Free Online Courses That Every Software Engineer Should Take

You've found the best spot if you're seeking the most comprehensive list of free online upskilling tools for employed or aspiring software engineers. Locating free online training from reliable sources might be challenging, so here is a list of the top websites for improving your software engineering abilities.

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, demand for software engineers is expected to increase at an above-average rate of 25% between 2021 and 2031. The typical base pay for software engineers is approximately $114,583 annually as of 6 June 2023, and as you get more experience and reach greater levels of proficiency, that amount can rise tremendously.

So be sure to save this post so you can readily retrieve it later if you've been looking for a list of free online resources to assist you in improving your knowledge of software engineering.

Be aware that there may be some overlap because some of these websites periodically feature one another or use the same sources. Let's move on to our list of free online resources for software developers after all that: 

Udacity 

• Udacity partners with various well-known companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, to offer helpful coverage of software engineering topics. They also have a good selection of courses for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners, including quizzes and other learning exercises. All classes are carefully selected, and only subject-matter specialists instruct them.
• Similar to Udemy, the only drawback is that premium features like the Nanodegree certification program, which includes courses created by some of the tech brands, are only made available to those willing to pay for such services. However, given everything they offer at the free level, it's challenging to find a reason not to like Udacity.

edX 

• EdX is a fantastic resource for software engineers trying to advance their profession, much like Coursera is. They offer several top-notch courses at no charge, and their website is relatively user-friendly. It is noteworthy that edX includes pages just for its charter members, which makes it simple to take computer science courses straight from MIT and Harvard.
• High-level software engineers may need to go elsewhere for more specialised courses because free courses are often for beginners. Only paying clients may enrol in courses that grant credentials and certifications.

Coursera

• Coursera is already on your radar if you've been looking for free online courses in software engineering. On Coursera, well-known corporations like IBM, Meta, and Microsoft offer many software engineering courses. In contrast, colleges like Duke, Princeton, Yale, or Columbia offer other courses. Coursera is the best learning database available at the professional level.
• While most courses are available for a free audit, some students may need help locating the audit option, so make sure you can set things up properly. Furthermore, as the free courses are primarily aimed at beginners, more seasoned software developers would only find them useful for review. In addition, several supposedly "free" courses grant certificates and college credits, but remember that these credentials are hidden behind a paywall. If you stop paying for a course, you can lose access to valuable tests and graded content.

Udemy 

• Udemy makes it simple to find their free course offerings, and their courses cover a wide range of topics, including multiple coding languages and methodologies, various data structures, different algorithms, and even career development advice. While Udemy offers a good variety of intermediate courses and courses for all levels, most of its free courses are designed to teach novices. Additionally, they make it incredibly simple to sort by user rating, status, topic, language, and duration.
• Free courses utilise only some of Udemy's features, such as teacher Q&A, direct messages, and completion certificates. So, you're left to learn at your own pace and take in what you can without in-depth instruction or certification incentives. 

freeCodeCamp

• FreeCodeCamp mainly consists of open-access blog posts and courses and offers plenty to offer software programmers of all skill levels. FreeCodeCamp makes it simple to find answers to your coding-related questions. You might learn JavaScript one day and Python the next before deciding to concentrate on tech-related life lessons or self-improvement.
• Given how disorganised freeCodeCamp is, it could be simple to become sidetracked by the sheer volume of currently active articles on the website. In addition, even if programmers write these postings for programmers, it might be hard to justify using some of the information in light of the more reliable, professional-level courses available on other learning platforms.