If you are looking for new opportunities in 2021 to learn online, one popular online course provider to consider would be Udacity. Learn why Udacity is a legit online course option and why its worth it in the following in-depth Udacity review.
What Is Udacity?
Udacity is an online education platform founded in 2011 by Sebastian Thrun, David Stavens, and Mike Sokolsky, and offers massive open online courses (MOOCs) which are courses that anyone can enroll in. The platform has over 160,000 students in more than 190 countries enrolled in over 200 courses, and focuses on offering courses that teach in-demand tech skills to professionals and people seeking to enter a particular career field.
Udacity has also partnered with universities to offer what it calls a “Nanodegree” program, where students receive actual certifications to prove their completion of a course program and competency in a particular subject.
In its own words Udacity seeks to “power careers through tech education. We partner with leading technology companies to learn how technology is transforming industries, and teach the critical tech skills that companies are looking for in their workforce. With our powerful and flexible digital education platform, even the busiest learners can prepare themselves to take on the most in-demand tech roles.”
Is Udacity Legit, and Are Nanodegrees Worth It?
Udacity provides legitimate courses and certifications that make it worth the money. Their engaging lectures and example + project-based Nanodegree programs make it easy for students to understand concepts and build a valuable solid foundation of knowledge on a topic plus the skills needed to qualify for entry-level tech job positions.
Udacity offers over 200 courses for free that do not come with certificates. The 6-12 month programs (10-20 hours/week) which award the Nanodegree online certifications are paid courses and currently cost $399 per month. There are also options to pay multiple months at a time for a lower overall price and the opportunity to get a full refund if you cancel within a trial sign-up period.
If you find the Nanodegree pricing too expensive:
Udacity also provides scholarships for some certifications: Udacity scholarship information »
Use the following link to get an exclusive discount on Udacity courses now: Click here for $50 off all courses on Udacity »
Udacity Is Worth It — For Both Students and Instructors
Udacity provides worthwhile benefits for both students and teachers.
Students get access to learn in-demand skills. They get to participate in courses that focus on applicable examples and actual projects as opposed to only learning theory. Compared to traditional degrees, Nanodegrees are also much more affordable and can be acquired much faster.
Teachers can access Udacity’s instructional design experts to help organize and present their online course content in the most effective way. Instructors also get access to a dedicated production team’s design and editing resources to provide a more polished online learning experience.
Advantages of Online Learning with Udacity
Udacity is a great choice for online learning if your main objective is career preparation.
Resources to Get You Job-Ready
Udacity provides career mentors that you can schedule regular catchups with and offers tips that will help you get ready to build a good cover letter and resume in addition to helping you prepare for technical interview questions.
Receive Professional Feedback on Projects
Udacity’s paid program comes with the opportunity to get professional feedback from mentors on your course projects. The project feedback provided is always in-depth and includes tips on best industry practices.
Credentials
Nanodegree certifications will give you credentials increasingly valued by recruiters.
Do Udacity Nanodegrees Improve My CV?
Since Nanodegree programs are project-based, by the time you have completed a program you will have built a valuable portfolio of projects that demonstrate your knowledge which you can include on your CV. Recruiters look at your CV to see what relevant education and experience you have, and having a Nanodegree will allow you to check both boxes.
A Udacity Nanodegree also comes along with free career services including professional resume and Linkedin profile reviews. You find an endless number of blog posts online on how to create a great resume, but nothing beats having your CV reviewed and given feedback by a professional.
What Categories Can I Find on Udacity?
Udacity organizes course subjects into 6 categories:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data Science
- Cloud Computing
- Programming and Development
- Autonomous Systems
- Business
Each category also includes course programs to help people quickly find relevant courses. For example, the category of Programming and Development includes the following program areas:
- AI Programming with Python
- Android Basics
- Android Developer
- Blockchain
- C++
- Data Engineer
- Data Structures and Algorithms
- Front End Web Developer
- Full Stack Web Developer
- Intro to Programming
- iOS
- Java Developer
- React
Is It a Scam? NO
Udacity is a legitimate and well-known online education provider and does not run any scams. The platform has been offering quality online courses for a long time to many students. But if you have any doubts, you should take advantage of Udacity’s free trial option to have a closer look at Nanodegree course materials and offerings yourself before deciding whether it would be worth it for you in the end.
