Top 10 Entry Level Online Courses & Certificates to launch your career in 2023

If you are finishing college and getting ready to take the first steps in your career, or if you’re looking to switch careers, pursuing an entry-level professional certificate can greatly boost your job prospects. Research shows that candidates with Professional Certificates have a much greater chance of getting hired compared to those that don’t. These certificates add credibility to your resume and verify your knowledge and expertise in various skillsets thus making you more marketable to employers. They help to distinguish you as a candidate who is motivated and committed thus making you stand out from others.

There are a wide variety of entry-level online courses available that cover different topics and fields. Here are some options for entry-level online courses:

1. Programming and Computer Science:

• Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python (edX)
• HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for Web Developers (Coursera)
• Java Programming Basics (Udacity)

2. Business:

• Introduction to Financial Accounting (Coursera)
• Introduction to Marketing (edX)
• Foundations of Management (Coursera)

3. Creative Arts:

• Introduction to Graphic Design (Coursera)
• Digital Photography Basics (Udemy)
• Introduction to Music Theory (Coursera)

4. Personal Development:

• Learning How to Learn (Coursera)
• Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (Coursera)
• Introduction to Public Speaking (edX)

These courses are generally designed for beginners and cover the basic concepts and principles of the topic. Many of these courses are also self-paced, so you can work through the material at your own speed. Some courses may also offer certifications or badges upon completion.

1. Google IT Support

Google IT Support is an online program offered by Google and hosted on Coursera. The program is designed to train people with little to no experience in IT to become IT support professionals. The course is broken down into 5 modules, each of which covers a specific aspect of IT support, and includes both instructional videos and hands-on labs to give you practical experience.

Some of the topics covered in the Google IT Support program include:

• Troubleshooting and customer service skills
• Networking concepts and protocols
• Operating systems and system administration
• Security concepts and techniques
• IT automation and scripting

Upon completion of the program, you will have the skills and knowledge needed to become an entry-level IT support specialist. You will also earn a Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which can be added to your LinkedIn profile and resume to showcase your skills to potential employers.

The Google IT Support program typically takes about 6 months to complete, and you can work at your own pace. The program is self-paced and designed to fit into your schedule. The cost of the program is $49 per month, but there is financial aid available for those who qualify.

Key Highlights

• Gain the necessary skills to succeed at an entry-level IT job
• Learn how to provide end-to-end customer support
• Highly interactive content developed by Google employees with extensive experience in the field of IT
• Ideal for beginners with no prior knowledge or background in IT
• Learn at your own schedule
• Upon completing the certificate program, get introduced to a number of employers who recognize the certificate

Duration : 6 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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2. Google Data Analytics

Google Data Analytics is an online program offered by Google and hosted on Coursera. The program is designed to train people with little to no experience in data analytics to become data analysts. The course is broken down into 8 courses, each of which covers a specific aspect of data analytics, and includes both instructional videos and hands-on labs to give you practical experience.

Some of the topics covered in the Google Data Analytics program include:

• Foundational data analytics tools and techniques
• Data cleaning and preparation
• Data analysis with spreadsheets and SQL
• Data visualization
• Data storytelling and presentation

Upon completion of the program, you will have the skills and knowledge needed to become an entry-level data analyst. You will also earn a Google Data Analytics Certificate, which can be added to your LinkedIn profile and resume to showcase your skills to potential employers.

The Google Data Analytics program typically takes about 6 months to complete, and you can work at your own pace. The program is self-paced and designed to fit into your schedule. The cost of the program is $39 per month, but there is financial aid available for those who qualify.

Key Highlights

• Learn key analytical skills (data cleaning, data analysis, data visualization)
• Learn the day-to-day tools that you will need as a data analyst
• Very thorough and hands-on curriculum developed by experts at Google and covers a lot of ground in the field of data analytics
• Explore a variety of real-world business scenarios to support your understanding of the concepts
• Access to career resources and learning community
• Includes a case study that you can share with potential employers to showcase your new skill set

Duration : 6 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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3. Google Project Management

Google Project Management is an online program offered by Google and hosted on Coursera. The program is designed to train people with little to no experience in project management to become project managers. The course is broken down into 6 courses, each of which covers a specific aspect of project management, and includes both instructional videos and hands-on labs to give you practical experience.

