Project Management Courses for Remote Workers

Project Management Courses for Remote Workers

Project management is both a skill and a job. During the course of a career, employees - including remote workers - are often given the task of leading the team or managing on-going projects. This is why it’s essential for every employee, be it a remote or an in-house worker, to learn project management. Becoming a project manager or team-lead is an opportunity and a responsibility.

Many employees take up project management tasks without any prior experience or training, believing that management is easy. Later on, they end up stressed and overwhelmed by work, not meeting deadlines or getting poor results. As the saying goes: If you don’t know how to fly, don’t jump off the cliff!

An unprofessional project manager ultimately affects the entire team’s efficiency and can even ruin the project as a whole. According to a report issued by IBM, around 68% of the projects fail due to ineffective or poor project management. That’s why a professional project manager is crucial for every project to ensure 100% success and completion. Today, project management is a necessity that can’t be disregarded.

Project management is an art that needs to be learned and then practised. There are currently several project management methodologies and techniques that can be learned to lead teams and manage projects efficiently. However, with constant developments in the industry, new and more effective methods are regularly introduced for project management. And, to become a proficient project manager, constant and consistent learning is a must.

Project management for remote workers

Project management is ultimately more essential for remote workers. Remote project management often requires more effort to be as effective as in-office project management. A remote project manager needs to learn specific management tactics that will be effective in remote management. There are some common challenges faced by employees working remotely, such as:

Lack of proper understanding of team personalities and quirks
Miscommunication due to misinterpretation of tone or meaning
Time differences that prevent harmonious work schedules
Failures surrounding software and technology used for work completion

An efficient project manager can cope with these challenges and manage the remote team to complete the projects with optimal results. Remote project management is quite different from in-office project management because remote teams can only interact through a screen. Therefore, working as a project manager with a remote team requires appropriate training.

How to learn remote project management?

Being a remote worker, you are more likely to prefer learning project management online. As there are a plethora of online courses, you may find it challenging to choose the best course to learn project management. That’s why I’ve listed the top 6 project management courses for remote workers to help you choose the best course for yourself.

These courses are specifically designed for a remote worker to learn project management skills. Renowned project managers and experts are the authors of all the course contents. You can choose any one of these courses and be certain they are the key to kick-starting your journey to becoming a pro project manager.

Top 6 project management courses for remote workers

1. Alison – Diploma in project management

2. Coursera: Project Management Specialisation Courses

3. Colorado State University: Online Project Management Certificate

4. Oxford Home Study College - Project Management Short Course

5. Simplilearn – Project Management Expert

6. Project Management – The Basics of Success

So, without further ado, let’s review each course, one by one.

1. Alison.com - Diploma in Project Management

Today, project management skills are compulsory for every employee working in-house or remotely. If you want to become a proficient project manager, you should go consider Alison.com’s Diploma in Project Management. This course tops our list because it offers a thorough foundation of project management, and it comprises all the essentials required to become a skilled manager.

This course is internationally recognized and acclaimed for its success. It can help you achieve professional expertise through the advanced course material and top-notch training. The course will teach you the significant aspects of project management, including analysis, planning, design, and evaluation. Once you start this course, you will be acquainted with modern project management methodologies, practical techniques, and state-of-the-art tools set.

Course Review & Outcomes

Alison.com’s Diploma in Project Management has well-researched and highly comprehensible course contents. Experienced professionals and expert project managers authored this course’s contents, which is systematically divided into six modules to be better understood by students. The students level-up their project management skills after each module. The course can be completed in 6-10 hours, but students can complete it at their convenience. At the end of the course, all students must attempt a review test at the end of this course.

Upon completing this course, students will be well-acquainted with current project management methodologies and tactics. They’ll be able to implement their knowledge while managing various types of projects. The course has also introduced students to beneficial project management tools that they can use to increase productivity and save time. They’ll certainly experience a visible difference in their management skills upon completing this course.

Pricing & Certification

The Alison.com Diploma in Project Management is a free course available for everyone. However, students can apply for a certification/diploma after scoring above 80% in the final review test. Alison offers both digital and non-digital certification on the payment of minimal charges.

2. Coursera – Project Management Specialization Courses

Coursera is the most renowned online learning hub. It offers an extensive range of online courses and specialisations. The Coursera - Project Management Specialisation Courses are designed to help students achieve project management expertise. The specialisation includes four courses covering all the fundamentals of project management. These series don’t require any prior management experience, and beginners can easily understand the simplified course materials.

Coursera has collaborated with the University of California, Irvine (UC-I) to design this course’s content. All the course material is the same as taught in the university. Once you choose this course, you’ll board on a journey to become an expert-level project manager. The course aims to help you attain professional management skills and provide you with sufficient knowledge about project management fundamentals.

Course Review & Outcomes

All of the four courses in this specialisation are adequately arranged for an in-depth and comprehensive understanding for students.

Each course has hands-on projects to check students’ progress and award them certifications. These four courses have planned weekly classes covering different topics related to project management. The students also get timed access to the instructors to discuss and question. Coursera suggests completing the specialisation within five months, but the students are not bound by time.

Upon completing this specialisation, the students will have gained professional knowledge about project management and develop the required skills to complete projects and accomplish goals. You’ll be able to plan a project, allocate a budget, make the proper use of resources, and manage risks. Additionally, you’ll also identify product scope, create a work distribution structure and manage time to complete the project. This specialisation will help students achieve expertise in project management.

