When you think about LinkedIn, you think of a platform for communicating with professionals in similar fields. However, LinkedIn also has a learning service with various courses available at a reasonable price.
LinkedIn was established as a platform for communicating with career-driven people who are passionate about their work. This makes it ideal for delivering educational content.
In 2015, LinkedIn acquired ownership of Lynda.com. It is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) known for its vast database of online learning courses. By doing so, LinkedIn came into possession of all the content available on Lynda, getting the initial traction required to be unique in such a competitive market.
The main focus of LinkedIn is to provide a networking platform in a professional setting, so can it also compete with other established online-based learning programs? In this review, I will address that question and more.
LinkedIn Learning Review in 2024 – Legit? Is It Worth It?
If you are short on time, here is a quick summary:
Quick Summary of LinkedIn Learning Review
LinkedIn Learning aims to enhance career-focused skills. It provides online courses through multiple mediums like videos, guidebooks, and learning paths in business and technology. You get a one-month free trial, and after that, it is a paid subscription that can be availed monthly or annually. It also provides a certificate of completion, but knowing that they need to be accredited is essential.
- More affordable than competitors.
- A massive library to select courses from.
- User-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.
- Multiple formats of content (audio, videos, guidebooks).
- Learning paths if you want to switch your career.
- Course certificates are not accredited.
- Irrelevant and outdated content
- Boring website design
LinkedIn Learning is for people who are enthusiastic about learning. There are multiple courses available that passionate people conduct. You will surely learn a lot from experts with years of experience. It will also help you grow personally and professionally. But if you want an accredited certificate, I suggest some other platform.
What is LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform owned by LinkedIn. (social networking site for professionals)
LinkedIn Learning offers unlimited access to all educational material available on the platform for its subscribers. Experts in that particular field design all these courses.
The content provided by LinkedIn Learning is for individuals who are career-oriented. There are no cooking or crocheting classes available on LinkedIn Learning. This platform aims to help people who want to advance professionally.
There are also no hidden costs. Once you get the subscription, everything on the platform is available. There are no premium courses or additional charges.
The content is available in multiple formats. Videos (which can be one long video that covers the topic extensively), courses (which contain sequential videos and sometimes a guidebook of exercises), and learning paths (multiple courses that cover all the aspects of the skills that you want to master).
Also, completing any course on LinkedIn provides a certificate of completion directly displayed on your LinkedIn profile.
All of this sounds great, but much more remains to be said about LinkedIn Learning. So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty side of the business.
Who is LinkedIn Learning for?
You can learn a lot on this platform if you are curious and want to learn multiple skills. The platform is designed for people who wish to enhance their knowledge but in a career-oriented way. The videos are well-presented and detailed and have in-depth information on just one specific concept.
Even though the videos are detailed, they aren’t lengthy or time-consuming. The courses are presented engagingly, making learning easy. You can find the concept you want to master and watch courses on it to learn it in a few days.
LinkedIn Learning is a good investment for people who want to learn things in order to become more efficient.
LinkedIn Learning can also benefit people learning new skills to move forward in their careers. Learning new skills and getting better at what you already know can help you outshine your competition and let your employers know you are a dedicated hard worker. It can help you snag that promotion you have been coveting for a while. By filling in the gaps in your skills, you can make yourself invaluable to your company, making them see you in a whole new light.
Learning is an ever-evolving process, and people who are business analysts, accountants, and managers can profit from LinkedIn Learning courses. It has continuing education units (CEUs) that you can always use to stay on top of your learning game.
LinkedIn Learning has partnered with multiple authentic accreditors in many such fields, and because of that, any manager or human resource professional can keep up with their professional certification.
LinkedIn Learning courses can be beneficial to you if you are an individual preparing for any competitive certificate exam. It has specific content created for people preparing for such exams by partnering with companies like Adobe, VMWare, Amazon Web Services, and many more.
Completing LinkedIn Learning will not get you the accredited certificate per se, but it will surely help you prepare for the certification exam. It provides you with all the required material and knowledge to ace that exam.
How much does LinkedIn Learning cost?
LinkedIn Learning is a subscription-based service. That means you can’t just buy one course you are interested in; you must buy a subscription. But it is still an excellent bargain considering all the courses that are available on the platform.
The subscription costs $29.99 monthly; if you get the annual subscription, it comes down to $19.99. That is a steal, as it is less than a dollar daily.
With that said, there are no additional costs or premium content that you need to pay extra for. The subscription cost covers everything and gives you the benefit of LinkedIn Premium.
LinkedIn Learning also provides a one-month free trial that you can cancel after your month ends, which is also a sweet bargain.
My Personal Experience on LinkedIn Learning
Now that we have covered the basics, I want to share my personal experience with LinkedIn Learning.
I had done my research and wanted to see if LinkedIn Learning delivered on what it promised. With that goal in mind, I logged into my LinkedIn Learning account.
Immediately after logging in, I was greeted with customized suggestions based on my career. They suggested various courses that might be useful to me and also showed me courses I could take to improve my current skills and move forward in my career. This impressed me, as it made my task a little easier. I didn’t need to go through the sea of content available anymore.
As I started checking out various courses, I realized the platform format was standard and easy to navigate. The lessons also come with a “meet your teacher” section that provides you with all the information on the person who will be teaching the course. You also get a brief course description and a lesson preview.
The learning dashboard is also standard and similar to the majority of online-based learning platforms. You get your video on the right, and course information and chapters are displayed on the left. You also get a course notebook and a question-and-answer section.
The video player also runs smoothly, and I found no bugs or glitches. I particularly liked the notebook feature that lets you write notes and bookmark important parts of the lesson. The Q&A section is also enjoyable. You can ask your questions, and the instructor will get back to you with answers.
All in all, I enjoyed the experience and found it to be hassle-free and easy.
What Did I Like about LinkedIn Learning?
The most important thing I like about LinkedIn Learning is the website is user-friendly. It is a significant aspect of any online-based learning platform. If the site is challenging to navigate, it can turn away potential learners. Though the design is generic and bland, it still needs to be better to turn you on.
LinkedIn Learning also has a massive library of content on various technical topics. It covers programming, technical writing, HTML, and more. The quality of the content is decent. There needs to be more advanced-level content, and most of the content available is targeted toward beginners. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as most of the users trying to learn these courses are beginners.
LinkedIn Learning has neatly divided the courses into three main sections to make it easy for users to find a specific topic. There are also multiple learning options to choose from, like videos, audio, courses, or learning paths. Each differs from the other, and you can select the medium depending on your preference. I liked the learning paths feature a lot, though. Various experts design learning paths specifically to help learners achieve their desired professional objectives in a precise manner. It is handy if you want to switch your career and need help.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Learning is worth your investment. You get access to a massive library of content and courses taught by experts in their fields, and you can check their credentials on the site itself. It also helps that there is no additional cost, so it is just a one-time payment, and you have all the content at your fingertips.
Though the quality of some of the content and course material could be better, the learning path feature makes up for it.
I am also impressed by the variety of learning material available in a professional capacity, which makes LinkedIn Learning so unique. Like me, if you are curious by nature, you will enjoy this experience.
Lastly, the most fantastic part is that you get a one-month free trial that lets you access all the content available on the platform without any limits. If you don’t want to continue using LinkedIn Learning, you can cancel your subscription anytime without any hassle.
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