Second career · Life knowledge

Free courses and training sites

The list going around is headlined "100 websites with free courses." It is not 100, and it is not all free. Here is the honest version, and the VA programs that will pay for your training.

← Back to vsgsolutions.org GI Bill Comparison Tool
Veterans Crisis Line — dial 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Chat at veteranscrisisline.net. TTY 711 then 988, or 1-800-799-4889. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect. If gambling is part of what is going on, VA has education and treatment for it — see mirecc.va.gov/visn16/problem-gambling-guide.asp, talk to your VA provider, or find care at va.gov/find-locations.
What this page is. Somebody handed me a screenshot list of learning websites. I went through it. The headline says 100 sites; the list actually runs to 98 numbered entries, and one of them (Code.org) is printed twice where the pages break. Of those 98, I could confirm 16. The other 82 were names with no web address and nothing I could check against, so I am not putting them under my name. I bring the truth, simple and to the point. I have nothing left in this world than my word.
Kept — no cost

Sites I confirmed that cost nothing to use

★ Free study burns none of your GI Bill.
Kept — read the fine print

Confirmed, but not what the label said

  • Google Scholar — free search of scholarly articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions. It is a finding tool, not a free library: Google's own page tells you to "locate the complete document through your library or on the web," so the full text often still sits behind a library or subscription. scholar.google.com
  • Stanford Online — mixed free and paid. Stanford describes open learning that is "typically free, open to any learner, and require no proof of identity," alongside degree programs and certificates that charge tuition. Start with the free catalog. online.stanford.edu/free-courses
  • Google Digital Garage — moved. It is now delivered through Google Skillshop, not at the old Digital Garage address. Google's own page: "As Google Digital Garage is now part of Skillshop, we have discontinued the certificate validation feature." Digital Garage catalog on Skillshop
★ Check the price before you register.
Kept — paid

These are for-profit products. They cost money.

They were on a list headlined "free." They are not free. I am leaving them here so you know what you are looking at, not because I am recommending them.

  • The Great Courses — paid subscription. Their own page: "Once your free trial ends, your credit card will be billed based on the membership plan you've selected." thegreatcourses.com
  • Rosetta Stone — paid language software. No free tier. rosettastone.com/buy
  • Rocket Languages — paid, with a free trial before you buy. rocketlanguages.com/pricing
  • LinkedIn Learning — paid subscription with a free trial. No public price is posted for the organization plans. linkedin.com/learning
Free trials bill you. Every one of these takes a card up front. Put the cancel date in your phone the day you sign up, not the week it renews. I am not printing prices here because they change; read the price on the site itself on the day you sign up.
★ A free trial is a bill with a delay.
Taken off

Four entries I removed, and why

  • Code School — I could not confirm it still runs as its own site. The name now leads to Pluralsight, which is a paid subscription. pluralsight.com
  • Khan Lab School — it is real, but it is a private TK-12 day school with campuses in California. It offers no online courses or materials to the public and nothing to an adult veteran. If free online lessons are what you wanted, that is Khan Academy — a different organization. khanacademy.org
  • No Excuse List — I could not confirm the site is live. It does not go on a page with my name on it.
  • Academic Torrents — a data-sharing platform for researchers, not a course provider. Off the list for that reason.
★ I will not print what I cannot check.
Before you pay

VA money follows VA approval, not popularity

This is the part nobody puts on these lists, and it is the part that costs money.

  • GI Bill money pays for VA-approved programs. A school or course being famous, or expensive, or recommended in a screenshot, does not make it approved.
  • Check the program in the GI Bill Comparison Tool before you enroll and before you pay. Not after.
  • None of the sites on the original list appears on VA's published list of preferred and additional VET TEC 2.0 providers. VA's full provider list lives in the Comparison Tool.
  • The good news the lists never mention: studying on a genuinely free site uses none of your VA education entitlement. You keep those months for an approved program later.
★ Check approval first. Pay second.
Chapter 33 and the rest

VA pays for more than degrees

"Entitlement" means the months of schooling VA owes you.

  • Non-college degree programs — certificate and technical training, trades, on-the-job training and apprenticeships. VA's own non-college-degree page lists this under Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill), Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty), Chapter 1606 (Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve) and Chapter 35 (Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance). It is not a Post-9/11-only benefit. Read VA's page.
Online-only study cuts your housing money roughly in half. For training taken entirely online or by distance learning, VA bases the Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance on half the national average, not your local rate. The figure changes every August — read it on VA's Post-9/11 rate page, not from me.
You may not hold a full benefit. Post-9/11 is tiered by how long you served: 50% for 90–179 days, 60% for 180–544, 70% for 545–729, 80% for 730–909, 90% for 910–1,094, and 100% at 1,095 days (36 months) or more. A Purple Heart after 9/11, or a discharge for a service-connected disability, can reach 100% on shorter service. Say "up to 36 months at my percentage," never "my 36 months." How VA sets your percentage.
★ Know your percentage before you enroll.
Certification money

VA pays your test fee — up to $2,000 per test

If you are studying to pass a certification exam, this is the most useful thing on this page.

  • VA reimburses licensing and certification test fees at no more than $2,000 per test. File VA Form 22-0803, Request for Reimbursement of Licensing or Certification Test Fees.
  • Covered under Chapter 33, Chapter 30, Chapter 1606 and Chapter 35. This is not a Post-9/11-only benefit, and a reservist or a surviving spouse should not read past it.
  • Prep courses can also be reimbursed — file VA Form 22-10272. Prep-course reimbursement is limited to Chapter 33 and Chapter 35.
  • VA will not pay fees or costs for getting the actual license or certificate document itself.
Do not talk yourself out of filing. VA's own words: "If you don't see a test listed, it may be a valid test that's just not yet approved. We encourage you to submit an application for reimbursement." A test missing from the list is not a refusal. File and let VA decide.
It is not free money. VA's own words: "We'll charge your entitlement based on the amount we paid back to you." Prep-course charges are prorated on the actual fee. Every dollar reimbursed draws down the months you will want later. VA's test-fee page · VA Form 22-0803 · VA Form 22-10272
★ File anyway. Let VA say no.
High-tech training

VET TEC 2.0 — and what it costs you

Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses 2.0. Software development, cloud, cybersecurity. Read the whole panel before you apply.

