The knowledge has become accessible to everyone, at least those with internet access, and many are taking advantage of advanced technology tools on the web in the self-learning process and employing them to create opportunities in the freelancer field and working remotely.
This article presents a guide to taking your first steps toward freelancing. We also review the significance of online self-learning, discuss how to use this knowledge to acquire new skills to work as a freelancer, and provide lists of the most well-known self-learning platforms and the most significant job websites for freelancers.
Self-education is to gain knowledge and skills without attending a formal educational institution. Doing this lets you set your learning objectives, schedule, and time constraints that align with your preferences and career goals.
Is Self-Education Essential?
Since acquiring knowledge is now more accessible than ever, competition among peers, particularly in the workplace, has increased. As a result, expanding your knowledge base is now more critical than ever because it will help you succeed in both your area of expertise and related fields. The idea is to completely master your area of expertise before becoming familiar with knowledge related to it or other topics that interest you. Regardless of your age or location, self-learning can help you achieve this goal in the shortest amount of time.
What Benefits Does Self-Education Offer?
1. The ability to adjust your time according to your needs.
2. Quick access to knowledge and learning tools.
3. Join groups with others who have similar interests to yours.
4. Less expensive schooling compared to more conventional techniques because many materials are available for free.
5. Education freedom, allowing you to study wherever and whenever you choose.
Challenges You Might Face While Self-Learning:
1- Time management: In this educational approach, it is up to you to plan your schedule and choose your course of study. you can use programs and resources to help you organize your time and manage your life and educational duties by setting specific goals on a daily and weekly basis to serve as your educational path,
2- A lack of feedback or appreciation: In a traditional classroom, instructors would periodically review your work and provide feedback so that you may adjust your educational route if necessary. However, in online learning, you would be your instructor most of the time, but doing so makes you more independent, and you may use the groups you join to interact with people with similar interests and exchange ideas.
3- Self-motivation dependence and no rewards: Whether your goal is to learn for fun or to better yourself and your abilities, you’ll need a compelling reason to do what you’re doing. Try to reward yourself for every accomplishment you make, no matter how tiny, because under this learning approach, you work without any reward.
4- difficulties remembering: If you put what you’ve learned in writing, you’ll have problems placing it. The most accessible approach to recognizing is to take notes you can apply in your work as a form of practice.
How Does Self-Learning Work?
1. Look for incentives to encourage you to participate in self-learning. For instance, if you’re studying a language, use it as motivation to travel, socialize, find more employment prospects, earn more money, etc.
2. Create a plan for achieving your objective over a certain period; if it takes months or years, you can divide it into smaller goals. For instance, you may break the design learning into steps, like how to edit photographs, produce posts, and design logos.
3. The secret to self-learning success is your commitment to the plan; making plans is simple, but sticking to them is difficult. As a result, expect to encounter many unavoidable obstacles, but you can always use time management techniques to set aside enough time for the learning process.
4. You should periodically assess your success to determine how well you apply your learning. Measuring success is a way to reinforce the self-learning process.
Now Finding the motivation to test what you want to learn is the only thing stopping you from self-learning, so open your Internet browser search engine and type in what you want to know, whatever it may be: “learn web programming,” “learn graphic design,” or “create content.” After compiling various sources, you can compare them and follow the ones that are the best for you. You can also join communities that share your interests. Below we present some of the most significant online self-learning platforms that can help you expand your horizons in various industries and jobs.
List of Top Online Self-learning Platforms
1. Coursera
A self-learning platform called Coursera offers excellent courses, most of which are free. The Coursera platform is differentiated by partnerships with esteemed worldwide institutions and universities to provide main training courses in the majority of subjects, and many of these courses are translated into Arabic in the event of non-proficiency in English.
2. Edx
MIT and Harvard University researchers developed an innovative self-learning platform called Edx to offer educational programs to students online worldwide. Free courses in numerous disciplines, including science, engineering, computer science, data science, mathematics, the humanities, business, and management, are available on the Edx platform.
3. Udemy
One of the most well-known self-learning websites is Udemy, which offers a variety of courses and training programs to help you master any skill. Some of these programs are free, while others have a nominal fee.
4. LinkedIn Learning
The LinkedIn Learning platform, formerly known as Lynda, is one of the best platforms for online learning because it provides comprehensive professional courses and paths in a variety of skills needed in the workforce, the most important of which are the fields of business and technology in addition to creative areas like graphic design, montage, and other skills.
5. Skillshare
Skillshare is one of the distinctive self-learning platforms that contain more than 30,000 training courses to learn any skill in all fields, such as design, programming, montage, entrepreneurship, languages, cooking, and many other skills, and the cost of subscribing to the platform is $ 32. You can get a free subscription for a month.
6. Udacity
The Udacity platform is one of the many online learning platforms that provide prestigious courses in technology, programming, e-marketing, data analysis, and other significant fields. These courses are distinguished by their high quality and the presence of tests and applied projects within these courses that experts review to qualify you for the market.
