since I can cancel my membership anytime I want. I have even thought of a better strategy: choosing the Monthly plan and pay for the membership in a less busy month. That way, I can maximize my time on the platform. IIBA Membership is still relatively cheaper but to be honest, I have yet to find the advantage of the Business Analyst community-focused membership. Feel free to negate my unpopular opinion. With LinkedIn Learning, at least I can choose to focus on a skill respective to the job I currently have or the one I want to have in the future. That choice is always attractive.