Are Online Courses Worth it? Pros & Cons

The year 2020 has been a skeptical year given that social distancing and nationwide lockdowns had forced many into staying at their home or in quarantine. When entire nations were shut down, people didn’t have anything to do. Instead, they worked upon themselves, took up a new hobby, and tried out something new.

Moreover, companies that could work from home did just that, and it gave them a new motive to work remotely and still get the job done.

But what about students? It would have been an extended summer vacation for them due to the closure of schools and colleges. May it be students from commerce stream, science or arts, a lot many got inclined towards online learning.

However, those that were reallyserious about education, took up the time and effort to take up online classes. Well, these aren’t the regular classes that you take up in your college or schools. They provide certified courses which are taken online for a fee.

Are these online courses worth it? Do they have any purpose? Well, to figure all of this out, let’s dive deeper into the pros and cons of it and then draw up a conclusion as to what the final verdict might be. Let’s get started.

Pros of Online Courses

Some of the benefits of online courses are:

1.Help to Build your resume

The more the number of online courses you take, the better your resume would look, given that you have supporting certificates issued for the course. Updating the same on a resume makes it look better and appealing to a broader number of people.

With the online courses that you take, a company might spark interest in your CV that might segregate your application from the others. It shows that you are an avid learner and wish to learn as much as possible, which are great signs.

2. Flexibility

The flexibility of taking online courses anywhere and everywhere is a bargain. You don’t have to be present at a specific location. Instead, you can be travelling back from work and take them up. With every online course, some deadlines and targets have to be met. There is no pressure as learning is distributed into smaller parts over time.

Another advantage with an online course is that you take up additional classes that you might get at a higher standard and learn more in it.

3. Cheaper

When compared to the traditional education system, online courses are much cheaper and better financially. Instead of paying the conventional education fees, you can get hundreds of courses and learn them in a short period.

Moreover, it makes greater sense as well, given that you are taking classes that you want to learn and don’t learn anything that you don’t want. Thus, it makes it reliable for people who want to learn something specific and nothing else.

4. Comfort 

There is no rush in learning with online courses. Though they might cost a bit, they are designed to provide you with information in pieces such that you can understand the course seamlessly. You can take up the course from your home comfortable in your pyjamas and have no worries about what anyone might tell.

Learn at your own pace and make the most of it by implementing all the knowledge that you grasp in real-life scenarios. Also, you can take up multiple online courses of your choice at the same time. There is no restrictions.

Cons of Online Courses

Here are some drawbacks of online courses that you must keep in mind:

1. Absence of practical knowledge

No matter how you look at it, online courses are quite useful for attaining theoretical knowledge. But when it comes down to practical knowledge, then its absent. When you learn any practical through online classes, it’s a waste of time and effort.

No matter how you look at it, it’s quite challenging to carry out experiments in your household. In your resume, if you add a course that you have taken online but have no practical knowledge of implementing the same, then it isn’t viable enough.

2. Peer interaction is absent

Online courses do sport a considerable disadvantage where you cannot have any peer interaction as its only you and the training class. It does have a phycological impact on how you learn things, as having peers makes it easier to grasp things.

You could have an online group course where you and your friends study together.Even then, it makes it harder to understand when you can’t get in touch with the professor or tutor teaching the online course.

3. The professional network is lesser

With online courses, you cannot get in touch with your tutor unless and until you put in a request to have your doubts cleared. Getting them solved then and it is required, and in learning, time is the only factor that can prove to be a downfall.

Getting that network of professionals to quickly get to know each other and use it to move ahead in your career is absent. Moreover, getting all your doubts solved while taking the course is impossible as all the online courses are mostly pre-recorded.

4. Distractions 

Whenever you have a remote learning experience outside of a learning institution, some distractions could hamper your learning experience. When it comes to online courses, you would be taking them from your laptop or mobile phone.

However, when you take any electronic device, you can do a magnitude of things and alter your learning experience through an online course. Who knows that while you might be attending an online course, you might get a message from your friends to play a game or watch a movie? This could completely drift you off course from the learning experience.

Final Verdict

Online courses provide you with a landslide of information about a topic. You would get a wholesome overview of the subject itself. You can get quick answers, may it be questions on stock market, finance education, technology, or creative topics. It would look nice on your resume that you have taken up different online courses.

Its effectiveness would show when you implement real-world applications that bring out the true essence of online courses. Those who are serious about online courses would enjoy it and take complete advantage of them. It’s better for those who aren’t interested that you stay away as it wouldn’t provide you with any usefulness whatsoever.