Pricing & Certification

Coursera offers a budget-friendly subscription to this course. However, the certification for specialisation is only given on the successful completion of all courses. You can also choose a single course from this specialisation and complete it to earn a certificate.

3. Colorado State University: Online Project Management Certificate

Those who aspire to join state universities and earn certifications in project management, but can’t do so because of strict work schedules, can now learn project management from Colorado State University. The esteemed university offers an online project management course to aspirants. If you want to aid your project management skills, consider this course.

The course is exclusively available for experienced professionals who want to polish their project management skills. This course aims to provide an opportunity for the aspirants who can’t attend the university physically. Hence, all of the course contents are kept the same as those taught on campus. Moreover, the instructors and trainers are also meritorious professors from Colorado State University. The course covers newer aspects and changing project management trends to train professionals about coming challenges in project management.

Course Review & Outcomes

The Colorado State University: Online Project Management Certificate has strategically developed course contents as per the requirements of university students. The students are also required to use two textbooks when studying this course. All students are given weekly access to trainers and instructors to ask their queries and clarify confusions.

Moreover, the students will have to take quizzes and team exercises, which are essential to achieve certification from the university. The course is divided into four projects, each covering an aspect of project management. The time to complete this course is 16 weeks, and students are not bound by time.

On successful completion of this course, the students will know about the current project management processes and languages. This course will also equip you to efficiently manage the project, determine product scope, resolve risks, and develop tactics to complete the project successfully.

Pricing & Certification

According to Colorado State University, this course’s certification will be equivalent to university certification and can be used in an employee portfolio. The university also claims that students can also apply for employment opportunities on this certification. The course fee for this certification is $3,395, and scholarships are also available.

4. Oxford Home Study College - Project Management Short Course

Oxford Home Study College offers certification in project management according to your profession. If you want to become a professional project manager in your particular profession, you can opt for this online course. The course is ranked as one of the best project management courses that provide a well-defined roadmap to contemporary project management. Oxford Home Study College is a distinguished online learning platform having experienced professionals on board to ensure quality learning.

This course is designed to meet the requirements of individuals who aim to learn project management specifically for their field. There are a variety of options available for online project management courses you can choose from. All courses have profession-specific contents that are very simple and understandable.

Course Review & Outcomes

The course contents for this online course are divided into three parts, each covering a different aspect of project management. However, this course’s profession-specific feature makes it different from all other online project management courses. The three essential parts of this course include an introduction to project management, the role of a project manager, and project lifecycle. The duration of this course is around 20 hours with 24 hours accessibility to the course contents.

The course adequately explains the fundamentals of project management, making it easy to understand for beginners. After completing this course, students will have better insights into project management and tested strategies that they can implement in their respective fields. This course will unearth the possibilities to become a proficient project manager.

Pricing & Certification

The course is available 24/7 for free, and everyone can enrol and access this course from the Oxford Home Study College website. However, you’ll need to pay certain charges for the certification of this course.

5. Simplilearn – Project Management Certification Training

Simplilearn is known for its 360-degree project management courses. The platform offers a variety of courses starting from beginner-level to expert-level. It also offers a masters program for ultimate level project management.

Since its inception, Simplilearn has produced market leaders working as competitive project managers in renowned industries. If you are seeking quality online learning, Simplilearn is a great option. You can choose the course per your experience level and ultimately become the expert project manager.

Simplilearn has teamed up with experts to train the candidates until they achieve expertise. Simplilearn’s course content matches current trends in the industry and is updated to meet new and upcoming trends. You will learn and explore the latest methodologies used in project management with Simplilearn. After completing a course, you can also level-up your expertise by going on to the next available course, until you’ve finished every level of the certification.

Course Review & Outcomes

Each course available on the Simplilearn platform has a different course material level starting from beginner-level to intermediate-level, and then expert-level. The course you choose will depend on how much you already know and how much you want to learn. However, each course is similar in that they teach students how to manage, execute, and control projects effectively. The course advisors on this platform are also project management brands – you’ll have a good time learning at Simplilearn.

Upon completing this course, the student has the foundation to become a competitive project manager at their respective level. You’ll be well-equipped to effectively manage teams and led successful projects.

Pricing & Certification

The price for courses on this platform can be up to $749, and come with certification for whatever course you choose to do.

6. Project Management – The Basics of Success

This course is operated by the University of California, Irvine UCI, offered through the MOOCs platform Coursera. Though Coursera also offers specialization in project management in collaboration with UCI, this particular course is a cut above. To all those who want to learn project management at the entry-level, this course is for you!

The course covers all the basics of project management that a beginner needs to know. Moreover, instructors also use simplified terms to explain things related to project management. You’ll get to know all the fundamentals of project management and leadership in this course. If you don’t believe you are ready to move forward with a more advanced course just yet, this is the course for you

Course Review & Outcomes

The course is elementary and understandable for beginners. It has only four modules that can be completed in 8 hours, combined. The course aims to prepare students for project management and give them basic know-how. Students will also take various quizzes, be assigned hands-on projects, and have weekly discussions to better their understanding. This course is the first step to become an expert project manager.

Upon completing this course, students will have sufficient knowledge about the fundamentals of project management, WBS, planning & scheduling, project leadership, and teamwork.

Pricing & Certification

Coursera will issue a digital certificate on successful completion of this course, for a small fee.

In Conclusion

Though I’ve condensed your possible choices into a list of six, there are literally thousands of project management courses to choose from. Ultimately, you need to select a course that is best suited to you based on your requirements. As a suggestion, your selection criteria must be based on: