In short: The difference between a course and videos on the internet is feedback. Recipes are freely available, but nobody can tell you from a video why your cheesecake cracked or your sponge collapsed. That requires someone looking at your work.
The obvious objection
Is it worth a beginner taking a course? Many consider it absurd — everything you could want is free online: terminology, recipes, tools, tips and shortcuts. The objection is reasonable, and it is worth answering properly rather than dismissing.
Reason 1. Foundational theory
Relevant for anyone starting from nothing. Videos teach individual recipes; theory teaches why ingredients behave as they do, which is what lets you diagnose a failure instead of abandoning the recipe.
Reason 2. Equipment and ingredients
Watching a recipe, you constantly encounter tools and products you have never met. A structured course explains what they are for and what can substitute for them.
Reason 3. Tested recipes
A course uses recipes that have been worked through and reproduced many times. A random recipe online has been tested by nobody in particular.
Reason 4. Technique
A professional shows not only what to do but how — the hand movements, the consistency you are looking for, the point at which to stop. That is difficult to capture in text.
Reason 5. Getting past impostor syndrome
Relevant for home bakers who make good desserts but have no external confirmation of it. Having your work assessed by someone qualified settles that question one way or the other.
Frequently asked questions
What does a course give that free videos do not
Feedback on your own work. A video shows how it should be done; a course explains what went wrong in your case.
When do courses pay for themselves
When results have to be repeatable — that is, from the first paid orders onwards.
Can I learn entirely on my own
Yes, but it takes longer. Most of the time goes into finding the cause of a mistake rather than into practice.