I have probably ten friends who had exciting plans for summer 2020 that COVID-19 heartlessly dashed. They were going to gain real-world experience at huge companies, who were paying them top dollar. Now that most if not all of these opportunities have been canceled, some of them -- myself included -- are picking up online skills that we would've learned on the job. This is a way to recover the lost value of these internships.
1) Social Media Marketing
Regardless of the job you have, knowing how to create a social media strategy will be a key skill. This is especially relevant if you start your own business someday, because you might not have the capital to outsource marketing. Google HubSpot Academy, and thank me later.
2) Elementary Coding
If your lost internship was in a field related to engineering, medical analytics, computer game creation, etc -- this would be a good skill to master from the comfort of your bedroom. These fields are getting ever-saturated, so why not get a jump on the competition?
3) Adobe Suite
In almost any job, this is a winning skill -- to know how to operate Lightroom, Photoshop, etc. However, these programs are difficult, and now is the perfect time to chip away at their many operational layers and master them.
4) Photography
From family portraiture to starting a side hustle to capturing your life as it unfolds, learning this skill will only add joy. It seems complicated at first, and may require an initial investment, but on YouTube there are boundless free learning resources that can transform your abilities.
5) Website Design
Whomever you are, you probably will need a website at some point in your life. It could be to showcase your personal work, act as a bridge between your LinkedIn and having a recruiter contact you. Or, you could be an essential asset to your boss who is looking to pay someone to revamp your company's. Either way, learning basic web design on one of the many platforms out there (i.e Squarespace) could increase your value as an employee and freelancer.
