What is Udacity
The Udacity is an innovator in the education sector, the result of an experiment at Stanford University, where Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered the online course “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” for free. Currently, the company offers courses at different levels of expertise to train professionals in the following areas:
- data engineering
- Computer science
- TI
- Schedule
How Udacity works
Udacity is a platform for open courses and nanodegree courses. Thus, to take the training in any technical and vocational course at Udacity, you need to be registered on the platform and purchase the course of interest.
Udacity works both as a platform for professional and very objective open courses, as well as a platform for more complete courses (so-called nanodegree courses). In both, the student has access to updated technical content, certificate accepted in the labor market and resources to interact with the support area. The main difference is that in the most complete course the student also carries out real projects, such as the ones the student will face in the job market.
In addition, you must meet the course requirements to receive your certification. The requirements include a cut-off grade in a final assessment and, with regard to nanodegree courses, passing the practical projects that the course offers so that you can gain an in-depth knowledge of the skills that the job market requires.
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Udacity is accredited
Udacity is a for-profit company. In addition, it has as an important differential the qualification for the so-called nanodegree courses, which are equivalent to a higher technical level than short-term open courses.
Udacity is an accredited company, qualified to train professionals to work in different sectors of the Technology and Computer Science market. Its courses have a technical and professional level, and are recognized throughout the professional market.
The certificate of a nanodegree course is well received in the job market and can be an important differential for those seeking to fill a position in the platform’s areas of interest.
Udacity Prices
Udacity’s free courses are priced between $29.00 and $59.00. The Nanodegree is a larger investment course, paid monthly while the student wants to access the content.
Udacity has Free Courses
Udacity has free beginner level courses in different areas. However, free courses do not offer certification. To receive certification for a free course you need to update your application. In addition, there are limited resources in the free mode, so that in some cases your demands may not be met with the free options.
Udacity has a certificate
Every private course held at Udacity offers a certificate. However, to receive the certificate you must have completed the entire course within the criteria stipulated by the platform. The certificate has professional validity and can help you position yourself in the labor market.
Who is Udacity for
Udacity is for everyone who wants to work in the areas of technology, computer science and adjacent areas. It should be noted that, despite having introductory courses at beginner levels, Udacity is more geared towards those who already have prior knowledge in the areas of interest, since the platform has very specific courses aimed at training professionals able to solve targeted market demands of work.
The platform’s proposal is to train professionals with practical technical knowledge, properly focused on market demands. For this reason, the platform has options where the student will carry out practical projects.
Thus, Udacity is ideal for any computer science and technology professional who seeks to update or acquire theoretical and practical knowledge, in a very objective way and in line with the current demands of the job market.
User experience
Because it was developed by professionals from Stanford University and because it is constantly committed to optimizing its resources and delivering its courses, Udacity’s user experience is considered satisfactory.
In addition to having very intuitive fields for navigation, Udacity also has technical support to help its students. In addition, you can track your progress in different courses simultaneously, as well as interact with colleagues from these courses in order to optimize your learning and experience.
As it expanded the reach of its audience and became a MOOC course platform itself, Udacity has continued to invest to the present day in improving the user experience. For this reason, it still has a highly intuitive and pleasant layout for classes, as well as options for downloading additional material to be consulted even offline, and diversified options for answering questions and browsing the platform.
Udacity Instructors
Udacity instructors are experienced professionals in the fields of technology and computer science. Many of them work even today in contact with software development and troubleshooting in IT areas. In addition, there are also instructors with extensive academic training, some even having been professors at renowned universities in computing and technology courses.
Udacity is worth it
Both for those already working in the area and for those who want to acquire knowledge completely from scratch, Udacity is worth it for being a complete platform in terms of technical and professional content. In addition, it stands out in the market for offering both in-depth theoretical knowledge and the opportunity to carry out projects in a practical way.
Advantages of Udacity
The main advantages of Udacity are:
- Courses in collaboration with large companies;
- Training in areas with high market demand and employability potential;
- Development of practical projects that enable the student to have both contact with the job market and the construction of a good portfolio;
- Classes with instructors considered to be an authority on the market;
- Monitoring and guidance from market experts (nanodegrees);
- Support to answer questions at any time (nanodegrees);
- Career advice (nanodegrees);
- Certificate recognized by the market (nanodegrees);
- Complete courses in a very objective and practical way, individually adapted to the characteristics and pace of the student
Disadvantages of Udacity
The main disadvantages that can be seen as objections by those who want to study at Udacity are the following:
- The platform no longer offers courses in Portuguese, only in English;
- It does not offer an undergraduate degree, only a certificate of completion (including the renowned nanodegree courses);
- High investment in some courses (although they represent an excellent cost-benefit ratio)
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What is Coursera
The Coursera is an American company that offers online courses. At Coursera , there are free and paid courses. For free courses, which are already highly qualified in terms of content and relevance, you have to pay for the certificate issuance, while for private courses the monthly fee and certificate issuance are already included in the monthly fee.
