Let’s be honest with ourselves here; having a freelancing career has a lot of ups, but it also has its fair share of downs too. You can “go to work” in your PJs if you want to. Yay! But wait, you don’t get paid vacations or any other benefits that usually come with a regular desk job. Boo…

Being a freelancer may sound like a chore at times, but at the same time, it also allows you the freedom to work on your own terms. However, due to the booming number of freelancers in the last decade, top-notch freelancers and professional entrepreneurs have set up courses designed especially for those who have decided to venture into the wild jungle known as ‘freelancing’.

This goes out to the newbies out there and those who have been on the job market for years and still don’t know what they’re doing wrong; enroll in a course of your choice and save yourself the headache that comes with freelancing!

I know what you’re thinking, “but so many freelancers out there haven’t taken any courses and they’re doing just fine!”

Well let me ask you this, how long have they been on the job market before they even started getting the hang of it? Chances are, it’s a long time and chances are, it took some real effort for them to grow out of the I-have-no-idea-what-I-am-doing phase into the I-got-this phase.

The nice thing about these courses is that they give you a step-by-step guide on how to start out as a freelancer the right way. Some courses even give you a more detailed look into managing clients, pricing and the payment process. Whether you’ve just started freelancing, feeling undercharged or just wanting to improve your translation or blogging skills, there are courses for every skill and field. Learn from the best and those who’ve successfully gone through the entire process!

You’re probably wondering now, “fine, I’m convinced, but where do I start? How do I know it’s not a rip-off?”

It’s important to ask other freelancers you know about any courses they might’ve taken that changed their freelancing career. Therefore, you need to make sure that the course you’re enrolling in is worth your money and time, which is why the first courses you should try, ought to be the ones recommended by your peers or the ones offered by trusted websites and qualified professionals. You can also do your own research on other courses, but make sure you look up reviews of that particular course or at least the university, company, organization or person offering it.

For that reason, the first course you’ll want to check out is Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth (USJ)’s up-and-coming linguistic course (for both English and Arabic) exclusively for Ureed’s freelancers. The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), which will be available soon on Ureed’s platform, will give freelancers the chance to develop their linguistic skills and improve their freelancing careers. So, if you want to master Arabic grammar, improve your translation skills and learn different research techniques, stay tuned for any updates and be one of the first to enroll.

Long story short; try it out!

It wouldn’t hurt to try at least one course someone else you trust highly recommends. Not only will you learn new techniques you haven’t known before, but you’ll be at a better advantage from the other freelancers around you. Imagine, while all those other freelancers are struggling to write attractive landing pages, you would’ve already known all the little tricks and tips to writing one without going through the same trouble. Also, who knows? Maybe one day you will be experienced enough that you will be giving courses yourself to help other freelancers grow.