Udacity promises jobs or money back after completing programming nanodegree
Udacity is making it more appealing for would-be programmers to take online classes and get a job: On Wednesday, Udacity said it would offer a money-back guarantee if students for some programs didn't land a job within six months of graduation
That's a hefty promise because the new offering, called the Nanodegree Plus, costs $299 students a month. It joins Udacity's free class offerings as well as its $199 a month standard Nanodegree programs that already offered a 50 percent tuition refund upon completion.
Initially, Udacity is limiting Nanodegree Plus and the full tuition refund to four tracks: Android Developer, iOS Developer, Machine Learning Engineer and Senior Web Developer. Included for the $299 monthly fee are Udacity's career concierge program and custom job preparation. The company expects to expand the Nanodegree Plus tracks over time.
While I haven't enrolled in Udacity's Nanodegree program, I am in the midst of a single Udacity course on Android development with Java. The company had a holiday sale last month, so the $199 course cost me just $10.
And overall, I'm impressed. I feel like I had a better overall experience last year at my local community college when taking an Introduction to Computer Science with Java course, mainly because of the social interaction both in and out of the classroom.
Still, you can get some of that through the discussion groups in an online course through Udacity. And my community college wasn't offering refunds to those who couldn't find jobs.
For those considering a career change or want a new challenge in today's mobile and technical world, the new Nanodegree Plus may be of interest. Aside from the learning aspect, the program might not cost you a dime while also landing you a potentially lucrative new job.