Skillshare vs College: Which Learning Method To Adopt

If you’re at the point where you’ve completed compulsory education, you might be thinking about what your next steps should be in terms of gaining more knowledge and qualifications. 

Traditionally, going to college after high school has been the recommended path. However, in this day and age, there are many more options for furthering your education and learning about things that will benefit your future career.

It’s also important to bear in mind that online education doesn’t have to be career-oriented, but it should focus on creative skills and creative writing.

Many people are interested in continuing to expand their minds for their own personal benefit, and that’s where popular online learning platforms like Skillshare come or Linkedin Learning.

If you’re passionate about learning but aren’t sure whether enrolling in a college course or taking online classes through Skillshare is the better option, read on. We’ll be outlining the pros and cons of both Skillshare vs College to help you decide. 

Skillshare: Pros And Cons 

Pros

• Inexpensive. One of the main reasons why students out of high school choose to continue to learn via Skillshare rather than going to college is the cost. Skillshare premium membership only costs only $32 per month, which is very little compared to the price of enrolling in college. So, if you want to learn on a budget, Skillshare is definitely the better option.
  (Click here to learn more about Skillshare pricing)
• Wide variety of courses. When you choose to go to college, you need to commit yourself to one or two subjects in which to major. With Skillshare, you don’t need to confine yourself to a couple of subjects like web development. Instead, you can learn as many different things as you would like because there’s such a wide variety of online courses and classes available on the great online learning platform. In fact, there are currently over 30,000 courses available on Skillshare with video lessons with unlimited access.
• Allows for flexible learning. Skillshare teachers allow you to work your learning time around existing commitments. This is great in terms of flexibility because it makes it much easier to work a job at the same time or run any errands you need to throughout the day without having to sacrifice your study time. On the other hand, in college, you’ll be given a schedule of classes with very little flexibility, making everything else in your life take a back seat.

Cons

• Mostly unaccredited. While there are tens of thousands of courses available on Skillshare, the downside is that most of these courses are unaccredited. This means that they don’t provide you with any kind of official qualification or certification and that the courses are usually not recognized by potential employers. 
• Inconsistent quality. Many of the courses available on Skillshare are of great quality and a good share of them are taught by experts. However, this is not the case for all Skillshare courses. Because just about anyone can make a course or class on Skillshare, there’s no guarantee that all of them are good quality. 
• Limited academic subjects. There’s a broad range of classes across various subjects on Skillshare, but very few of them are academic subjects. This means that Skillshare may not be a good alternative to traditional college education if your goal is to become proficient in mathematics or biology, for example. 

College: Pros And Cons 

Pros

• High-quality education. While Skillshare’s courses can be pretty hit-and-miss in terms of quality, when you enroll in a college course, you’re paying a significant amount of money for a high-quality education experience. Colleges strive to provide the best standard of education to keep their ratings and rankings high.
• Social benefits. While going to college definitely isn’t (or shouldn’t be) about partying, there’s a distinct social benefit to going to college. You make new friends, learn to coexist with other online learning platforms, and participate in group classes and projects that encourage thoughtful, intellectual communication as well as collaboration.
• Opens up career opportunities. Compared to Skillshare classes, which typically are not recognized by employers, college courses will give you qualifications to put on your resume. These qualifications will hopefully open doors to practical skills in terms of your career in the future, and this is the main reason why so many people go to college for new skills.
• Teaches discipline and hard work. At college, nobody is going to hold your hand and force you to do your work to teach you technical skills. You need to learn how to be disciplined and manage your time (important life skills) to get all your work done to a high standard outside of class. Some level of discipline and time management is also necessary for Skillshare, but not to the same extent.

Cons

• Expensive. Unless you can get a full ride through a scholarship (which involves a lot of hard work and time spent on applications) you’ll need to spend a lot of money on your college education.
• Not always worth the money. While it’s true that a college education can open career opportunities, it’s a misconception that you need to go to college to get a good job. It’s entirely possible to be successful and financially comfortable without a college degree.
• Stressful. Anyone who has been to college will tell you that it’s stressful. Packed skillshare class schedules and assignments can have a real impact on your stress levels and mental health.
• Comes with a lot of debt. You’ll probably need to take out student loans to afford college, which means it will leave you with a lot of debt after you graduate which you’ll need to pay back over time. This is a major reason why many people who would like to go to college ultimately choose not to.

Final Thoughts

Whether you choose to go to college or use Skillshare to learn about things that interest you is a personal decision, but the pros and cons above can help you make the best choice. 

If you want to save your money and don’t need a degree to get into your dream career, educating yourself through Skillshare may be your best option and you can have unlimited access to courses.

On the other hand, if you want a job that requires official qualifications and professional skills, you’re prepared to work hard and pay back your loans, go ahead and send out those applications!