Wouldn’t it be nice to become skilled in something just by taking an online class?
But how far does that go? How much can you actually learn?
Well, let me tell you this.
Everything you currently see here was created by me.
And I’ve learned everything from online courses. In particular from udemy.
However, to not solely rely on my opinion let’s check some communities like reddit. What do professionals think about Udemy? Is Udemy worth it?
What is Udemy?
Udemy is basically an online school. Founded in 2010 Udemy contains a tremendous number of online courses for pretty much everything.
From learning how to cook eggs to learning how to become an advanced skilled programmer.
The courses are available through on-demand video and you can watch them from wherever you want.
Now look at all the categories!
Like I’ve said, no matter if you want to become a skilled designer or a developer, udemy has it all.
All the categories contain hundreds of online courses to choose from.
But isn’t that expensive?
Yes. Well sometimes. Udemy courses cost between $100 and $200. However, Udemy also offers special prices. You might even get some courses for $10.
But no matter if you pay $10 or $200, the question still remains, is Udemy worth it?
I will report my opinion in the end, but first, let’s check what others think about udemy. In particular Reddit and Quora.
What does Reddit think about udemy?
To be really up-to-date with this answer in 2021, I’ve asked reddit myself.
The whole post can be summarized like this:
Udemy Pros according to reddit
- Users absolutely love the value they get.
- New ppdated content is free of charge.
- Instructors are experienced professionals.
- The scope of all the things you’re able to learn.
- You can actually really learn something.
Udemy Cons according to reddit
- The pricing. Prices change way too frequently.
- Dead courses are not being removed.
So as you can see the general opinion is pretty good.
And that’s Reddit, a pretty skeptical platform. If something is a scam, Reddit will find out and you’ll get downvoted until you become a meme.
I think that is why people love to check out Reddit to see if something is good quality or bad.
Reddit’s ultimative tips for choosing udemy courses
So since reddit is a HUGE commuity, I thought it might be worth to check out other posts as well.
While doing this, I’ve found some nice tips you should be aware of when chosing an udemy online course.
Let me explain.
On this Reddit post I’ve found some pretty interesing comments.
Especially these two.
First of all, we see that online courses had a bad reputation but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good.
And second, when it comes down to udemy courses, they have ratings as normal products have as well.
When you visit Amazon, the first thing most people do before they buy is to check out the ratings of a product.
An online course is nothing else. It’s a product! Udemy has a clear rating system, so you can easily check out all the current ratings.
If you’ll find ratings like this one:
Go for it!
The other thing this Reddit post was telling us is that with a paid course, you’re kind of forced to complete it.
Here’s the thing:
You would leave a free course pretty quickly because even if you’ll never complete it, you didn’t really lose anything, did you?
With paid courses, it’s different.
You want value for your money and by learning something and completing it, you will most likely feel that you have gotten some value for it. That’s why most people will complete a paid course.
The LAST post I’ve found was on the Web Development subreddit.
Someone here was actually asking about a specific course. And as you can see here:
People do recommend it.
So in short, people love it. You’ll even find two course recommendations which according to Reddit are “more than worth it”.
Udemy better than YouTube?
But wait, aren’t there free alternatives on YouTube? If you look through YouTube you will find a lot of tutorials and stuff about anything you would like to learn.
So why don’t we simply use Youtube?
I for myself, have used YouTube for a lot of things, however, I’ve realized that YouTube tutorials are more like a “udemy preview”.
There is great stuff on YouTube but usually, you don’t get a complete course. This Reddit comment from this post sums up my thoughts pretty much.
There are definitely tons of good videos on YouTube but in my opinion, udemy is a simple more up-to-date and more comprehensive platform.
What does Quora say about udemy?
Now since we’ve checked Reddit what about Quora. What do people have to say on there?
Same as Reddit. The most frequent question has a pretty positive answer about udemy.
You will always find critics and that’s a good thing. However, since all the courses are from different teachers around the world, you can’t say condemn the whole site.
The Downsides?
But, there surely must be a downside?
Well, kind of. As with all marketplaces, there are bad products, and there are good products. Make sure to check the reviews, check when to course was updated last time and you should be safe.
Udemy as a platform is totally worth it. The only challenge you may face is to find the right course for you.
Also make sure to check out the teachers. Some are awesome instructors but you simply may don’t like their teaching style.
Other than that, there are no real downsides with udemy itself.
My tips for finding the best course
- Check the ratings (important)
- Check the last updated date
- Do you like the voice/style of the instructor?
Now let’s get to the last question
Are udemy certificates worth it?
So for all of you who might be looking to get a job through udemy let’s check if the certificate is actually worth something?
The truth is this:
The certificate itself is clear proof that you’ve completed an online course. Usually you don’t get it if you haven’t done anything.
Now here is where it get’s interesting.
When researching answers for this question on quora and reddit, I’ve found that the majority agrees that it is worth something, although maybe not as strong as a faculty degree.
Having said that, today in times of home schooling and corona, things might look different. Online courses have actually found a lot of appreciation through this pandemic.
So it seems that we can clearly say, the udemy certificate is worth something. Especially in 2021.
My review
So here comes my 2 cents:
Like I’ve said I did a lot of udemy courses and in my opinion, it’s what you make out of it.
If you find a good course, you really can learn a lot. I’ve completely mastered WordPress just by re-doing one particular course over and over again.
Talked to a senior developer after that and he said my skills were remarkable.
Like I’ve said, all the things you see on my website, I’ve learned from the internet. And I started with a udemy course.
I hope this kind of review will help you decide. If you have any questions please let me know.
Disclaimer: The udemy links you’ll find here are affiliate links.
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