7. Mindvalley
Mindvalley is a self-learning platform committed to offering excellent courses in various subjects. The most crucial are self-development, health, work skills, and motivation. Experts in their respective industries teach these courses.
8. Khan Academy
The mission of the international non-profit Khan Academy is to provide high-quality educational materials available online for free to anybody on the globe. One of the best options for free distance learning platforms, the platform contains educational videos, interactive activities, and articles in many subjects, including maths, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, and many more.
9. Codecademy
The Codecademy platform is one of the most well-known online learning environments for programming because it offers many courses in various technological areas, including web development, mobile app development, e-games, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other fields of technology. You can try all these courses for free before upgrading to the paid plan to access additional features.
10. Future Learn
Future Learn is a self-education platform offering comprehensive courses in various subjects, including business administration, medicine, healthcare, science and engineering, languages, and many other exciting topics.
From Self-Learning to Freelancing
Since freelance work has emerged as an attractive alternative to traditional employment over the past few years, Self-learning opens the door to opportunities and prospects to get skills for your desired job. In fact, according to research done by Nation 1099 in 2018, 41.8 million Americans work as freelancers or self-employed, representing 11% of all market participants.
The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the growth of this style of employment, As remote work platforms and freelancers have multiplied outside of the conventional work regulations and business operations. Thanks to these burgeoning websites, employers now have a better chance of locating qualified candidates for jobs that don’t demand a long-term commitment. The following list includes some of the most well-known freelance platforms for freelancers worldwide and in the Arab world so that they can look for acceptable possibilities without committing to working with an organization.
Freelance Platforms in the Arab Region
Many Arab freelance websites have recently popped up in the region, offering remote work services. These websites are easy to use, have safe payment options that guarantee the rights of both the employer and the freelancer and provide jobs for Arabic speakers, increasing the opportunities for young people who do not speak English fluently. Among these websites, we mention:
1- SouqFann
The Souq Fann platform was created in 2018 to promote artists in the MENA region and assist them in marketing their products. This website displays and sells unique products from artists, artisans, and creative talents in various fields.
2- Mostaql.com
The Mostaql.com platform links Arab businesses and project owners with the top freelance professionals to ensure the project gets done thoroughly. The website continues to act as a go-between between the employer and the freelancers until the job is finished; therefore, the platform fully secures both sides’ rights.
3- Ureed
It is a platform for editorial services that links employers with freelancers, mostly in editing and translation. Ureed aims to offer a location where companies may electronically post any project or work related to language services, view available quotes, and then choose the most suitable and competent candidates to carry out these projects.
4- TasmeemME
The platform TasmeemME offers full-time or part-time remote job opportunities and many other freelance opportunities. The platform provides job opportunities in various design fields, such as architecture, graphic design, photography, animation, and other art forms. It is the first network devoted to promoting and empowering Arab creative talents.
5- Khamsat
As the first Arab marketplace for buying and selling microservices, Khamsat is one of the most well-known Arab freelance websites. The website connects categories of consumers who are prepared to purchase these services with those categories of Arab youth who are ready to supply them, resulting in a decent income for Arab youth and specific benefits for people and startups at a reasonable price.
Global Freelance Platforms
Numerous platforms are available if you wish to enter the freelancing market globally. Still, you must remember that competition is fiercer and greater on these sites, and you must have advanced talents and an impressive track record to receive offers there.
1- Up Work
One of the most well-known platforms for remote work is Up Work. The website hosts the highest concentration of companies and job searchers, and its technology is cloud-based. The website is perfect for all sizes of businesses and freelancers with various skill sets. Identifying phony employers or freelancers is one of the Up Work website’s most crucial features since it guarantees users’ security.
2- Freelancer.com
This website connects millions of employers and freelancers from more than 247 countries and gives them access to primary and advanced tools depending on their skill levels. You can locate the projects you’re seeking on the Freelancer.com website, whether in programming, data entry, the arts, etc.
3- PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is one of the platforms for remote work that seeks to give professionals worldwide the ability to accomplish the work they love. It offers a collection of tools to manage different freelance-related responsibilities. Some features, including billing, account administration, order review, and others, are available on the platform.
4- Guru.com
Finding knowledgeable freelancers is simple with Guru, as the platform created to connect employers with millions of freelancers makes it possible to find people with the necessary skills and determine if an employer is looking for people from a particular city or country. The platform provides communication channels between employers and freelancers to coordinate all related activities easily.
5- LinkedIn
Whatever your area of expertise or field of work, it is crucial to establish a career profile on Linkedin and to keep it updated since this helps you expand your network and meet new people in the business world. By deciding on the type of employment you want—full-time, part-time, or freelance—on LinkedIn, you may look for and apply to positions that fit your qualifications and experience.
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