Planning to study Business, AI or Data Science? A Udacity Review.
Udacity is a recognized online course provider to help develop and advance your technical skills and enhance your career prospects in industries such as AI, data science, analytics, web development, cloud computing or autonomous driving.
In this post, we share our Udacity review and discuss all the highlights as well as pros & cons. We cover all the essential information about Udacity, what you can learn, how it works, and how to make the most of your time there.
Udacity Review – An Overview
Udacity (visit website) offers you to learn and master relevant and marketable tech skills that can help you to succeed in the technology industry. However, it’s not a replacement for academic degrees. It provides people with industry-specific skills and certifications to land a new job, develop skills for an upcoming project or strategically advance a career.
Udacity is a MOOC-based online learning platform and as mentioned above focuses on in-demand tech-related skills. It offers you state-of-the-art, applicable skills you can certainly turn into a paycheck if you take the learning and training seriously. You can browse our suggestions of the best Udaycity nanodegrees and classes here.
Udacity sets out to help entrepreneurs, professionals and other individuals enhance their skillset and propel their careers forward. Their mission is no empty talk as many of their students who landed well-paid jobs have proven over time.
The company maintains active partnerships with big corporations like Facebook, Google, AT& T, Salesforce or Microsoft. Given these robust alliances, Udacity has been able to design many cutting-edge tech classes. For example, budding machine learning engineers enjoy a direct learning session from Google’s Deep Learning Experts.
Udacity Review – What to expect
- High-quality learning on intermediate and advanced level
- Flexible learning program
- Technical mentor support
- Real-world projects from industry experts
- Personalized experiences
- Reasonable refund or cancellation policy
- Highly focused on the technology sector
- Online evaluations and video conferencing
- Core Skills and programs
- Ease of use
- Browse catalog here.
A vast majority of programs that Udacity offers are custom-made for the tech sector’s specific needs. Udacity offers about 60 learning paths related to Data Science, Cloud Computing, Autonomous Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Programming and Development, Robotics Software Engineering and Technology Entrepreneurship.
If your plan is to learn something different from cutting-edge technologies, then Udacity is probably not that suitable for your goals and other online learning platforms may offer better deals. Furthermore, Udacity’s biggest strength of teaching knowledge and skills on an intermediate-advanced level might leave many beginners out in the cold. Isn’t it?
Programs: 60+ | Total Graduates: 100,000 +
Industry Skills: Business, Technology, Management
Language: English. Visit Website.
Pricing: Degrees from $349/month.
Apps: iOS, Android | Certification: Yes
Udacity Review Rating: ★★★★★ | 4.8
Udacity Review – Features and Highlights
Is Udacity for advanced learners only?
Udacity certainly accommodates beginner as well as intermediary and advanced skill levels. The focus, however, is on bringing students to the advanced level, and many nanodegrees require previous skills or expertise, say in programming.
But don’t worry here. Udacity is completely free for people who are keen on learning how to code and thus build the core skills to further advance on the platform. It equally provides paid classes that offer a wide range of tech skills to help students and professionals to be more relevant and useful in the workplace.
Udacity Review – Nanodegrees
In 2014, Udacity introduced the Nanodegree program (browse catalog) following the removal of free certificates from all its classes. Nanodegrees enable you to study an industry-specific skillset usually for a period of 3-12 months. Upon finishing your degree, you will be given a certificate of completion.
Such a degree may cost you as little as $349 a month but usually reaches up to $399, depending on the topic. You can learn at your own pace, no problem here, but as said, this will come at a cost. This is why students should rather calculate their estimated study time because you will get a cheaper monthly rate if you sign up for 3 or 4 months.
It’s recommended that as a serious-minded learner, you should set apart a minimum of 10 hours a week to follow your course. Udacity has a policy of refunding half of the money you pay provided that you pass your degree within 12 months.
