If you’re on LinkedIn, chances are pretty good that you’ve seen them advertise LinkedIn Learning. But what is it really, and how can it benefit you (especially as a college student)? In this article, I go over what it is, what you should know, and why it might or might not be a good fit for you.
What is LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform offered by LinkedIn. It allows you to access videos and courses on field-specific skills, information, and interests. Similar to Coursera, you can find a large variety of courses from a variety of companies and educators. You can also download a certificate and/or upload it to your LinkedIn profile. From each course, you will be able to download materials to keep and refer to later. These might be slides, trainings, or practice sets. LinkedIn published a video here explaining this program in more detail.
Where can you get it?
This is available through LinkedIn. You are able to access it through the LinkedIn site, and your achievements will also connect to your LinkedIn page. You can access LinkedIn Learning wherever you usually access LinkedIn, whether that is your desktop or an app on your phone.
Price and Subscriptions
According to LinkedIn Learning’s billing page, it is currently (as of February 2024) $19.99 per month when billed annually. It appears to be $39.99 when paid monthly. The first month is a free trial, and it automatically renews to a paid program.
LinkedIn Learning for California Residents
If you are a California resident, similar to Coursera Plus, the California Public Library system may offer you a free subscription. In order to qualify for this, you must be a library member with a library card. On my library’s website (San Diego), this option is under the “Services” tab, then “Programs/Services” ->LinkedIn Learning. You will find this through your county library website or by asking your librarian, who will provide you with your library’s access code. In order to register, you will need both the access code and your card number.
Check to see if your library offers this service!
Coursera Plus vs LinkedIn Learning
At face value, Coursera Plus and LinkedIn Learning offer similar services. Both give subscribers access to many videos and courses. From my experience, Coursera is a bit more academic and intensive than LinkedIn. LinkedIn Learning seems to be focused more toward professional skills (i.e., learn Photoshop or Quickbooks) and introductions to different careers (i.e, What Is a Project Manager? What Is an Entrepreneur?). On the other hand, Coursera Plus offers both academic and skill-based explorations of topics (i.e., everything from learning about Ancient Egypt to learning Python). It also has long-term certificates that have multiple courses and can take months to complete, as well as hours-long lessons.
Coursera Plus (where you can get certificates and access to almost all courses) is $59 per month, so it is significantly more costly. Coursera (auditing courses) is free. It’s excellent if you want to learn and don’t care about earning certificates. If you want to have something to post to your LinkedIn and want a lower commitment way to improve career skills, LinkedIn Learning might be a better option for you. If you want a wider breadth of subjects, providers, and content, I suggest Coursera Plus.
My Personal Preference
After having tried both platforms, I would recommend Coursera Plus. While both have similar structures, Coursera Plus felt more organized, official, and academic. They also had more courses from big industry and university names (Google, Goodwill, Microsoft, Duke, Yale, etc.). It certainly has been an extra time commitment and has more of a traditional university course feel, so it can be difficult to get up the energy after work sometimes. However, I have felt that it offers more of a selection and that the “bang for the buck” is higher.
With that being said, LinkedIn Learning is still valuable, especially for the reasons I listed above! There are pros and cons to each, and you need to weigh what will work best for you and your career journey.
Why is it good for college students or recent grads?
LinkedIn Learning is great for college students and recent grads for a few reasons, the most important being that it can close skill gaps. Let’s say that you’re applying to a job and they want you to have expertise with a software like Photoshop. Maybe you have very limited experience here, but you really want this job and want to be able to show that you are proficient in this. LinkedIn Learning would be the perfect learning supplement because it would allow you to learn these skills from a master in a relatively short time frame.
Unlike Youtube (while still incredibly valuable and useful!), everything on LinkedIn Learning has been vetted by the platform, so you know that you are receiving valid information.
Additionally, you’re able to build your LinkedIn profile by adding certificates of your achievements. Once more, if you want employers to see that you are going the extra mile and have some experience in skills/software, this is a great opportunity for you.
This also marks a great opportunity to explore different and new career interests. Unlike a traditional college course, you don’t have to make a large commitment. If you find a LinkedIn Learning course boring, you quit it. If you find a topic interesting, you search for more ways to dive deeper.
And of course…
You want to try to stay one step ahead of the competition, especially as you’re starting out. You never know how extra skills might benefit you! Whether this is a personal benefit, something adjacent to your work field, or something directly related, more education usually doesn’t hurt (as long as you’re in an okay spot financially).
Conclusion
LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform built for a wide audience. While there is certainly a price tag attached, it could be useful for you in your career journey, especially as you start earning that first paycheck. Have you ever used LinkedIn Learning or another online learning platform? What were your experiences? Let me know!