Some of the topics covered in the Google Project Management program include:

• Foundations of project management
• Project planning and execution
• Managing project risks and changes
• Project communication and stakeholder management
• Project closure and evaluation

Upon completion of the program, you will have the skills and knowledge needed to become an entry-level project manager. You will also earn a Google Project Management Certificate, which can be added to your LinkedIn profile and resume to showcase your skills to potential employers.

The Google Project Management program typically takes about 6 months to complete, and you can work at your own pace. The program is self-paced and designed to fit into your schedule. The cost of the program is $49 per month, but there is financial aid available for those who qualify.

Key Highlights

• Learn the skills and practices needed to succeed in an entry-level project management role
• Practice-based assessments that help to simulate real-world project management scenarios
• Develop a toolbox to demonstrate understanding of key project management elements, including managing a schedule, budget, and team
• Learn from current Google project managers with multi-dimensional educational and work experience

Duration : 6 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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4. Google UX Design

Google UX design refers to the user experience design principles and practices used by Google to create user-friendly and efficient products and services. Google places a strong emphasis on user-centered design, which means designing products that meet the needs and expectations of users.

To achieve this goal, Google uses a variety of UX design techniques, such as user research, user testing, and iterative design. User research involves gathering insights about user needs and behavior through methods such as interviews, surveys, and observations. User testing involves getting feedback from users on prototypes and designs to identify areas for improvement. Iterative design involves making incremental improvements to designs based on user feedback and testing.

In terms of specific design principles, Google focuses on simplicity, clarity, and consistency. Simplicity means designing products that are easy to use and understand, with minimal complexity. Clarity means designing products that provide clear feedback and guidance to users, such as through well-written copy and intuitive navigation. Consistency means designing products that follow a consistent visual and interaction design language, so that users can quickly learn how to use new products and features.

Overall, Google UX design is centered around creating products and services that are user-friendly, efficient, and enjoyable to use, while also meeting business goals and objectives.

Key Highlights

• Learn the foundational concepts in UX design, such as user-centered design, the design process, accessibility, and equity-focused design
• Understand the basics of UX research
• Includes perspectives from Google designers from a variety of backgrounds
• Hundreds of practice-based activities and assessments that simulate real-world UX design scenarios
• Prepare your portfolio of design work for job applications

Duration : 6 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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5. Meta Professional Certificates

Meta Professional Certificates are professional development programs offered by Facebook’s parent company, Meta. These certificates are designed to help individuals gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in specific roles within the tech industry, such as digital marketing, data analysis, and software engineering.

Meta offers several different professional certificate programs, including:

1. Facebook Digital Marketing Professional Certificate: This program is designed to teach the fundamentals of digital marketing, including social media marketing, content marketing, and analytics.
2. Facebook Certified Data Analytics Professional Certificate: This program is designed to teach data analysis skills using Facebook’s analytics tools, including analyzing and visualizing data, creating reports, and interpreting insights.
3. Facebook Certified Marketing Science Professional Certificate: This program is designed to teach marketing research and analytics skills, including designing experiments, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.
4. Facebook Certified Community Management Professional Certificate: This program is designed to teach community management skills, including how to build and engage communities, moderate content, and measure success.
5. Facebook Certified Professional Software Engineering Program: This program is designed to teach software engineering skills, including software design, coding, testing, and debugging.

Each certificate program typically consists of several courses, which are taught online through a combination of videos, interactive exercises, and assessments. Upon completion of the program, individuals receive a digital certificate and can add their new skills to their resume or LinkedIn profile.

Key Highlights

• Gain relevant technical skills to become job ready for high-growth industry within a few months
• Build skills to create responsive websites and develop world-class iOS and Android apps
• Learn to manage databases and create database-driven applications
• Expert-led training and on-the-job experience through hands-on projects
• Access to 200+ employers committed to sourcing talent through Meta’s certificate programs
• Learn different approaches to problem-solving and prepare for a coding interview with best tips and insights

Duration : 6-8 months, 6-8 hours per week
Rating : 4.7
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6. IBM Data Science

IBM Data Science refers to the suite of tools, resources, and services offered by IBM to help individuals and organizations build and deploy data-driven solutions. IBM Data Science includes a range of products and services that cover the entire data science workflow, from data collection and cleaning to modeling and deployment.