Udacity is steadily adding new paths. A few years back, Udacity introduced new degrees, including React JS, Design Sprint Foundations, Robotics, ArKIT, Flying-car, Autonomous Driving, Marketing or Data Foundations. Other popular paths include becoming a Full Stack Web Developer, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, or AI Product Manager.
Only recently, Udacity has made some changes to its instructional content and pricing structure. While introducing more degrees than ever before they also pause a few programs and scrapped others. Udacity now focuses on smaller and leaner contents that are easier to create and update and faster to complete.
How do lectures work?
Each course contains various units comprising video lectures that involve closed captioning. The online lecture also employs interactive quizzes to help students better understand concepts and principles, develop ideas, and also make provision for homework.
Programming classes are often based on Python. Automated grading programs on Udacity’s servers help to assess programming assignments. As a Udacity student, you can learn at your own pace, however, the cost factor certainly adds some pressure. On the other hand, the result is highly focused education. Udacity also features online evaluations, forums as well as video conferencing.
Udacity certification
Udacity offers a credential program. After taking all your lectures and successfully executing your capstone projects, you will be given a credential that shows your program’s successful completion. You now have something worthwhile and recognized to show your potential employers.
As mentioned, keep in mind this is no university certification. However, many companies and businesses will recognize your education at Udacity as they have a good reputation when it comes to teaching state-of-the-art skills and knowledge. If you need online university certification we recommend looking into Coursera or edX.
Browsing and navigation
Udacity is easy and intuitive to operate. I myself find their homepage visually appealing, simple and highly informative. Ok, it can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning to understand the different paths, programs, and schools. But luckily, there is a plan and system behind it.
Udacity sets out to offer relevant and up-to-date technology skills to its learners and creates and manages its own content. The most important products are the nanodegrees and schools. You can browse them using the search bar or the drop-down menu.
Furthermore, I recommend using their footer navigation. There you will find many of the top learning paths listed for easy access. Once you landed on the specific path web page, you will find the technical course details and the syllabus and watch the trailer, and often sample lessons to get your bearings.
Scroll down to the end of the page to find user reviews and information about instructors as well as a recap of the whole learning path including outcomes and pricing structures.
Back to the homepage which communicates essential information and explanation about Udacity and provides access to more detailed articles. For example, you will find lists of partners, benefits and interesting marketing information.
If you want to sign-up, it’s easy and straightforward. However, Udacity is slightly different from other platforms that offer just one monthly or yearly subscription plan. I certainly cover the basics here but recommend reading their FAQs to fully understand the fine details of their pricing and subscription system. It is worth the time.
Udacity Review – Pricing & Refund Policy
Tuition fees are generally a huge concern for anyone starting out and looking for an eLearning provider to learn new skills at a low cost. Udemy or Skillshare or CreativeLive are great examples of popular platforms here.
Udacity, however, targets a different audience and one that already brings existing knowledge. At first glance, pricing might appear rather expensive and – don’t get me wrong here – it certainly is. When looking closer, you can be sure that you learn highly specialized skills in need and up to date. On Udacity, there is no standard price and each degree may show a different pricing table.
Paid Programs
Again, Udacity doesn’t operate a fixed tuition fee structure. Each nanodegree may offer a different price and course scheduling and can vary in its format, structure, and type of project.
But generally, the price may range from $349 up to $3,000. Most of the nanodegrees are based on a monthly subscription. A Nanodegree lasts about 3 to 12 months. In a situation where you cannot finish it in time, you will be given a month’s extension to round it off at the end of your class.
Once that month elapses, you will no longer have access to the content without termination. At this point, you might need to register again for a new term. But, if you finish the course at the stipulated time, you can still use and work with the materials and you are at liberty to review the class any time you feel like.
As I mentioned earlier, it is worth estimating the overall study time in advance and deciding whether it is worth signing up for 3 or 4 months or the whole duration of the degree. This way you can save up many fees with discounts often be in the range of 20-30%.
Free Programs
Udacity offers a certain number of free lectures to students. In other words, you can go to the platform, register and kick-start the learning process immediately. However, these lessons may only allow limited interactions between students and teachers. To get your bearings before committing to a degree on the platform, try some of those classes for free and see if you like the learning experience.
