SkillHints recommends courses with a transparent points system rather than a black box. This page explains exactly what the Course Finder and the skill match look at, how each answer affects the results, and, just as importantly, what the results cannot tell you.
Two ways to start
- The Course Finder turns the skill you choose into a shortlist of real courses, in a sensible order.
- The skill match comes first on the Course Finder page. It asks seven plain questions about how you think and like to work, then shows your top 3 skills with a match percentage and a short reason for each. Choosing a skill takes you straight to beginner-friendly courses for it, or you can skip the skill match if you already know your subject.
From skill to courses
After the skill match, pick a skill and the finder immediately shows real courses for it. We do not ask about your education, level, time or budget. Instead, the finder assumes you are starting out and puts beginner-friendly courses first. Every card shows whether a course is free, free to audit or paid, so you can decide for yourself.
How each course is scored
Every course in the catalogue is tagged by subject, level, prerequisites, the skills it teaches, the goals it suits, its learning formats and its cost. The finder compares your chosen skill with those tags, using beginner-friendly defaults for everything else (new to the subject, learning a new skill, any budget, any format), and each course receives up to 100 points:
| Factor | Points | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Interests | 40 | 40 if one of your chosen subjects is the course’s main subject; 15 if it is only a related subject. |
| Main goal | 20 | 20 if the course suits your goal; 12 for general goals such as learning a skill or personal interest; otherwise 5. |
| Skill level | 15 | 15 if your level is inside the course’s range; 8 if it is one level away; 0 if further. |
| Existing skills and prerequisites | 10 | Based on the share of prerequisites you already have. Courses with no prerequisites get 6, plus 4 if they build on a skill you have or you are a true beginner. |
| Budget | 10 | Depends on your budget answer and the course’s access type (see below). |
| Preferred format | 5 | 5 if the course uses two or more formats you prefer, 3 for one. |
These weights add up to 100. Interests carry the most weight because a course on a subject you do not care about is unlikely to be finished, however well it scores on everything else.
Adjustments for prerequisites and experience
- Minus 20 points when a course expects skills you have not mentioned and you are a beginner, or when the gap between your level and the course is two levels or more. These courses are kept out of your main matches but can still appear later in your suggested order. Missing prerequisites change when we suggest a course, rather than hiding it.
- Minus 10 points when you describe yourself as intermediate or advanced and already have every skill an entry-level course teaches.
Your education level and study time never exclude a course. They only break ties between close results and add practical notes, for example that a substantial course may take several months at 15 to 30 minutes a day.
Match labels
- Strong match: 75 points or more.
- Good match: 55 to 74 points.
- Worth exploring: below 55, shown only when there are too few closer matches.
A course that only touches on a subject you chose is never labeled a strong match. Only courses connected to your chosen subjects and scoring at least 50 count as matches. If you pick several subjects, results are balanced so each one is represented, and up to nine courses are shown. If fewer than three courses match, we add the closest options and say plainly that matches were thin.
How cost is handled
Every course carries one of four access types:
- Free: the course material is free to study.
- Free, paid certificate optional: you can study everything for free; only a certificate costs money.
- Free to audit: you can read or watch the material for free, but graded work and the certificate are paid.
- Paid: the course content itself requires payment.
If you choose free courses only, paid courses are removed from your results entirely. Other budget answers simply score courses differently. We never list a price we have not confirmed, and we never label an audit or paid course as free.
How the skill match works
The skill match asks seven questions about things like which traits describe you, how you would help a friend’s struggling shop, how you approach problems, how you feel about math, and how you like to work. Each answer adds points to nine skills: web development, software development, AI and machine learning, data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, UI/UX and graphic design, content writing and digital marketing, and business and entrepreneurship. Saying you would rather avoid math, for example, lowers the score for AI and data.
You see your top three skills ranked with the reasons behind them, one suggestion to start with, and two higher-paying options labeled by how well they fit your answers. The skill match is a structured way to think through your options. It is not a psychological test and it does not predict how good you will be at anything.
What the match percentage means
Each skill’s percentage compares the points your answers gave it with the most points that skill could get from these seven questions. 100% means every answer pointed toward that skill. The three skills with the highest percentages are shown, in order. It describes how well your answers line up with a skill, not your chance of success in it.
Where pay figures come from
Pay figures in the skill match are US median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, and each one links to its source page. A median is the midpoint for everyone in that occupation in the United States, including experienced workers. It is not a prediction of what a beginner, a freelancer, or someone outside the US will earn, and those groups often earn much less.
What the results can and cannot tell you
A match score tells you how closely a course’s tags line up with your answers. It is not a probability that you will finish the course, enjoy it, or get a job from it. The catalogue is small and hand-picked, so a good course that is not in it will never appear in your results.
SkillHints does not guarantee jobs, certificates, income, or learning outcomes. Course details come from each provider’s own website and were last reviewed in October 2026. Prices and certificate rules change, so always check the official course page before enrolling.
Your privacy
Scoring runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are not sent to SkillHints. They are kept in your browser’s session storage for the current tab so you can go back and change them, and closing the tab clears them. See our Privacy Policy for details.