UdemyFreelancers are a special breed. After all, as a freelancer you control your work and your own schedule. You work for whom you want, when you want. It’s a unique kind of autonomy. And freelancing is not for the faint of heart. For a freelancer, the career path isn’t one of corporate advancement and title changes. That’s the beauty of it. Your title doesn’t change — what is a title, anyway, when you are your own boss? But as your work and skills advance, you can charge your clients more and take on bigger projects.
But how do you advance your skills as a freelancer? Well, you do it your way, on your schedule. Just as you don’t have to be in one place to do your freelance assignments, with online learning, you can upskill from anywhere.
Case in point: Cristina Estévez Rodríguez, a freelance designer and website developer, who used online-learning platform Udemy to broaden her skills beyond content management.
We asked Cristina about her educational journey and why she started learning with Udemy.
Q: What was the specific goal you had in mind when you started learning on Udemy?
A: I wanted to learn to code, to get my hands dirty with HTML and CSS, so I could handle more of the design work myself and communicate better with development teams.
Q: Why does online learning work for you?
A: I’m always the one to volunteer to spend time researching and figuring out how to do a new project. It makes work so much more exciting.
Q: Can you talk about your favorite Udemy instructor?
A: Jonas Schmedtmann (CSS and Sass) is a great instructor, and I love his courses. He takes the time to code along with you and explains the basics really well.
Q: Any tips for others who want to upskill with online learning?
A: If you think you don’t like learning, you’re probably just not looking at the right topic. Needing skills for a new job or promotion may not be enough motivation, but if you’re really excited about a certain topic, it will be easier for you.
Q: What’s the process like?
A: In five minutes on Udemy, you can learn a lot of basics. Then, it’s up to you how much you want to practice and delve in deeper.
Q: What specifically has Udemy helped you to do?
A: So far, Udemy has improved my coding skills and given me an overall view of website projects, which has helped me become the lead web designer and online project manager of the marketing agency where I am working today.
Q: What do you want to do next with what you’ve learned?
A: I would love to start a remote freelance business focused on website development, branding, and digital marketing.
Udemy has helped over 30 million students to expand their skills with 100,000 courses taught by 42,000 instructors. Those numbers represent a profound shift in how people are learning.
Ready to take the next step in controlling your freelance career development? Head on over to Udemy and see where online learning can take you. With a diverse range of courses — everything from Apple IOs development to ZBrush, and prices as low as $9.99 (some are even free), it’s an affordable way to increase your value on the freelance market.
Karl Kangur
Simply Business
Simon Prince
