Contributor, Benzinga
February 16, 2020
Skillshare
Overall Rating:
securely through Skillshare's website

Learning online is more common than ever. Platforms like Skillshare, Coursera and Udemy make it easy to find the classes you need at a fee you can afford. What makes Skillshare stand out from the others? Are its course options better?
Benzinga’s Skillshare review gives you an overview of the platform, who it’s best for and how to decide whether it’s a good fit for you.

Best For
  • Artists and creatives
  • Freelancers
  • Producers
  • Designers
  • Animators
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Web developers
Pros
  • Over 1,000 courses for all skill levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced students)
  • Experienced instructors
  • Free 2-month trial
  • Self-paced
  • Offline access for select courses
Cons
  • Cannot sort courses by skill level
  • Required $19 monthly subscription fee
  • Classes don’t include a certificate of completion

Skillshare caters to creatives and forward thinkers. You’ll find a thriving online community that offers thousands of courses that will motivate you to take the next step on your journey and lead an impactful life. 

Courses fall into 3 categories — create, build and thrive — and cover several topics, including animation, creative writing, graphic design, business analytics, freelancing, productivity and more. 

The instructors are creators, innovators and subject-matter experts committed to providing you with a holistic learning experience. They share valuable industry expertise, insights and offer opportunities to apply your skills and knowledge through engaging class projects. 

Sign up for a free 2-month trial Skillshare membership to test drive the online learning platform for free. 

Who’s Skillshare for?

Skillshare is a good fit for creatives of all ages and skill levels. It offers enticing course options for artists, freelancers, producers, designers, animators and web developers who want to polish their skills or learn something new. 

Entrepreneurs can also use Skillshare to unleash their inner creativity, become better marketers and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

Skillshare Course Topics

Skillshare features courses on subjects creatives love most. Here’s a quick look at the topics available: 

  • Animation
  • Business analytics 
  • Creative writing
  • Film and video 
  • Fine art
  • Freelance and entrepreneurship
  • Graphic design
  • Illustration
  • Leadership and management 
  • Lifestyle 
  • Marketing 
  • Music 
  • Photography
  • Productivity 
  • UI/UX design 
  • Web development

Top Skillshare Courses

Tap into your creative side with a course from Skillshare. Consider these top-rated Skillshare classes when you evaluate your options. 

1. Real Productivity: How to Build Habits that Last by Thomas Frank

  • Who it's for: Individuals who want to kick bad habits to the curb 
  • Price: Free

Led by Productivity Expert Thomas Frank, this course is a good fit if you want to position yourself for success and stay on track over time. He shares a research-backed framework to help you lay the foundation for sustaining, positive habits that lead to progress in every area of your life. 

Real Productivity: How to Build Habits that Last includes goal-setting lessons, using external systems, anticipating pain points, handling failure without giving up and why perfection isn’t always a good thing. Frank also discusses techniques he’s used to reach goals, track habits and reflect on past actions. 

Enrollment is free. Expect to spend a little over an hour viewing the 10 video lectures. 

2. Modern Money Habits: 5 Steps to Build the Life You Want by Justin Bridges

  • Who it's for: Individuals who want to develop healthy money habits and crush financial goals
  • Price: Free

Learn how a young entrepreneur created a financial plan that allowed him to leave a budding career on Wall Street to launch a photography business. 

Discover how the following 5-step approach can help you properly manage your finances: 

  • Step 1: Your Personal Snapshot
  • Step 2: Your Emergency Fund 
  • Step 3: Dealing with Debt
  • Step 4: Saving for Retirement
  • Step 5: Achieving Your Goals 

You’ll walk away with valuable knowledge to make your money work for you so you can live your ideal life. You can also learn how to tackle pressing money issues and start building wealth. Most importantly, you’ll have a new, more positive money mindset. 

Instructor Justin Bridges is a former financial professional-turned fashion photographer. He’s passionate about personal finance and uses the knowledge acquired in his finance career to educate others about money. 

3. Video on a Budget: Prepare for Your Shoot Without Breaking the Bank by Chrystopher Rhodes 

  • Who it's for: Individuals who want to produce a video on a tight budget
  • Price: Free

Need to shoot a video but don’t quite have the funds to make it happen? Don’t be disgruntled and dissolve the project. Take this free course from Music Video Director Chrystopher Rhodes and learn how to pull it off on a shoestring budget. 

In a little under an hour, you’ll learn how to develop your vision, choose visual references, create a treatment and select the right location. You’ll also learn how to scout your location, build a shot and gear list and use existing setups and natural light to set the right tone for your shoot. 

The course includes 10 video lectures and is ideal for video production beginners. 

4. iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos on Your iPhone

  • Who it's for: Aspiring photographers
  • Price: Free

Imagine using your iPhone or a comparable smartphone to launch your photography career. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but it’s totally possible if you follow the guidance provided in this class. The course is also ideal if you want to build a stellar photography portfolio without investing hundreds or thousands in fancy cameras and equipment.

iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos on Your iPhone includes 19 video lessons on several core photography concepts, including focus tapping and shot composition. You’ll also learn about camera setup and presets, photography storytelling, creating depth and presets and editing in Lightroom directly from your iPhone. 

Facilitator Dale McManus is the co-creator of travel film company WANDR. He’s also a professional videographer, photographer and accomplished YouTuber. 

5. YouTube Success: Build an Authentic Channel that’s Worth the Follow by Sorelle Amore

  • Who it's for: Aspiring YouTubers
  • Price: Free

Do you dream of having your own YouTube channel with a massive following? Let YouTube sensation Sorelle Amore show you the way. She’s amassed an audience of over 910,000 on her travel and lifestyle channel and shares how she did it in this introductory course. 

It’s comprised of the following lessons:

  • How to Be Worth the Follow
  • Build Your Credibility
  • Find Your Niche
  • Make Meaningful Messages
  • Balance Authenticity Over Beauty
  • Make a Plan to Execute

Once you complete the course, you’ll be ready to launch your own YouTube channel and position yourself for sustainable growth over time. 

6. Adobe Photoshop CC — Essentials Training Course by DKNG Studios

  • Who it's for: Photoshop beginners 
  • Price: Free

Go from Photoshop novice to professional in record time with this beginner course from DKNG Studios. The class is facilitated by Adobe Certified Trainer Daniel Scott and includes 87 in-depth lessons. 

You’ll learn how to navigate Photoshop, use layers, fix images using levels and enhance colors using the vibrance tool. You’ll also learn how to add gradients, resize images, create text and so much more.

This course also tasks you with completing projects involving the quick-select tool, cropping and pasting, selecting hair, text and image interaction, oil painting, retouching and duotones.

Expect to complete the course in a little under 8 hours. 

Learn Online with Skillshare

Check out all Skillshare has to offer by trying out one of our recommended courses. You can also browse its site to find an option that suits you. 

Read the course overview and past student reviews to ensure it’s a good fit, and don’t forget to vet the instructor’s experience!

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Southern New Hampshire University Online

SNHU Online Offers:

  1. Flexible schedules
  2. Affordable tuition
  3. Online tutoring
  4. Access to electronic research materials
  5. Specialized academic advising
  6. Supportive online community