Can I Learn FinTech For Free?

You can learn FinTech using free online resources. This accessible and affordable way of learning has helped many individuals learn the basics of FinTech. However, most free resources provide lessons in the fundamentals of FinTech, not in intermediate or advanced skills, which require more formal methods of training to learn. 

What Free Resources are Available for Learning FinTech?

Several free resources can help you learn the basics of FinTech. Noble Desktop and other professional training centers upload instructional videos to their YouTube channels that help students learn basic FinTech skills. The accessibility of YouTube videos allows learners to watch when time allows them and the video format allows them to pause and go back to the content when they need to. Additionally, the comment section of these videos often acts similarly to a forum, with users asking and answering each other’s questions. 

You can also turn to actual forums to learn the basics of FinTech. Professionals, beginners, and everyone in between will often turn to Reddit or more specialized community forums to help each other with the basics, ask questions, and provide feedback. These forums have also helped individuals who have turned to the internet trying to troubleshoot. 

Finally, you can check out what free resources your local library offers. Ask the staff about the resources they have available for learning FinTech, including books, ebooks, manuals, and videos. 

How to Make Use of Free FinTech Resources

Free FinTech resources provide an affordable and accessible means of learning the basics of foundational FinTech skills. However, one roadblock that learners face when seeking out free resources is knowing what content to look into. They may question what skills to start with first, if they have all the software they need to get started, and if the information they’re studying is up to date. Learning this way can feel challenging at first. If this is how you feel about self-teaching FinTech, consider checking out what others online have said about getting started. 

Free FinTech resources can supplement formal FinTech training. During formal training sessions, you’ll receive in-depth instructions, gain hands-on experience, and have the chance to work on real-world projects. The free resources you make use of will help you learn the basics and prepare for a more intensive learning experience, such as a bootcamp or certificate program. If you have an interest in a niche area of FinTech that no classes cover, you may find information about it online. 

Limitations of Free Resources

With free FinTech resources, you can learn about foundational concepts and figure out the basics of things like Python programming, financial analysis, and data visualization. However, free resources offer limitations in addition to benefits. Free FinTech resources usually only provide basic knowledge of FinTech. If you want to learn intermediate or advanced-level skills, you’ll need formal training. 

Free resources also mean self-teaching. When learning with free resources, the most guidance you’ll receive is from pre-recorded videos. In formal training sessions, however, you’ll have access to a live instructor who will guide you through lessons, answer your questions, and provide you with feedback. Self-teaching works for some, but others find it difficult to not have an instructor to rely on when they come across confusing topics or get stuck on a problem. 

What to Do After Utilizing Free FinTech Resources

After learning the basics of FinTech using free FinTech resources, it’s recommended that you pursue paid, live training under the guidance of an expert instructor. 

Live training offers students the most efficient way of learning FinTech. In-person and live online classes offered by professional training centers like Noble Desktop, provide students with in-depth, hands-on FinTech lessons. You can enroll in weekday, evening, or weekend classes, and part-time or full-time schedules. Many training centers also offer private and group sessions, letting students decide if they’d like to work in a group setting or if they prefer 1-on-1 instruction. 

In-person training options put students in a physical classroom, learning among their classmates. Live online training places students in a remote setting, learning from a virtual classroom held over a web conferencing platform. This training option works well for students comfortable with online learning who would prefer not to commute to an in-person class or who cannot commute to an in-person class. Schools that offer in-person and online training often use the same curriculum for both types of classes and charge the same class fee for both. 

The live aspect of formal training is by far the largest benefit. Live instruction offers the students a face-to-face form of instruction where they can engage with the teacher along with their classmates. Rather than having to seek out answers to their questions online, students enrolled in live training can ask their instructors when they’re stuck. Live training emphasizes the ability to ask for help from others, including classmates, making it a collaborative learning experience that students won’t find when learning from free resources or on-demand classes. 

Live classes range in price and depth of instruction, letting students weigh their options against their budget and their learning goals. Introductory classes typically cost several hundred dollars and last one to two days. During those one to two days, students will cover the basics of FinTech. FinTech bootcamps cost roughly several hundred to several thousand dollars, may last several days or weeks longer than an introductory class, and cover beginner and advanced-level topics. Certificate programs usually cost the most, at several thousand dollars and sometimes upwards of ten thousand dollars, may last several weeks or months, and focus on helping students develop career-ready FinTech skills. 

Learn FinTech with Noble Desktop

Learn FinTech skills by enrolling in one of Noble Desktop’s FinTech programs. Noble Desktop offers most classes live online, where students will learn under the guidance of an instructor via a web conferencing platform, and in person at their midtown Manhattan campus. 

Noble’s FinTech Bootcamp is an interactive program covering the essential skills needed to begin a career in the FinTech industry. Under the guidance of an instructor, you’ll learn Python programming, data science, financial analysis, data visualization, and machine learning. Noble Desktop offers the bootcamp in a 4-week full-time schedule on weekdays, or a 4-month part-time schedule on evenings and Saturdays. In addition to five units covering Python and SQL as used for FinTech, you’ll also have the option of choosing a bonus 18-hour elective unit covering either Python or financial modeling. 

Students pursuing or currently in a finance-related profession, interested in using Python’s financial libraries to manipulate and analyze financial data, should enroll in Noble Desktop’s Python for Finance Bootcamp. Over the 18-hour live online course, students will learn how to use Python’s financial libraries and gain hands-on experience gathering and manipulating financial data, fetching APIs for company and economic data, analyzing SEC financial statements, building risk models, and applying linear regression for stock price predictions. Aside from a financial background, students should also have taken Noble’s Python for Data Science Bootcamp, or have equivalent knowledge. If you want to take the course but don’t think you have the financial background necessary, contact Noble after registration to access a free on-demand supplemental guide. 

Financial modeling plays an important role in the FinTech industry. Analysts working for a firm or taking on clients should understand how to use financial models to predict risk and evaluate and compare financial decisions. In Noble Desktop’s Financial Modeling Bootcamp, you’ll learn essential financial and accounting concepts as you work toward gaining the core skills required for a career handling equity research, financial planning and analysis, investment banking, private equity, or corporate finance. Prior financial experience is helpful when enrolling in the bootcamp, but not required. After completing the three-day course, you’ll receive a verified digital certificate of completion and have access to a retake for free within one year. 

Noble Desktop’s beginner-level Data Science Certificate program will provide you with the hands-on training needed to start an entry-level data science or Python engineering position. Spend four weeks full-time (weekdays) or 20 weeks part-time (evenings or Saturdays) learning how to program with Python, perform data analysis, query with SQL, and create predictive models. You’re guaranteed to succeed in this class as you spend 114 hours plus an additional six 1-on-1 mentoring sessions, where you’ll receive professional advice, detailed and personalized feedback, and map out your learning goals. No prior knowledge is required to enroll, making the class ideal for individuals looking to get started with data science, Analysts who want to transition to using Python and SQL, and Developers looking to gain additional skills.

After completing Noble Desktop’s Data Science Bootcamp, you can enroll in AI for Python, a hands-on course that covers the development of AI apps. You’ll receive an introduction to AI using Python at a beginner and intermediate level. The course includes lessons to help you develop theoretical and practical knowledge so that you have a strong enough understanding of AI concepts, along with practical experience with Python libraries. The 30-hour class will introduce you to ChatGPT, algorithms, and how to deploy your app.