Jump-start your career! 10 essential education and job websites

Unless you’re well-born, insanely talented, or just plain lucky, education is a prerequisite for a fulfilling career. But in 2013, the term “education” takes on a whole new meaning, thanks in large part to the vast wealth of training, career research, and all-around learning resources available online. You’ll be amazed by the fantastic sites we’ve uncovered for learning new skills and landing your next dream job.

Careerbliss offers a searchable job board, salary information for various companies and professions, and user-contributed employer reviews. Employer ratings are based not only on hard statistical data, but also take into account qualitative factors such as work/life balance, work environments, growth opportunities and inter-personal workplace relationships. It’s a fantastic resource for not only researching prospective employers, but also entirely new career paths. Careerbliss.com

Have you noticed how many companies are hiring programmers as opposed to other professionals, such as… writers?

If you’re looking for a new career as a programmer, head over to Codeacademy and use this interactive coding platform to gain many of the skills you’ll need. Codeacademy.com

The brainchild of two Stanford professors, this online education service partners with A-list colleges and universities to offer free courses across an incredibly broad range of disciplines.

You’ll find a songwriting course taught by a professor from the Berklee School of Music, a class in game theory conducted by an instructor from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an organic chemistry course taught by a professor at the University of Illinois, and dozens more. Coursera.org

What’s the deal with Great Britain—er, the United Kingdom—er, England having three different names? Fear not! C.G.P. Grey explains quickly and with easy-to-understand graphics. This YouTube channel covers everything from the origin of coffee, to why the penny should be killed off, to what it takes to become the Pope. And each lesson takes just five minutes to learn.

Seriously, if you’re going to waste your day on YouTube, you might as well learn something. Youtube.com/CGPGrey

You should never stop learning, even if your test-taking days are long over. Crash Course will help you eliminate your most glaring knowledge deficits, whether they be in literature, biology, or everything in between. The site’s video hosts are an enjoyable bunch, offering up funny and informative visuals that entertain and help lodge information into your cerebral cortex.

Never found a reason to laugh at U.S. history? Give these guys a shot. Youtube.com/CrashCourse

Whether you’re stuck in a dead-end job or you’re just deciding what you want to be when you grow up, Jobdreaming can help.

Go to this site, type in your dream job title, and identify which industry you’d like to be in, and how much money you want to make. Jobdreaming will try to match your criteria with a recruiter looking for someone just like you. Jobdreaming.com

If there’s one thing we love here at PCWorld it’s tech jobs! Dice offers some of the best tools for discovering opportunities and applying for jobs in the tech industry. You can monitor and organize your resumes, job searches, and applications as well as read up on the latest tech news here.

Looking to hire a tech pro? Use Dice to find the best candidates the market has to offer. Dice.com

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get the inside scoop on your potential employer before the big interview? Glassdoor can help. This site gathers anonymous user-contributed reviews, salary rates, job-interview experiences, and photos from thousands of workplaces.

The workplace reviews are used to rate employers on a five-star scale. Register with Glassdoor or log in using your Facebook account and you can see if any of your personal connections have experience with the target company. Glassdoor.com

Need to brush up on your skills in, oh, everything? Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization hellbent on providing educational information via videos and exercises—all for free! Parents can can use Khan Academy to track their children’s stats over time, and the site will provide an in-depth view of where they excel and where they need to focus more attention.

Get on and get learning for free. There are even video game-style achievements to earn. KhanAcademy.org

The resume is a necessary part of the job-hunting process, but the plain ol’ single-sheet CV is becoming stale. Vizify can spice you up in the eyes of potential employers by compiling your resume, photographs, portfolio and data from your social networks into one gorgeous interactive infographic.

Share too much information and the results can be garish, but Vizify delivers the most fun you can have while crafting a resume. Vizify.com

Ever wonder what the original social networks were like? We’re not talking Myspace or Friendster, we’re going way back.

Click here to find out how social networking was in the Digital Stone Age.