The six-month course will be treated equivalent to a four-year college degree.

With technological advancements, the demand for having a professional degree related to the tech world is gaining momentum. The institutions are scrambling to offer new technology courses, with the increasing demand for tech professionals in the industry. While technology is permeating in business operations, tech professionals are welcomed in all the sectors. Many reputed educational institutes like Harvard University and Columbia University are offering BSc and Btech degrees in Data science, thus opening another door in tech education.

A report by Gartner has predicted that global IT spending will surge to US$3.9 billion. Owing to the turbulent existing trade relationship between China and USA, the two tech countries, the demand for reliable and efficient tech professionals will grow. LinkedIn has already added the profile of data scientists and data engineer, to be the most demanded jobs in the next 10 years. Moreover, as some institutes are paving the path for thriving with technology, others are facing the dearth of either funds or skills.

Undoubtedly, technology is leaping, and a professional degree in technology will pay off the hard work by students, but earning a technology course certificate is discerned to be extremely expensive. Moreover, companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon are providing job opportunities for young professionals without a college degree. This plagues the question that whether the heavy investment in tech education is worth or not?

Despite what is being told, a professional degree always holds value. That's why many platforms are offering online courses to improve tech education and provide an opportunity for the students to learn about tech without any expensive fees.

Websites to Upgrade Tech Skills

With the increased demand for tech skills amongst industries, many websites are offering free courses. Some of these websites are Alison.com, Codeacademy, Coursera, Udemy, MIT OpenCourseWare, Microsoft learns and Harvard Online Learning amongst others. These websites include courses on IT management, Software development, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Data management, and core IT skills amongst others. Even though some of these courses are not entirely free, but they provide a platform for students to upgrade their skills.

Googles' Certificate Courses

Google is redefining the tech education by launching certificate courses that would be treated equivalent to a four-year degree for the hiring process in the hiring process. The company is soon going to introduce three Google Career Certificate course, which is associated with Data Analyst, Project Management and UX Designer.

In 2018, the company launched, two Career Certificate Courses for entry-level positions namely Google IT support certificate program, which became the single most popular certificate program, and Google IT Automation with Python, with 6,37,047 students already enrolled. These courses are launched with Coursera that cost US$49 each month and have time duration of 5-6 months for completion. Usually, the fees for one semester while learning the same course in college costs US$300. The company has also said that the it will fund 100,000 needs-based scholarships while supporting these programs.

Just as mentioned earlier, these programs will also play a crucial role in the recruiting process by the company. Kent Walker, Google's Vice President of global affairs wrote in a tweet, "In our hiring, we will now treat these new career certificates as the equivalent of a four-year degree for related roles."

Upgrade with Online Education

The young professionals, interested in technology, must leverage these courses for educational benefits. It will not only expand their knowledge but will be an add-on for the skills that they have acquired.