Udacity Review – Refunds, Cancellation
You can cancel and opt-out from your program whether an executive one or single paid class within the first 2 days of your first month’s subscription purchase. This is how to make yourself eligible for a complete refund. Only one refund will be given per student per program whether an individual class or executive program.
In a case where you cancel your subscription and re-enroll again for the same program or course, you will be denied an additional 2-day refund period. After that two-day refund period, you may cancel your (monthly) subscription anytime and you won’t be asked to pay again after the billing period in which you canceled.
Your enrollment will still be intact until the end of this billing period. Saying this, you can cease your monthly subscription any time before your next billing date takes place.
Summarized, once the 2-day refund time elapses, there will be no room for further refunds even partial refunds for cancellation of subscription during the multi-month term or during any monthly automatic subscription periods. Please ensure you enroll for a term only if you are active for the whole time frame.
Udacity Review – Pros & Cons
Like any other learning platform, Udacity is not a perfect match for everyone and has both advantages and disadvantages. So, don’t get misled by the 5-star reviews in the image as, of course, the best will be displayed first. I briefly sum them up for you in this Udacity review.
Udacity Pros
Content Quality – Udacity’s content is geared towards meeting the needs of its learners. The content is top-notch and it is structured in such a way that is useful for students with an active learning approach.
Mentor Quality – In the bid to give you a good and immersive learning experience, Udacity employs industry-leading experts who are knowledgeable but also engaging. Lesson materials are also prepared by professionals from big corporations like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Github.
Project-based Approach – Udacity offers you the opportunity to learn through industry-specific projects. Such projects enable you to gain experience and expertise in your chosen industry environment. Udacity will assist you here with a proven step-by-step structure, explaining and suggesting what to do at every single stage.
Partnerships – Udacity develops high-tech classes in partnership with popular tech companies like Google, Microsoft, AWS, IBM, BMW, and Facebook. All those lectures consist of highly practical projects to ingrain new knowledge and individual academic mentoring.
Career – Udacity offers you a solid career preparation and provides helpful and assisting tools and tips in every stage of the job-hunting process such as interview preparation, tricky interview questions and cover letter editors
Udacity Cons
Price – Udacity’s prices are not really encouraging for those who are just starting out to learn new skills like hobbyists or beginners. Udacity programs are most suitable for entrepreneurs, professionals or employees who want to expand their skills, knowledge and expertise.
Focused – Udacity offers highly customized classes and tools. If you do not know what you want to learn or master, Udacity might not be a perfect place for you right now. However, if you do know, this could well be a great strength and pro.
Unlike, Udemy, edX, Skillshare, Pluralsight or CreativeLive. Udacity is just not a “Let’s see what is next to learn” platform, and I think there is absolutely room for such an educational approach in the market.
Certification – Udacity offers certificates that look rather generic and simple. These certificates seem too easy to generate. This is something they will need to improve on considering the high costs involved for learners. However, they are recognized in many industries, particularly if such certification compliments previous university or industry-related education.
Udacity Review 2022 – Verdict and Conclusion
Wrapping up my Udacity review, I conclude that Udacity is absolutely worth your time, resources and commitment. It is a high-quality learning platform that will train and teach you relevant and marketable skills.
However, it is also certainly one that requires your initiative, a lot of effort and willingness to pay high tuition fees. You will also not get the certification you can use to access university.
Given their active partnership with industry leaders, you can be certain that you will acquire skills that will give you a competitive edge in your chosen tech field. If you are looking to learn new skills or advance your existing tech skillset, Udacity is a promising place to be.
Udacity also offers the flexibility of learning at your own pace, though students nevertheless should follow a rather strict plan to avoid fees going through the roof unnecessarily.
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Resources: Wikipedia 1 | Wikipedia 2
Image credits: Udacity Logo Rectangle | Udacity Logo Square
