Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 68 posts

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#11

Post by Alex3917 »

No one is going to hire you because you have a degree, whether from a university or from Udacity. They'll hire you because:

A) your overall resume is impressive

B) you either have a portfolio of things you've built, or else you agree to do a take home assignment and successfully complete it

C) you can pass both technical and non-technical interviews

To get hired you need A && B && C. Doing Udacity will probably help with each of those things, but no one is ever going to hire you because of an academic credential alone.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#12

Post by Starknaked »

mowingscooter wrote: post #4

When I come across an applicant with a nanodegree, it almost sends a negative signal. If anything, do the course, leave it off your resume, and if you get an interview, you might impress your interviewer with all this unexpected technical knowledge.

How do you compare it to someone completely self taught with similar experience? At least with someone that completed a course you know the minimum extent of their knowledge and understanding.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#13

Post by larrik »

iimblack wrote: post #9
mowingscooter wrote: post #4

When I come across an applicant with a nanodegree, it almost sends a negative signal. If anything, do the course, leave it off your resume, and if you get an interview, you might impress your interviewer with all this unexpected technical knowledge.

That's interesting. Is there a specific reason for why you view nanodegrees negatively?

No the OP, but:

They're likely viewing them as similar to certifications. Different industries treat certifications differently.

Enterprise technologies like Java and .NET and IBM products are helpful if you are aiming for that sort of job.

But, if you are looking at more open-source oriented shop, they give the impression that you are focusing on trying to look accomplished. It can look like you are trying to appeal to the wrong crowd, which means your priorities don't align with what they are looking for.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#14

Post by djswartz »

I am a product/engineering hiring manager at a tech company. I would love to know about nano-degrees that candidates have completed. It takes just as much grit as brick and mortar college if not more.

Disclosure: Maybe bias as I quit college to be a FT software engineer. And traditional schooling never really worked for me I learned more at home.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#15

Post by mowingscooter »

syntaxing wrote: post #8
mowingscooter wrote: post #4

When I come across an applicant with a nanodegree, it almost sends a negative signal. If anything, do the course, leave it off your resume, and if you get an interview, you might impress your interviewer with all this unexpected technical knowledge.

I'm surprised that it sends an negative signal. Is there a reasoning for it? Does completing an online course signify unwanted behavior/personality? I feel like if you leave it off your resume, you probably wouldn't be able to land the interview to begin with.

I’ve done online courses myself and found them immensely useful.

Unfortunately, I think that to some extent, it signals that “I’m interested, but not committed enough to get a full degree.”

Your nanodegree realistically will never come close to competing with a formal CS degree. So don’t bother with listing it. List your github projects and apps you’ve released. Get the interview. “Oh and by the way, in my spare time, I’ve self-studied XYZ.”

That’ll impress me.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#16

Post by cirgue »

syntaxing wrote: post #8
mowingscooter wrote: post #4

When I come across an applicant with a nanodegree, it almost sends a negative signal. If anything, do the course, leave it off your resume, and if you get an interview, you might impress your interviewer with all this unexpected technical knowledge.

I'm surprised that it sends an negative signal. Is there a reasoning for it? Does completing an online course signify unwanted behavior/personality? I feel like if you leave it off your resume, you probably wouldn't be able to land the interview to begin with.

> I feel like if you leave it off your resume, you probably wouldn't be able to land the interview to begin with.

The nanodegree is step zero in teaching yourself to program and definitely isn't necessary. Demonstrating what you can do is several orders of magnitude more important, and is the real end goal. Most competent self-taught programmers understand this, and understand how trivial a nanodegree actually is as a signal of being able to build good software as part of a team. I typically invite about half of self-taught people with a coding portfolio for an interview, mainly because about half have one that demonstrates the kind of back-end work we do. I invite literally everyone who has launched a product, no matter how small or in what domain, for an interview. I have never invited someone to interview on the basis of a nano-degree. Granted, every application I see is filtered through the sausage grinder of HR, so that's maybe a consideration.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#17

Post by Starknaked »

larrik wrote: post #13
iimblack wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's interesting. Is there a specific reason for why you view nanodegrees negatively?

No the OP, but: They're likely viewing them as similar to certifications. Different industries treat certifications differently. Enterprise technologies like Java and .NET and IBM products are helpful if you are aiming for that sort of job. But, if you are looking at more open-source oriented shop, they give the impression that you are focusing on trying to look accomplished. It can look like you are trying to appeal…

So what would be a better alternative to make your resume stand out to get a job that doesn't include doing a full degree?

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#18

Post by wheelerwj »

Alex3917 wrote: post #11

No one is going to hire you because you have a degree, whether from a university or from Udacity. They'll hire you because: A) your overall resume is impressive B) you either have a portfolio of things you've built, or else you agree to do a take home assignment and successfully complete it C) you can pass both technical and non-technical interviews To get hired you need A && B && C. Doing Udacity will probably help…

you forgot one huge factor, you’re network and referrals.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#19

Post by henryw »

Starknaked wrote: post #17
larrik wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No the OP, but: They're likely viewing them as similar to certifications. Different industries treat certifications differently. Enterprise technologies like Java and .NET and IBM products are helpful if you are aiming for that sort of job. But, if you are looking at more open-source oriented shop, they give the impression that you are focusing on trying to look accomplished. It can look like you are trying to appeal…

So what would be a better alternative to make your resume stand out to get a job that doesn't include doing a full degree?

Take graduate CS classes online. Or get a masters online like https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/graduate-degrees... or the many others available.

Re: Ask HN: Do Udacity nanodegrees get anyone a job without academic background?

#20

Post by enraged_camel »

mowingscooter wrote: post #15
syntaxing wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised that it sends an negative signal. Is there a reasoning for it? Does completing an online course signify unwanted behavior/personality? I feel like if you leave it off your resume, you probably wouldn't be able to land the interview to begin with.

I’ve done online courses myself and found them immensely useful. Unfortunately, I think that to some extent, it signals that “I’m interested, but not committed enough to get a full degree.” Your nanodegree realistically will never come close to competing with a formal CS degree. So don’t bother with listing it. List your github projects and apps you’ve released. Get the interview. “Oh and by the way, in my spare time…

>>Unfortunately, I think that to some extent, it signals that “I’m interested, but not committed to getting a full degree.”

This seems quite short-sighted, because the underlying assumption is that not getting a full degree is a signal for unwillingness to commit, as opposed to _inability_ to commit.

Not many people can up and quit their "real life" to pursue a degree. With your mindset, you are definitely discriminating against, for instance, people who have medical bills to pay and are stuck at their current jobs, but are also ambitious and dedicated and want to switch to better careers and are willing to do whatever it takes to do it.

Post reply on HN