Some of the key components of IBM Data Science include:

1. IBM Watson Studio: A cloud-based platform for building and deploying machine learning models and other data science solutions.
2. IBM Watson Machine Learning: A tool for creating, training, and deploying machine learning models.
3. IBM Cloud Pak for Data: A unified data and AI platform that provides tools for data management, analytics, and AI.
4. IBM Cognos Analytics: A business intelligence and data visualization tool for creating reports and dashboards.
5. IBM DataStage: An ETL (extract, transform, load) tool for integrating and transforming data from various sources.
6. IBM SPSS Statistics: A software package for statistical analysis and predictive modeling.

IBM Data Science also provides a range of resources and educational materials, such as tutorials, webinars, and online courses, to help individuals and organizations learn how to use these tools effectively.

Overall, IBM Data Science aims to provide a comprehensive set of tools and services to help individuals and organizations leverage data to drive insights and make better decisions.

Key Highlights

• Develop the skills, tools, and portfolio for entry level positions in data science
• Get experience with the real-world data sets and tools
• Build a portfolio of data science projects to showcase to potential employers
• Series of hands-on labs in the IBM Cloud that impart practical skills with applicability to real jobs
• Learn to think like a data scientist

Duration : 3 months, 12 hours per week
Rating : 4.6
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7. Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate

The Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate is an online certification program offered by Google through Coursera. The program is designed to provide individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in digital marketing and e-commerce roles.

The program consists of six courses that cover a range of topics, including digital marketing fundamentals, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), e-commerce analytics, and social media marketing. The courses are taught by industry experts and include video lectures, interactive quizzes, and hands-on projects.

Here are the courses included in the program:

1. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing: This course covers the basics of digital marketing, including web design, SEO, SEM, email marketing, and social media marketing.
2. Developing a Competitive Content Marketing Strategy: This course focuses on content marketing strategies, including creating and promoting engaging content, measuring content performance, and optimizing content for search engines.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fundamentals: This course covers the basics of SEO, including keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building.
4. Google Ads Search: This course teaches the fundamentals of Google Ads, including creating and optimizing search campaigns, targeting audiences, and measuring performance.
5. Google Analytics: This course covers the basics of Google Analytics, including setting up and tracking website metrics, analyzing data, and creating reports.
6. E-Commerce Analytics: This course focuses on e-commerce analytics, including tracking and analyzing customer behavior, optimizing e-commerce sites for conversions, and measuring performance.

Upon completion of the program, individuals will have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in digital marketing and e-commerce roles, and they will receive a certificate from Google to showcase their achievement.

Key Highlights

• Gain in-demand skills that prepare you for an entry-level job in digital marketing and ecommerce space
• Get professional training designed by subject matter experts at Google with decades of experience
• Gain hands-on experience with key workplace tools and platforms
• No previous experience or skills required to get started with the program
• Hands-on activities and examples that simulate common digital marketing and e-commerce tasks
• Opportunity to directly apply for jobs at 150+ employers that are part of the Google Employer Consortium

Duration : 6 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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8. Google IT Automation with Python

The Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate is an online certification program offered by Google through Coursera. The program is designed to provide individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to automate IT processes using Python programming.

The program consists of six courses that cover a range of topics, including programming basics, data analysis, IT automation with Python, and troubleshooting and debugging. The courses are taught by industry experts and include video lectures, interactive quizzes, and hands-on projects.

Here are the courses included in the program:

1. Crash Course on Python: This course covers the basics of Python programming, including variables, data types, functions, and control flow.
2. Using Python to Interact with the Operating System: This course focuses on using Python to interact with and automate tasks on the operating system, including file and directory operations, text processing, and network interactions.
3. Introduction to Git and GitHub: This course covers the basics of version control with Git and GitHub, including creating and managing repositories, collaborating with others, and using GitHub Pages to create a website.
4. Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques: This course teaches techniques for troubleshooting and debugging IT systems, including using logs, debugging tools, and error messages.
5. Python Automation: This course focuses on using Python to automate IT tasks, including using APIs, web scraping, and automation frameworks.
6. Python Project: This final course brings together the skills and knowledge learned in the previous courses to complete a real-world Python project.

