If you’re in the tech field, you already know that upskilling in your industry — whether it’s taking company-mandated training or with free IT online courses — is important. It’s even more crucial if you’re planning to apply for promotions or seek opportunities elsewhere.
Jobs in information technology will continue to be in high demand in 2023. Though there will be a bit of a slow-down, the IT job market will reportedly add 174,000 positions year-over-year. This means if you’re a fresh IT grad or looking to switch careers, there’s a job opportunity waiting for you.
Interest in the IT industry, however, is not enough to get your foot in the door of this intensely competitive field. Take your cue from the many Great Resigners of the last two years who transitioned to tech. To improve their chances of landing a job, 67% of these Great Resigners took an information technology course online or enrolled in certificate programs. At least 89% of these IT course-takers said that the training made a positive impact in landing their current jobs.
In this blog, you’ll find a list of free IT online courses readily available this year. The list includes both basic IT courses for beginners and advanced ICT online classes with different specializations.
Top 15 Free IT Online Courses
Below is a list of the best IT courses online for beginners and practitioners. Many of these are free to take for learning purposes. If you want to get a certificate to include in your resume, you can pay a small fee.
Level: Beginners
Duration: approx. 12 weeks (6 to 18 hours per week)
Recommended for: people interested in a general programming overview
Considered one of the best courses for IT, this free and self-paced intro to computer science is an e-learning adaptation of Harvard’s introductory course. It features a broad overview of computer science and programming. After the course, you’ll be familiar with computing concepts and programming languages such as C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML.
Level: All levels
Duration: approx. 300 hours per course
Recommended for: people who want to switch to IT, independent learners
freeCodeCamp is a popular learning website for IT professionals of all levels. Career-shifters with no prior background in IT can take their course certifications in order. Practitioners can find advanced courses to boost their qualifications. The website claims to have helped more than 40,000 people get developer jobs after taking their courses. Even better – freeCodeCamp is one of the few providers of online IT courses that issue free certificates.
Level: All levels
Duration: 3 to 6 months, depending on the learning path
Recommended for: people who want to switch to IT, fresh grads who want to specialize
The website Thinkful offers free training to prepare you for various IT careers in software engineering, data science and analytics, UI and UX design, product management, and digital marketing. What sets them apart is their unique promise – you don’t need to pay your tuition until you get a job within 6 months of graduating from any of their courses. No worries on this front, though – over 84% of graduates from the learning website have gotten job offers within 180 of graduating, with an average annual starting salary of $60,000 USD.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx 6 months (3 hours per week)
Recommended for: fresh grads or career shifters who want to specialize in Internet of Things
We live in an era of IoT or Internet of Things so it makes sense to specialize in programming for this purpose. In this specialization program, you’ll be taken through 6 courses that will introduce you to the concept of IoT, the Raspberry Pi Platform, and the Arduino environment. By the time you reach the 6th course, you’ll be equipped with skills to design and create your own IoT device.
Level: Beginner
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
Recommended for: fresh IT grads who want to learn iOS app development or specialize in UI
This quick IT course is a foundational course for iOS and user interface development. It teaches practical skills on how to create an app using Apple’s iOS app builder, XCode. It also introduces more topics and features that can help beginning app developers gain an appreciation for designing robust, adaptive user interfaces.
Level: Intermediate
Duration: approx. 1 month
Recommended for: programmers and software developers
This innovative course teaches career programmers and software developers hard skills required for software testers. The idea is to proactively learn how to find bugs in code early and write better code and software in the process.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 6 weeks (3-6 hours per week)
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want the basics on data science
This self-paced program by IBM is considered one of the best IT courses for introductory data science. It is free if you’re interested in auditing, but if you want a certificate, you will need to pay for an upgrade. The course covers a definition of data science and an overview of what data scientists do, including the tools and algorithms they use. It’s a good class to take if you want to find out if data science is right for you.
Level: Intermediate
Duration: approx. 4 weeks (3-6 hours per week)
Recommended for: IT practitioners or graduates with an intermediate grasp of Python and Algebra
If you have a programming background and want to specialize in data science, this intro course offers a more in-depth look into the most common data structures and algorithms in Python. This course is particularly useful if you’re applying for programming jobs and want to ace your technical interviews. The course covers quizzes and mock interviews that will ready you for your job application.
