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What an evil and misleading testimonial. They're trying to imply that he got a job at google because of the nanodegree, while you find out after the clickthrough that he simultaneously got a CS degree from UCLA.
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For $299/month, Udacity does a lot of work. I took a couple of their courses (could not complete) and those courses take substantial effort to complete. If someone is motivated enough to go through their (in my view) rigorous program, I could see how potential employers would be interested. More over there seems to be a shortage of solid Android/iOS developers. Solid training with Udacity's Nanodegree would be a defi…
Could you name a specific course you found too difficult to complete? My experience was the exact opposite - most Udacity courses seemed (disappointingly) lightweight. I remember taking their Object-Oriented JavaScript course, which is marked on their website with "intermediate difficulty", and completing it all in an evening.
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"Heads I win, tails you lose" The guarantee still doesn't prove that Udacity's credentialing process provides any incremental value above and beyond just taking the classes. Is it the knowledge, or the credential, that got you the gig? I'd like to see some kind of analysis comparing results for people who got certified vs. people who didn't. Any hiring managers in this thread? Would you ever hire someone, say, with n…
Front-End Nanodegree graduate here, and I recently got a job at a startup because of my final project with the program (neighborhood map--using Google maps and AJAX requests). My interview consisted of me adding a new feature to that project and explaining everything. Would I have been able to have gotten the job without the actual Nanodegree? To be perfectly honest, probably. However, the Nanodegree provides structu…
Based on your comment it almost sounds like your "portfolio" is what got you the job, not the certificate itself. But I guess where the coursework comes in is giving you a project that's a) feasible at one's current level of skill b) able to be completed in a reasonable timeframe c) demonstrates real development chops. Kind of a sweet spot that you might not get to without some external nudging.
Personally I'm in a marketing role with some development aspects, but I'm trying to move into a more technical role in future and while I "feel" qualified to be a Python data hacker, I have nothing other than personal projects to show my skills. Might take a look at this.
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Front-End Nanodegree graduate here, and I recently got a job at a startup because of my final project with the program (neighborhood map--using Google maps and AJAX requests). My interview consisted of me adding a new feature to that project and explaining everything. Would I have been able to have gotten the job without the actual Nanodegree? To be perfectly honest, probably. However, the Nanodegree provides structu…
Congratulations are in order, whether or not the credential helped you get the gig :-) Based on your comment it almost sounds like your "portfolio" is what got you the job, not the certificate itself. But I guess where the coursework comes in is giving you a project that's a) feasible at one's current level of skill b) able to be completed in a reasonable timeframe c) demonstrates real development chops. Kind of a sw…
Don't get me wrong; it definitely did!
However, I wouldn't have gotten this role without another credential I got (front-end certification at Free Code Camp); without that credential I wouldn't have been able to apply for the job.
The same wouldn't be said of Udacity, but I did need to attend office hours more than a few times. Had I not had access to office hours, I may not have continued on with my free curriculum. There's only so many times you can bang your head on the wall alone before you give up on something. But if you have someone else there to help you when you need it, then you can get past barriers more easily.
Protip: do as much of the free courses you can until you get stuck. Then enroll. They might hate me for saying that, but even Mike Wales (curriculum developer at Udacity) suggested that :)