Is Udacity Accredited?
Udacity is not an accredited education provider and it does not offer traditional degrees. Udacity’s Nanodegree programs are taught by subject experts though and provide content and learning materials that have helped many of it’s program graduates get hired by companies.
What Kinds of Features and Functionality Does Udacity Have?
To use Udacity, you just have to create a student account which will let you have access to forums, career resources, Nanodegree program courses and projects to showcase what you have learned. Project examples include games, blogs and apps.
Before students choose a program, they have the ability to review all of the prior knowledge and skills required to complete the courses.
Each program comes with access to video lessons and discussion content. After each course module you are also given exercises and quizzes to demonstrate what you have learned.
Recommended Udacity Courses
Udacity offers a large variety of good courses for different skill levels. With so many options to choose from, it’s usually best once you have decided on an area of interest to go with a program that has the best ratings and reviews from previous students of the program. The following are examples of valuable programs offered by Udacity that have received mostly positive reviews.
Become a React Developer has been completed and reviewed by over 500 students and has an overall rating of 4.6 out of five stars. This program will help you master the powerful React UI library from Facebook and covers everything you need to know in order to create declarative user interfaces for the web with React, and for iOS and Android with React Native.
Become an iOS Developer has an overall star rating of 4.6 from over 600 students and this program will teach you the Swift programming language and throughout the program you will get to build multiple iOS apps for iPhone and iPad to demonstrate your skills.
Become a Blockchain Developer was given a rating of 4.3 stars overall by about 80 students who completed this program. In the Blockchain Developer Nanodegree program you’ll learn and work with Bitcoin and Ethereum to create projects that can be applied in the real world. Students of this program will also come with a foundation of skills needed to qualify for a career.
Become a Data Scientist is another Popular course from Udacity. It has an overall rating of 4.5 stars from over 200 students. This course teaches students the skills needed to be come a successful Data Scientist through projects designed by data science experts. Students will work with data pipelines, create experiments and recommendation systems and deploy solutions to the cloud.
Front End Web Developer appeals to those who already have a base knowledge of HTML, CSS and Javascript. This program shows students how to create dynamic online applications and high quality user experiences. Students who graduate from this program are able to build responsive websites using CSS, Flexbox and CSS Grid and make interactive websites and UI applications using Javascript and HTML.
Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer is a course that will help you master job-ready autonomous flight software engineering skills as you tackle advanced challenges, write real code for real aircraft, and develop a systems understanding of the Flying Car full-stack.
Become a Deep Reinforcement Learning Expert will teach you the deep reinforcement learning skills that are powering amazing advances in AI & start applying these to applications.
Become a Computer Vision Expert is a course that will teach you the computer vision skills behind advances in robotics and automation.
How to Pick the Best Udacity Courses
There are over 200 courses to choose from on Udacity, so trying to pick one if you don’t know which subject you want to pursue can be a bit overwhelming. You should first start by picking a field that you would be the most interested in studying and potentially getting a job in and then filter your program search by that topic.
Next you should be sure to read the reviews and ratings of the different program to make sure you pick the best quality and most relevant courses. You should also review the prerequisites for the courses to make sure you have the base knowledge necessary to be able to complete the program.
Using Elektev to Find Courses on Udacity and Other Similar Websites
Students can use Elektev to find courses on Udacity and other similar websites, such as Udemy. Searching for courses on Elektev prevents the need to search on multiple individual educational sites by showing the top results from all the platforms. This allows students to save time and find the right courses for their needs.
All of the relevant information about a course is readily available on Elektev, including its description, summary, topics covered, who should take it, ratings, number of students, and what it includes.
Visit Elektev to find Udacity courses that can improve a resume.