You may have heard of a MOOC. But just in case you haven’t, it stands for Massive Open Online Course and it is a free course of education, often offered by some of the world’s top universities. Studying a MOOC can help you in many ways to become more employable. But with thousands of subjects to choose from and so many different providers, where do you start? Read on for some ideas.

Be clear on what field of work you are looking to go into. If there are several fields then make sure you prioritize them, and base your choice of study subject on your main priority employment field.

Use your job specifications if you have your eye on one particular job post. Go through the specifications, and pick out the main desired skills and experience. Well done if you meet the requirements. But if there are any areas where you feel you could improve, this will help you decide on what sort of MOOC may help you to increase your suitability for the post.

Search using reputable websites. Currently the most popular websites for MOOCs are: coursera, edX and Udacity.

Coursera tends to lean its course postings more towards the fields of professional development for people such as teachers. However, it is generally a well balanced website, offering a wide range of different courses to would-be students.

edX is also fairly balanced in the subject fields it posts. However, it does lean slightly more towards areas such as the sciences, technology and medicine.

Udacity on the other hand focuses almost exclusively on computer science, programming and math.

These are the three most well-known websites for you to choose from. However, you may have one specific subject or course in mind. If this is the case, then we would recommend you use a MOOC search engine, such as MOOCSE, Class Central, or Mooctivity. Class Central has some very useful filtering functions, which will help you to really hone in on the specific course or subject you are looking for.

Try not to feel too overwhelmed at the possibilities available to you. Stay focused on what your employment goals are, and feel grateful that this vast world of free education is available to you. We commend you, as the very fact that you are considering studying a MOOC shows your willingness to improve and expand – both as a person, and as a professional!