Upon completion of the program, individuals will have the skills and knowledge needed to automate IT processes using Python, and they will receive a certificate from Google to showcase their achievement.

Key Highlights

• Understand how to automate common systems administration tasks by writing Python scripts
• Learn to apply automation at scale by using configuration management and the Cloud
• Learn to use Git and GitHub for version control
• No previous experience of coding is needed
• Hands-on projects to practice technical skills

Duration : 4 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.8
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9. Facebook Social Media Marketing

Facebook Social Media Marketing refers to the process of using Facebook’s advertising and marketing tools to promote products, services, or brands on the Facebook platform. Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform, with over 2 billion active users, making it an important channel for businesses and marketers to reach and engage with their target audiences.

Some of the key tools and features of Facebook Social Media Marketing include:

1. Facebook Ads Manager: This is a platform that allows businesses to create and manage ads on Facebook, Instagram, and other Facebook-owned properties. Ads can be targeted to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.
2. Facebook Pages: This is a free platform for businesses to create a presence on Facebook, where they can post updates, photos, videos, and interact with their customers.
3. Facebook Groups: This is a platform where businesses can create or join groups related to their niche or industry, where they can engage with their target audience, build relationships, and promote their products or services.
4. Facebook Messenger: This is a messaging platform that can be used to communicate with customers and potential customers, answer questions, and provide support.
5. Facebook Live: This is a live streaming feature that allows businesses to broadcast live videos to their audience, providing a unique and engaging way to showcase products or services.
6. Facebook Insights: This is a tool that provides businesses with data and analytics about their Facebook pages and ad campaigns, allowing them to measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions.

Overall, Facebook Social Media Marketing provides businesses with a range of powerful tools and features to reach and engage with their target audience on the world’s largest social media platform.

Key Highlights

• Gain necessary skills and become ready for social media marketing jobs within a few months
• Learn to create and manage a business presence on social media
• Learn to create and evaluate an ad campaign in Facebook Ads Manager
• Hands-on projects to apply social media marketing skills practically
• Upon completion, Gain access to a consortium of 60+ top employers looking to fill social media marketing jobs with talent from this Facebook certification program

Duration : 5-6 months, 6-10 hours per week
Rating : 4.9
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10. IBM Data Analyst

The IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate is an online certification program offered by IBM through Coursera. The program is designed to provide individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to analyze and interpret data using various analytical tools and techniques.

The program consists of nine courses that cover a range of topics, including data analysis with Excel and SQL, data visualization with Tableau, machine learning with Python, and data ethics. The courses are taught by industry experts and include video lectures, interactive quizzes, and hands-on projects.

Here are the courses included in the program:

1. Data Analyst Fundamentals: This course covers the basics of data analysis, including data types, data cleaning, and data quality.
2. Excel Basics for Data Analysis: This course teaches the fundamentals of Excel, including data manipulation, formulas, and functions.
3. Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos: This course focuses on creating visualizations and dashboards in Excel and IBM Cognos Analytics.
4. Data Analysis with SQL: This course covers the basics of SQL, including data retrieval, data manipulation, and data aggregation.
5. Data Visualization with Tableau: This course teaches the basics of data visualization with Tableau, including creating charts, graphs, and dashboards.
6. Introduction to Python for Data Science: This course covers the basics of Python programming, including data structures, control structures, and functions.
7. Python for Data Science and AI: This course focuses on using Python for data analysis and machine learning, including data manipulation with pandas, data visualization with matplotlib and seaborn, and machine learning with scikit-learn.
8. Databases and SQL for Data Science: This course teaches the basics of databases and SQL for data analysis, including data modeling, database design, and advanced SQL queries.
9. Data Ethics, Governance and Privacy: This course covers the ethical considerations and legal requirements related to data analysis, including data privacy, data governance, and data security.

Upon completion of the program, individuals will have the skills and knowledge needed to analyze and interpret data using a variety of analytical tools and techniques, and they will receive a certificate from IBM to showcase their achievement.

Key Highlights

• Learn all the relevant skills for an entry-level data analyst position
• Work with a variety of data sources, project scenarios, and data analysis tools
• Build the foundation for other data disciplines such as data science or data engineering
• Hands-on projects that can be combined into a portfolio to showcase your data analyst skills to potential employers

Duration : 3 months, 10 hours per week
Rating : 4.6
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