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 3-4 hours
Recommended for: IT professionals who want to get into software security engineering or information security
This quick skills-based course introduces the basics of database security – how to identify and recognize different types of database threats, how hackers carry out database breaches, and the ways you can implement a defense mechanism to resist these threats.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 12 hours
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want the basics on cloud computing
This introductory course on the concepts of cloud computing does not require you to have any programming background. It is a foundational course on the topic which will give you a basic understanding of cloud computing from both a business perspective and as a prospective cloud practitioner. The course will introduce you to different service models and the most popular service providers. It’s a great course to take if you want to know if a career in cloud computing is right for you.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 2.5 hours
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want the basics on cloud computing
If you want a shorter and more practical course on cloud computing, this course is for you. Rather than going through the theoretical concepts of cloud computing, this quick course focuses on real world examples.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want the specifics on cloud computing
If you’re set on being a cloud practitioner, you can beef up your resume by learning about cloud computing with different providers. Amazon Web Services or AWS is currently the most popular cloud service provider, so specializing in it will look great on your resume. At the end of the tutorial, you’ll be able to set up your own infrastructure on the cloud.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 3 months (9 hours per week)
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want to learn the foundations of AI and machine learning
This introductory 3-course program introduces the fundamentals of modern machine learning. At the end of the course, learners are expected to be familiar with the key concepts of machine learning and how to apply machine learning solutions to real-world problems. It’s a good course to audit if you’re wondering about a career in AI.
Level: Beginner
Duration: approx. 4 hours
Recommended for: fresh IT grads or career shifters who want to learn the foundations of AI and machine learning
If you want to dip your toes in AI and see a practical application of it, you can take this quick 4-hour skills-based course. It teaches you how to create a chatbot using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language or AIML. Even people with no prior knowledge of AI can take this course.
Level: Intermediate
Duration: approx. 2 months
Recommended for: software developers who want to learn deep learning
This introductory course is designed for software developers who want to learn how to use TensorFlow and develop apps with the open source library. Learners are required to demonstrate a working knowledge of Python syntax, including variables, functions, classes, and object-oriented programming, plus basic algebra. The course is very hands-on in its approach, introducing you to various deep-learning models. At the end of the course, you’ll have the skills to develop AI apps on different devices and operating systems.
We live in a world where technological advancements seem to be happening every day. To keep yourself competitive in the IT industry, it’s important to upskill. Take advantage of these free IT online courses to be one step ahead of the game.
Upskilled and ready for your next big opportunity? Connect with excellent employers and opportunities worldwide on Joblu. Here are just some of the great opportunities you’ll find in the IT field:
- IT Service Desk – Strategic Networks
- IT Support Engineer – Mustard Seed Systems Corp
- Software Engineer – Finden Technologies
- Mobile App Engineer (Full Stack) – Naxum Online Marketing Services
- Network Specialist – Smartsourcing Inc
Download the Joblu app today and start exploring Jobs & Learning for You.
Frequently Asked Questions about Free IT Online Courses
Q: What is the best website for free online courses?
A: The best websites for free online courses are as follows: Coursera, Alison, Udacity, and Udemy. These websites partner with different academic institutions and corporations. You can find the best courses for IT on these websites. The only disadvantage is that most of these websites require a fee if you need a certificate.
Q: What is the best course in the IT field?
A: The best course in the IT field depends on what you want to specialize in. Data science and analytics, cloud computing, and AI and machine learning are emerging niches in IT you may want to consider.
Q: What are the best free online IT courses?
A: Below are the best free online IT courses you can take to upskill:
- CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science by HarvardX
- freeCodeCamp’s IT curriculum
- Thinkful’s Free Tech Training
- An Introduction to Programming the Internet of Things (IOT) Specialization by UCI Davis
- Introduction to iOS App Development, Xcode, and Interface Builder by Devslopes
- IBM’s Introduction to Data Science
- Intro to Data Structures and Algorithms by Udacity
- Database Security for Cyber Professionals by Alison
- Software Testing by Udacity
- IBM’s Introduction to Cloud Computing
- A Practical Introduction to Cloud Computing by Udemy
- Cloud Computing with Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Machine Learning Specialization by Stanford University
- Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) by Udemy
- Intro to TensorFlow for Deep Learning by Udacity and TensorFlow
