Fadé Adeniyi
Sunday 1 November 2026
AI, cybersecurity, video editing, supply chain and Google Ads. Every link, what each one teaches you and which certificate you actually get for free.
You don't need to pay to start learning AI, cybersecurity, video editing, supply chain or Google Ads. Each of those skills has a free course good enough to show you whether you like the work: FreeAcademy.ai, Cisco Networking Academy, Matt Paige's open-source editing studio, MIT Learn and Google Skillshop.
I've coached over 1,000 people into tech over the last eight years and the first question is nearly always the same: which course should I buy? My answer is usually none of them yet. A first course isn't meant to make you an expert. It answers one question cheaply: do I want to keep going?
Every course here is free to start. Where a certificate or an exam costs money, I've said so plainly, so nothing catches you out halfway through.
Buying the course before you've done a single free lesson. Paying feels like commitment, so it feels like progress, but the money's spent before you know whether you even enjoy the work. Finish one free course first. Pay only for the next step, once you know you want it.
The 5 courses
FreeAcademy.ai runs short, practical AI courses: Prompt Engineering, AI Essentials and AI Automations with Make and Zapier, plus AI for your job (finance, healthcare) and creating with AI (video, images, social content). Over 43,000 people are learning on it.
Cisco Networking Academy's Junior Cybersecurity Analyst career path covers threat hunting, risk management and network firewalls. It's built for entry-level roles like Cybersecurity Technician, Junior Cybersecurity Analyst and Tier 1 Help Desk Support.
Skip the endless YouTube tutorials and skip the creators selling you their editing course. The faster route now is to let AI do the editing and learn by directing it.
Matt Paige has open-sourced his full AI video editing studio. It's out now, and it works with Claude Code or Codex. One prompt sets it up on your computer, and you give it your raw footage. His setup guide is free. The full walkthrough video is a paid Substack extra (@mpaige13).
Yes, if you audit it. The MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management is MIT's graduate-level programme: supply chain analytics, fundamentals, design and more. It's moved from edX to MIT Learn, where every course can be audited for free.
Go to learn.mit.edu: MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management ↗
Google Skillshop is Google's own training for the tools it makes, built by Google's product experts. The Google Ads courses teach you to advertise a business online and get Google Ads certified. Skillshop also covers Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform and Google My Business if you want to keep going.
Go to skillshop.withgoogle.com ↗
Don't start all five. Pick the one that matches what you actually want to do next, block out an hour and do the first lesson today.
Once you've finished it, you'll know whether you like the work and what you'd want to learn next. That's the point where paying for something makes sense.
The free course tells you if you love it. Only then is it worth paying.
What this guide won't do: free courses don't come with a coach or anyone checking in on you, so finishing is on you. FreeAcademy.ai and Google Skillshop certificates are free. Cisco's CCST exam and MIT's certificate track cost money. Matt Paige's studio is free, but his walkthrough video is paid. Every link and detail was checked on 31 October 2026 on freeacademy.ai, netacad.com, learn.mit.edu and skillshop.withgoogle.com, and on 2 November 2026 on mattpaigeai.com, Substack and GitHub, and may change.
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