Hello friends, in this blog, I’m presenting some of my favourite finance courses, which will be valuable for everyone in the long run.
Recently, one of my friends asked me if there are any such finance courses that we can do right now, so I thought let me find some courses that add value and are beginner-friendly, so I decided to cover it as a blog post and share a link 🙂
And that can help my reader land finance internships or jobs, or at least secure interviews.
After conducting extensive research, I have compiled my top three recommendations.
Careers in Finance by Corporate Finance Institute
I will start with the first one, which is “Careers in Finance” by the Corporate Finance Institute. I have kept this at number one because many of you might be attracted only by the glamour of finance. It has very high-paying jobs. However, you might not realise that even within finance, there are numerous different jobs, each of which you may want to pursue.
This course is a foundational level course that introduces you to the various careers in finance. Throughout a company’s life cycle, from inception to its end, all these roles are implemented.
With this knowledge, you will be able to decide better which particular area interests you. And accordingly, which job should you prepare for?
I came across such a course after a long time. I wanted to share it, so I did.
Additionally, CFI offers this course which is a highly reputable institution.
And this course is free. Plus, you can complete it in an hour.
So, there are numerous advantages. That is why this will be my first recommendation.
Excel Skills For Finance
The second course I recommend is based on a skill that everyone needs: Excel. If you are entering the field of finance, this is one skill you cannot overlook.
Even within Excel, you must be familiar with VLOOKUP, pivots, and SUMIFS. These three things are basic, and you absolutely must know them.
Apart from that, the concepts that are used, which you learn at an advanced level, That is, the applications of different IF functions, nesting, how to use multiple formulas together, and concepts like INDEX, OFFSET, MATCH all of these.
Now, Excel is a skill where, if you don’t practice after learning it theoretically, you don’t feel confident in it. In most finance interviews, you are asked about your Excel proficiency.
To gain that theoretical understanding, various resources are available.
One of them is a course called LearnVern’s Excel course. That is a great course if you are comfortable in Hindi. There is also a course called “Problem Solving with Excel” PwC offers this on Coursera.Â
The LearnVern course is 7 hours long. This one is for 2 weeks.
But if you are comfortable with the English language, Then go with this one. If you don’t want to do a course, You can also learn it from YouTube.
There is a channel called ‘excelisfun‘, a very good channel.Â
You can directly go to the playlist. You will also find a variety of videos to watch and practice from.
Now the question comes: where will you practice?
For that, there is a free website called Excel Practice Online.
I will also link it in the description. On this website, you can practice the different concepts that I mentioned.
Private Equity and Venture Capital
Now, we will discuss the third and final recommendation, which is Private Equity and Venture Capital, This course is available on Coursera.Â
To do this for free, you have to audit the course. When you click the “Enrol for Free” button on the landing page, it displays two options.
One option is to receive it with a certificate, while the other is to receive it without a certificate, in which case you complete the course but don’t receive a certificate.
I recommend going for the second option. Why? Because even without the certificate, you can mention this point on your resume after completing the course.
I was reading about a student’s experience that, after completing this course, they received numerous interview shortlists, which they had not received before.
Because private equity and venture capital are fancy terms in finance, being present on your resume adds a lot of value.
Even in this course, specifically the fourth module, which covers company valuation, it will be the best resource for you to understand concepts that we typically learn in an MBA.
There are many methods of valuation. So, when you study them and practice them on, let’s say, some other company, you will gain hands-on experience of what you are going to do in a job.
It will take you about 1 week to complete this course. Since it is on Coursera, you can save it for later, as it will remain accessible for an extended period.
Final Thought
So yes, these are my top three recommendations. I hope that they help all of you.
Let me know if you have any other questions related to finance, career, or anything else in the comment section below, and I will be happy to help you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog…see you all the next time.