  • Who qualifies. Discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, or on active duty within 180 days of separating; and at least 36 months on active duty; and under 62 years old on the date VA approves your application. All three, not any one.
  • Apply on VA Form 22-10297. Do not use VA Form 22-0994 — that was the original VET TEC pilot, which concluded in April 2024, and an old VET TEC Certificate of Eligibility cannot be used for VET TEC 2.0.
It charges your GI Bill. If you have remaining entitlement, VET TEC 2.0 charges 1 month of entitlement for every 1 month of full-time training. That is the trade. The offset worth knowing: entitlement used on VET TEC 2.0 does not count against the 48-month maximum on VA education benefits.
No entitlement left? Still apply. VA's own words: "If you don't have remaining entitlement, you can still participate in this program—even if you've already used the maximum of 48 months of VA education benefits. You don't need to have qualified for any VA education benefit in the past."
Two clocks. VET TEC 2.0 is funded only through September 30, 2027 — VA cannot pay under this authority after that date unless Congress extends it. And VA may pay no more than 4,000 participants per fiscal year. The fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30, and the count resets every October 1. Do not let anyone tell you the seats are gone without checking, and do not assume they are there either — VA posts the current openings on its own page.
VET TEC 2.0 pays tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and money for books and supplies. The housing allowance requires a rate of pursuit above 50% — that means more than half a full course load — and is prorated by how much you are carrying. Rates change; read the amounts on VA's VET TEC 2.0 rate page, not from me. Program page and provider list · Apply
Short of 36 months, or 62 or older? That door is closed, and there are others: Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31), free VA career counseling under Chapter 36, and your American Job Center. All below.
★ Know the charge before you sign.
Chapter 31

Veteran Readiness and Employment

The current name. It used to be called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment. It can fund training without spending your GI Bill entitlement.

  • Who qualifies. A discharge that is not dishonorable, and a service-connected disability rating from VA of at least 10% that limits your ability to work.
  • Still in uniform? A service member qualifies with a 20% or higher pre-discharge memorandum rating and a pending discharge, or while awaiting discharge for a severe illness or injury incurred in active service.
  • Apply on VA Form 28-1900. How to apply
  • Five tracks: reemployment, rapid access to employment, self-employment, long-term services, and independent living.
The clock, and why most people no longer have one. If your eligibility began on or after January 1, 2013, VA's own page says there is no time limit. If it began before that, you have 12 years from your separation date or your first notice of a service-connected rating, whichever is later — and that period can be extended if a counselor finds a serious employment handicap. If you are a pre-2013 veteran, ask about the extension. Do not assume the door shut on you. Eligibility
Other-than-honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge? You are not finished. Ask about a discharge upgrade and about VA's Character of Discharge review before you write yourself off.
★ 10% is the bar. Not 100%.
Family and survivors

Chapter 35 — and the clock running on it

Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance. A spouse or child may have training money of their own. Apply on VA Form 22-5490.

  • Spouses. If the qualifying event was before August 1, 2023, benefits in most cases end after 10 years. If it was on or after August 1, 2023, there is no time limit.
  • Children. If eligible before August 1, 2023, up to 8 years to use the benefit, and generally before turning 26. If eligible on or after August 1, 2023, there is no time limit. Some children qualify for exceptions that run past 26 — ask, do not assume.
VA's Chapter 35 page. Chapter 35 also covers licensing and certification test fees and prep courses. See the test-fee panel above.
★ Check the date. Then file.
Free help choosing

Chapter 36 counseling, and your Job Center

  • Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (PCPG), Chapter 36. Free VA career counseling and help picking a training program or a job. Apply on VA Form 27-8832. Note the number: 27-8832, not 28-8832, and not the old 25-8832 spelling still floating around in VA's own material.
  • Who can use it. Anyone currently eligible for a VA education benefit; anyone separated from active duty within the past year under conditions other than dishonorable; anyone within 6 months of discharge; and some dependents of eligible veterans and service members. VA's counseling page
American Job Centers. The Department of Labor funds Jobs for Veterans State Grants, which pay for Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists and Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVER) at American Job Centers. Do not let the name stop you: DOL states DVOP specialists "provide individualized career services to eligible veterans and eligible spouses experiencing employment barriers and to other additional populations authorized by law." You do not have to be disabled to be served. DOL's page on JVSG
★ Talk to a counselor before you spend.
Correction

Entitlement can be restored. File.

You will read on transition handouts that education entitlement, once spent, is gone for good. Stated that flatly, that is wrong, and it stops people from filing.

  • VA restores education benefit entitlement if your school closed, or if the State Approving Agency or VA withdrew approval for your program or school, where that happened after December 27, 2022.
  • Request it on VA Form 22-0989, and do it before you enroll in a new school.
  • Restoration covers Chapter 33, Chapter 30, Chapter 1606, VET TEC 2.0, Chapter 35, the Fry Scholarship, and transferred Post-9/11 benefits.
The accurate version is narrower than the rumor: entitlement used on a program that stayed approved, and that you simply chose badly, is generally not given back. Closure and loss of approval are restorable. If either happened to you, file. Request restoration
★ Do not assume it is gone.
Related: Ten Short-Path Credentials · Free and Low-Cost Language Learning · Program and Project Management Training for Veterans