Udacity was started in 2011 by 2 Stanford university professors with one free course in A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). More than 160,000 students watched the course from around 200 countries within a few weeks. It turned out to be a massive success.
At present, Udacity has more than 12 million users worldwide and 350 employees and Over 100,000+ students graduated from this technology and business-focused leading MOOC platform.
Udacity develops its content with tight collaborations with tech industry-leading partners like Google, Accenture, Starbucks, Mercedes, Amazon, Facebook, etc.
With a large selection of tech courses and collaborations with top tech companies, Udacity is a popular platform for new and experienced learners. But is it worth your time and money in 2021? Let’s have a look at its pros & cons.
| PRO | CONS |
| 1. Schematic course
2. Free courses 3. 30-day refund policy 4. Up-to-date Content 5. Collaborations with tech giants 6. Nanodegree Course 7. Project-based learning 8. Affordable Price 9. Mentors |
1. Most courses are in English
2. High course price 3. Lack of community 4. No certification on free courses |
Udacity Course categories
The main categories of Udacity are as follows: programming and development of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data science, autonomous business systems, and career.
Now, as we get into the inner sanctum of this platform, you may notice that inside these subjects, they mentioned this thing called a Nanodegree.
A nanodegree program is a collection of courses and projects in a specific discipline; for example, there is the data engineer nanodegree; with these sections, we have data modeling, cloud data warehouses, spark, and it finishes up with the capstone project.
According to Udacity, these programs take a few months to complete. But it’s all at your own pace, so you could theoretically crank one of these degrees out in a month, or you could take the scenic route and stretch it out across a year or more.
Let’s see its advantages and disadvantages one by one:
Pros of Udacity:
1. Schematic courses :
The courses are designed systematically by global experts for newcomers and techy guys who want to advance their careers in the I.T. sector. There is no unnecessary information, and also they made it enjoyable and straightforward.
2. Free course
Udacity offers more than 200 courses free on top tech niche. Everyone can access these courses. These courses are designed for beginners who want to learn something new or want to dive into the I.T. field.
3. 30-day refund policy
Udacity offers risk-free courses with a 30-day refund policy. So if the course wasn’t what you expected or doesn’t satisfy your intention, Udacity will refund your money back & no questions will be asked.
4. Up-to-date Content
They update their courses from time to time. You will learn new technologies which are running in the industry. There is no need to always open the stack overflow community page to see the latest updates or trending news.
5. Collaborations with tech giants
Google is an official partner of Udacity. Apart from this, Udacity collaborates with tech companies to create real-world study material and projects for their students.
6. Nanodegree Course
One of the most famous & valuable assets of the Udacity platform provides enough knowledge to land you in any dream company. In addition, the Nanodegree course comes with a job guarantee and certificate.
7. Project-based learning
After completing each topic, they give a project related to that topic which is mandatory to complete. After submitting projects, they check them manually and offer suggestions. Sometimes they give companies projects to you to gain industry-based knowledge.
8. Affordable Price
The Nanodegree course cost is less as compared to a university degree. The Nanodegree course cost is $399/Month.
9. Mentors
The best part of the Udacity platform is their highly qualified and supportive mentors who will always be available to solve your doubt and proper guidance.
Cons of Udacity:
1. Most courses are in English.
Udacity’s most courses are in English. Therefore, all Udacity course videos have English subtitles. However, subtitles may also be available in other languages, such as Chinese and Portuguese.
2. High course price
Compared to other MOOC platforms like edX, Coursera, Udemy, the Udacity course’s prices are too high.
3. Lack of community
The Udacity community is small as compared to other platforms.
4. No certification on free courses
Udacity does not provide any certificate for free courses.
Udacity Review
Udacity is more practical and closer to work. Some projects can help you better understand what you have learned. Because it’s a Project, someone will definitely need to judge it after finishing it, because there is no standard answer like an exam. Alice Bedward, who has completed 9 Nanodegrees, mentions a few pros and cons of Udacity in her in-depth Udacity review.
According to her, Udacity’s Project Review is the most valuable service. There are many professional reviewers who will help you to correct the project and tell you what needs to be improved. The reviewers were knowledgeable and gave me a lot of professional guidance.
Conclusion
Udacity prefers quality over quantity. Here you will get enough knowledge to become a mastery in your career. After completing a course from Udacity you can get your dream jobs.
