3 ms·

really? Companies pay _sooooo_ much money for employee training. a billion for this makes a hell of a lot more sense than billion dollar valuations for companie

by rtpg 11y ago

really? Companies pay _sooooo_ much money for employee training. a billion for this makes a hell of a lot more sense than billion dollar valuations for companies in races to the bottom.

ghaff 11y ago
If these kind of valuations were based on company training budgets, I'd be happily convinced. I haven't heard that argument being made but maybe it's the basis.
- mikekchar 11y ago
  Not that I want to defend a billion dollar valuation from a private company with no liquidity... But the sector is one that is arguably incredibly lucrative. Last year I was reading lots of CVs as we were trying to hire people. The number of people who have Coursera courses on their CV is amazing. And to be honest, it works (on me, anyway ;-) ). It communicates the idea that they have initiative and that they value improving themselves. These are traits that I want in people that I work with. Personally, I hate organized forms of education (and I spent 5 years teaching English as a foreign language in a high school!) Point me a text book, or blog posts or whatever and I will work through it at my own pace and in the order that I prefer. But I have to admit that it's pretty hard for me to put anything on my CV. The Coursera certificates (and I suppose these "nanodegrees" -- I haven't looked into this and know nothing about it) have a lot of value in that sense. From my experience hiring, I think it's certainly worth a few hundred dollars to have things like that on your CV. If it catches on (as it appears to be doing), then the bar will be raised and you will have to spend more to stand out. There is definite opportunity.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    Fair enough. One of the key questions with these MOOCs (using the term broadly) is the degree to which their certifications elicit a positive reaction from a recruiter or a hiring manage. (And, of course, how effective they are, on an hourly basis, teaching material relative to other methods. Although I expect the answer to this depends upon the person and how much structure they prefer.)

by rtpg 11y ago

really? Companies pay _sooooo_ much money for employee training. a billion for this makes a hell of a lot more sense than billion dollar valuations for companies in races to the bottom.

ghaff 11y ago

If these kind of valuations were based on company training budgets, I'd be happily convinced. I haven't heard that argument being made but maybe it's the basis.

mikekchar 11y ago
Not that I want to defend a billion dollar valuation from a private company with no liquidity... But the sector is one that is arguably incredibly lucrative. Last year I was reading lots of CVs as we were trying to hire people. The number of people who have Coursera courses on their CV is amazing. And to be honest, it works (on me, anyway ;-) ). It communicates the idea that they have initiative and that they value improving themselves. These are traits that I want in people that I work with. Personally, I hate organized forms of education (and I spent 5 years teaching English as a foreign language in a high school!) Point me a text book, or blog posts or whatever and I will work through it at my own pace and in the order that I prefer. But I have to admit that it's pretty hard for me to put anything on my CV. The Coursera certificates (and I suppose these "nanodegrees" -- I haven't looked into this and know nothing about it) have a lot of value in that sense. From my experience hiring, I think it's certainly worth a few hundred dollars to have things like that on your CV. If it catches on (as it appears to be doing), then the bar will be raised and you will have to spend more to stand out. There is definite opportunity.
- ghaff 11y ago
  Fair enough. One of the key questions with these MOOCs (using the term broadly) is the degree to which their certifications elicit a positive reaction from a recruiter or a hiring manage. (And, of course, how effective they are, on an hourly basis, teaching material relative to other methods. Although I expect the answer to this depends upon the person and how much structure they prefer.)