Thinking about taking an online course? Don’t.*

Adam Hussain
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” — Albert Einstein

*Not clickbait, I promise.

After completing an undergraduate degree in International Business & Marketing at the University of Adelaide, I was contemplating my next step.

To be honest, I found navigating university to be quite a challenging experience — adjusting to the education system, the culture and climate required me to assess the boundaries of my comfort zone, and evaluate what I had to do. I realized that growth only happens when you leave your comfort zone. Progression may be incremental, but it is necessary to take steps, and iterate as we go along. Why does this matter?

Well, after three years in university, I was comfortable — I had found good friends, enjoyed my courses, grew to love Adelaide, and was quite content with life. Australia had become a second home, but I wanted more from my Aussie experience. I wasn’t ready to head back to Malaysia just yet.

Two internships during my three years in university had shown me that I really enjoyed Marketing — particularly the strategizing, understanding pain points, and being able to land messages in different contexts with different media.

So, the job-hunting began.

Applying to over fifty companies in the space of 4 months was exhausting, and receiving endless rejections and dead-end interviews was discouraging, but I knew I couldn’t give up. I found myself back at square one — unfamiliar territory, not knowing what to do.

I was ready to soldier on, but I couldn’t shake one question — what happened to graduate roles? Most vacancies required at least two years’ experience, and I read that it takes an average job-seeker 6 to 8 months to find a job. The Australian job market is truly not for the faint-hearted. Thank goodness adrenaline and I get along quite well.

After much reflection, I realized that an undergraduate degree equipped me with a certain skillset, but the world we live in today, requires constant reskilling and upskilling. I needed to find a way to stand out, besides internships and volunteer experience. I needed some form of qualification and hands-on experience in the digital world.

I thought about taking an online course. MOOCs are all the rage, after all, so, why not?

So, I thought.

And thought.

This brings us back to the title of this blogpost. I spent so much time contemplating whether or not taking an online course would be the best way forward, and whether it would be worth the investment. Looking back, I think a better question would have been what course should I enrol in, as opposed to should I really enrol in a course and spend time, energy (and quite possibly money), on an online program?

The answer, from my experience thus far, is yes.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Hootsuite and have been subscribing to their newsletter which is filled with diverse and really quite thoughtful content. One day, I came across an article with the headline “6 Brand Certifications to Make You a Better Social Media Marketer”. First on the list was Digital Marketing NanoDegree Program by Udacity. After much mulling and questioning, the solution seemed to be right in front of me.

Was it too good to be true? Well, as with all things, it comes down to what you make of it. The course was a great blend between quality content, hands-on experience and collaboration between market leaders in digital marketing. On top of that, it offered the opportunity to network with students who are from and interested in the marketing industry.

I signed up for the program, and am happy to report no regrets thus far. I’m currently in my 4th module and have learnt so much. I realise that this is only Step One towards my aspirations to become a Digital Marketing Expert, but would love to have you join me on this journey. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, human connections are at the center of everything, and it is so important to be consciously learning from each other. If this interested you in any way, I’d be thrilled to hear from you. I’m on the following networks, please do feel free to connect, with questions, comments or suggestions.

Twitter: @adamwhosane

Instagram: @adamwhosane

LinkedIn: @adamwhosane

“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor”

#ImInDMND #TheHustleIsReal #SelfDevelopment

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