One of the main features of Coursera is the fact that its courses are mainly distributed in partnership with renowned higher education institutions, such as:
- Duke University
- Stanford
- UC San Diego
- Johns Hopkins University
- London Imperial College
- University of Virginia
- USP
- UNICAMP
The user experience at Coursera is another of its great differentiators. This is because the platform constantly seeks to update its tools so that the user can learn effectively.
Thus, video lessons, complementary materials and assessments are made available through a completely interactive and intuitive virtual environment.
All courses on the Coursera platform are of the highest quality. Its professors are, for the most part, university professors from renowned North American institutions. In addition, the platform has advanced technological resources that provide the user with a qualified, pleasant and attractive experience. The student has a real immersion in the content they are studying, having stimuli that enable learning efficiently.
As Coursera chooses the best universities in the world to establish its partnerships, and seeks original courses aligned with the main differentials of each institution, the courses are produced in a totally professional way and are updated to the labor market trends.
Coursera price
Many courses available on the Coursera platform fall into the category known as Massive Open Online Courses ( MOOC ). These courses aim at the massive, continuous and unrestricted propagation of in-depth technical knowledge, using online training platforms to contemplate their mission. And to facilitate access to information, these courses are, by definition, offered free of charge.
The only cost that the student has to perform a MOOC on the Coursera platform is that of issuing a certificate. On average, the cost for issuing a certificate is around US$30.00, but this cost is optional. That’s because you can register on the platform, enroll in the courses of your choice and take them freely, without any cost of enrollment or maintenance of classes.
If at the end of your course you want to have a certificate that proves your experience, workload and level of training, you make the request through the platform, pay the fee for issuing the certificate and wait a few days for Coursera to make your certificate available . If you do not need to prove your experience through a certificate, there will be no cost.
As already mentioned, in addition to courses that fall under the MOOC mode, Coursera also has numerous other courses at more advanced levels of certification, such as:
- Specialization
- Master’s degree
- MBA
These courses tend to have longer durations, from 6 to 32 months for the most part. And if you choose to take one of these courses on Coursera, you will pay a monthly fee that varies according to the level and area of expertise, but which is generally between U$ 40.00 and U$ 80.00.
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Coursera has free courses
Coursera bets on access to knowledge and professional training. Thus, most areas covered by courses on the Coursera platform have several free modules. All, of course, with excellent technical quality, cutting-edge audiovisual resources and complementary materials to facilitate the learning process.
Among the main areas in which the Coursera platform has free courses , the following courses stand out:
- the science of wellness
- Financial Engineering
- Algorithms
- Programming Fundamentals
- Introduction to Philosophy
- History of Internet, Technology and Security
Certified Coursera
The Coursera has certified for all courses it offers. However, in Coursera’s MOOC courses, the certificate is optional, so the student has the right to opt for the certificate, paying a small certification fee, as well as opting to take the MOOC course in the listener mode, that is, in a listener mode. totally free, without receiving certification at the end.
The Coursera offers free courses, but you need to pay if you want to have access to the official certificate of course completion. Which is worth it, since taking a course without getting a certificate doesn’t make much sense, especially for those looking for a place in the job market.
Coursera is worth it
The Coursera is worth both for those seeking to invest in their training and enter the labor market in a short time as well as for those who want to invest in skills training relevant to their academic education. That’s because the platform offers courses in different areas of activity, with updated content and adapted to current market requirements.
Coursera Pros
Surely one of Coursera ‘s biggest pros is the fact that their courses are produced in partnership with the world’s top universities. This makes the student know in advance that the course is carried out with technical quality and adapted to the job market.
Thus, taking a course through the Coursera platform, you add value to your academic and professional curriculum, in addition to receiving instructions applicable to the job market.
Coursera Cons
There are few cons to Coursera , although in some cases the rating can be subjective.
Some of Coursera’s partner universities are located in Asian countries, originally producing their courses in less comprehensive languages. This can be a limitation in some cases.
In addition, if the certificate’s issuance value is calculated in dollars, the investment may be high for people whose local currency is devalued against the dollar.
