I recently ran a short survey to understand how professionals actually choose their next learning experience (i.e., online courses, certifications, cohorts, or coaching programs). Even with just eight responses, some clear patterns emerged about how people spend, research, and decide.
A Mix of Learners and Real Spending
62.5% of respondents enrolled in a professional development experience in the past year, while 37.5% had not suggesting a mix of active and inactive learners.
Last twelve months spending ranged from $0 (free or employer-provided courses) to $3,500, with several reporting $500–$2,000. That spread shows meaningful willingness to invest and confirms that people are still putting real money into developing their skills.
What People Are Most Interested In
The most popular types of learning were online courses and in-person workshops or conferences (each mentioned by 62.5% respondents), followed by professional certifications (50%).
While people like the idea of in-person learning, cost and accessibility often limit follow-through. Online courses and certifications appear to strike the balance between structure, credibility, and convenience.
How People Choose Their Programs
When it comes to how people actually research or compare options, the process is highly fragmented, but most (62.5%) reported asking colleagues or mentors for recommendations. Others manually search across various platforms and surprisingly only one person reported using AI tools like ChatGPT for their search.
The takeaway: people rely heavily on personal trust networks and manual research rather than any single trusted source or platform.
The Time Commitment and Decision Drivers
The research process itself takes time – anywhere from 2–3 hours on the low end to 3–5 months on the high end, with most respondents spending about a week to a month.
After all that, the number one deciding factor was price or cost to enroll (mentioned by 75% of respondents), followed by content quality (50%), instructor credibility (50%), platform reputation (50%), and employer recognition (37.5%).
Reviews and ratings didn’t rank highly, which likely means that by the time learners reach the decision stage, they’ve already filtered by reviews.
One respondent captured that mindset perfectly:
“I am naturally hesitant before purchasing a course or program because I want to see the ROI. Have earlier people purchased said course and landed a role or multiple basically?”
People aren’t just evaluating the course – they’re evaluating its outcomes – and they spend a lot of time making sure their research is meaningful to them.
Challenges and Friction Points
To understand how people feel about the overall process, we asked respondents to react to this statement:
“Choosing the right professional-development program is time-consuming and confusing, and it’s often hard to tell which options are genuinely worth it.”
100% of respondents either agreed or felt neutral — no one disagreed or strongly disagreed. That’s a clear signal that while professionals are motivated to learn, they find the process frustrating.
However, when asked to describe the challenges they faced, the results varied. 25% cited unclear quality or outcomes and conflicting information across sources. While others referenced too many options, time-consuming research, and difficulty comparing programs.
What Would Make It Easier
When asked what would make the process easier, responses centered on transparency and efficiency:
Clear, consistent details on quality, instructors, and outcomes
Reviews and insights from real learners
Simplified, side-by-side comparisons
A system that helps identify which programs are best suited for specific goals
In short: people don’t need more options, they need clarity.
The Opportunity for a Better Platform
When asked whether they’d use a platform designed to streamline this process, 50% said yes, 37.5% were unsure, and 12.5% said probably not – no one rejected the idea outright.
Respondents said they’d be comfortable sharing information like their career goals (75%), budget (62.5%), and LinkedIn profile (62.5%) if it helped generate personalized recommendations.
The most requested features were personalized recommendations, side-by-side comparisons, aggregated directories of options, and verified reviews and ratings.
One person summed up the ideal experience:
“An AI-infused career coach with side-by-side comparisons, directory of options, and recommendations. Some people get overwhelmed and can’t decide.”
What It Takes to Build Trust
However, for a new platform like this to work, it has to feel independent and credible. That means:
Real, verified reviews and learner outcomes (87.5%)
Transparent about partnerships or affiliate links (50%)
Strong data privacy and clear use of personal info (50%)
No pay-to-boost listings, biased rankings, lack of explanation or generalizations
As one respondent put it, a platform recommendations should be deep. Like “this is good if you want a solid intro to marketing, and better options exist if you want more advanced learning,” instead of “this is perfect for every marketer."
Ultimately, professionals want a trusted guide that helps them choose with confidence.
The Takeaway
Professionals are investing in learning, but the process of finding the right program remains fragmented and slow. There’s no single place to search and compare programs with the information that learners care most about. Learners would use a new platform that provides custom matching recommendations so long as it can be trusted.
