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I tried doing a nanodegree but quit after a month. The two main reasons: - the videos are not lectures; they're short, scripted segments. While the production

I tried doing a nanodegree but quit after a month. The two main reasons: - the videos are not lectures; they're short, scripted segments. While the production is polished, I found the format irritating. I much prefer actual recorded lectures like the many wonderful (and free) ones available from MIT - the programming assignments were not challenging. I didn't really feel like I gained anything from them.

gnodar 8y ago
> the programming assignments were not challenging. I didn't really feel like I gained anything from them I was in the first cohort of the front-end nanodegree, and I also took the full-stack shortly after. I'm pretty shocked by this statement. For me, the vast majority of learning happened by implementing the topics that were discussed in the short videos. Given that the videos are very brief summaries of the topics you're meant to implement in the projects, It's pretty odd you gained nothing from doing them. Did you know the material before starting the nanodegree? If so, I'd argue the fault is on you for choosing a curriculum meant for beginners whilst being intermediate or above. Otherwise you're a very rare person for being able to learn more from watching videos and reading articles than by actually practicing what is taught.
- 3into10power5 8y ago
  It does look like greydius is not a beginner but an intermediate/experienced dev. I am right now doing machine learning nanodegree and I have the same feedback. Its for beginners, not experienced devs. Experienced devs can digest the same stuff less than a month, if they simply provide the text. That said, the fault is not his. Shitty udacity never ever mentions they are for beginners. They sell it as "career changing". So blame is on them.
  - azemetre 8y ago
    This seems to be a problem in general when it comes to tutorials/books/lecture material in software engineering. A large portion of learning material (feels like >95%) caters to beginner or junior level people. Very rarely do you find books or tutorials or material meant for those beyond the junior level. Even the "advanced" or "intermediate" videos on places like Pluralsight, Lynda, etc feel like it's barely a step above beginner. I don't have much experience with Udacity but I'm guessing it's the same? It seems, IME, like the only way to learn the intimate/advanced knowledge is to talk to core developers or others who have a similar problem domain.
    - curuinor 8y ago
      "Learning material" for actually-advanced folks, in my experience does exist and is almost without exception books or papers. I gave up on trying to find stuff on video.
      - azemetre 8y ago
        Yeah I'm finding some books too, and conference talks is another decent medium but they lack depth a book or paper has. It feels like for every C# in Depth or YDKJS there's 100s of other resources strictly for the beginner. It's just hard to sift through 100s or 1000s of resources before you find something worthwhile.
      - auto 8y ago
        When it is videos, it's not a plethora of information on a general topic, but a very specific explanation or tutorial in a niche area, and you run into the chicken and egg problem of having to know what to look for.
      - tkjef 8y ago
        highly agree books are where it's at for some in depth knowledge. after that, you have better honed long tail search queries for online.
      - plausibilities 8y ago
        "Learning material" for actually-advanced folks can be freely found on Github/Gitlab, as well as various Slack and Discord channels. One simply has to muster up the motivation and effort to seek them out. Honestly the best way to improve, IMO, is to just start participating and contributing. "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius
  - SuoDuanDao 8y ago
    Not affiliated with Udacity, but typically anything 'career changing' implies that the student would be starting a new career in a different industry.
  - dmourati 8y ago
    I am advanced in my career but a beginner when it comes to AV. I'm lucky in that I have a job in the field as a newbie. I'm taking the Udacity SDC course starting next week.
mengibar10 8y ago
Question is, have you finished any one of those courses from MIT? Many, including myself lack self discipline to follow through those courses from beginning to end. I believe Udacity and it's ilk provide great service. I did finish one, a paid nano-degree, and although that is not the only reason, I guess paying for it played a great role. You start with a cohort, you share experience, and grievances, and try to deliver assignments on time. That is something those MIT courseware lack.
povertyworld 8y ago
I think the point of Udacity, or at least why I did Udacity, is to get some kind of credential to get past HR gatekeepers (which did not work). I didn't do it to learn. I already taught myself Swift and iOS, and I'm sure I could have taught myself Android too, but I wanted some kind of credential, and I can't afford to get another degree. You know all of those videos are optional? You can just skip the intermediary assignments if they are too easy, and go right to the final project in each section, which is the only part that is graded anyways. Also, the last project is a portfolio piece of your own design, so you can make it as hard as you want as long as it meets certain criteria.
- nwsm 8y ago
  >get past HR gatekeepers (which did not work) Were you able to switch jobs/careers at all eventually?
  - povertyworld 8y ago
    No.
ramblerman 8y ago
I hated the programming assignments for deep learning. It felt like a connect the dots drawing - giving an ipython notebook with pieces of code missing.

gnodar 8y ago

> the programming assignments were not challenging. I didn't really feel like I gained anything from them I was in the first cohort of the front-end nanodegree, and I also took the full-stack shortly after. I'm pretty shocked by this statement. For me, the vast majority of learning happened by implementing the topics that were discussed in the short videos. Given that the videos are very brief summaries of the topics you're meant to implement in the projects, It's pretty odd you gained nothing from doing them. Did you know the material before starting the nanodegree? If so, I'd argue the fault is on you for choosing a curriculum meant for beginners whilst being intermediate or above. Otherwise you're a very rare person for being able to learn more from watching videos and reading articles than by actually practicing what is taught.

3into10power5 8y ago
It does look like greydius is not a beginner but an intermediate/experienced dev. I am right now doing machine learning nanodegree and I have the same feedback. Its for beginners, not experienced devs. Experienced devs can digest the same stuff less than a month, if they simply provide the text. That said, the fault is not his. Shitty udacity never ever mentions they are for beginners. They sell it as "career changing". So blame is on them.
- azemetre 8y ago
  This seems to be a problem in general when it comes to tutorials/books/lecture material in software engineering. A large portion of learning material (feels like >95%) caters to beginner or junior level people. Very rarely do you find books or tutorials or material meant for those beyond the junior level. Even the "advanced" or "intermediate" videos on places like Pluralsight, Lynda, etc feel like it's barely a step above beginner. I don't have much experience with Udacity but I'm guessing it's the same? It seems, IME, like the only way to learn the intimate/advanced knowledge is to talk to core developers or others who have a similar problem domain.
  - curuinor 8y ago
    "Learning material" for actually-advanced folks, in my experience does exist and is almost without exception books or papers. I gave up on trying to find stuff on video.
    - azemetre 8y ago
      Yeah I'm finding some books too, and conference talks is another decent medium but they lack depth a book or paper has. It feels like for every C# in Depth or YDKJS there's 100s of other resources strictly for the beginner. It's just hard to sift through 100s or 1000s of resources before you find something worthwhile.
    - auto 8y ago
      When it is videos, it's not a plethora of information on a general topic, but a very specific explanation or tutorial in a niche area, and you run into the chicken and egg problem of having to know what to look for.
    - tkjef 8y ago
      highly agree books are where it's at for some in depth knowledge. after that, you have better honed long tail search queries for online.
    - plausibilities 8y ago
      "Learning material" for actually-advanced folks can be freely found on Github/Gitlab, as well as various Slack and Discord channels. One simply has to muster up the motivation and effort to seek them out. Honestly the best way to improve, IMO, is to just start participating and contributing. "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius
- SuoDuanDao 8y ago
  Not affiliated with Udacity, but typically anything 'career changing' implies that the student would be starting a new career in a different industry.
- dmourati 8y ago
  I am advanced in my career but a beginner when it comes to AV. I'm lucky in that I have a job in the field as a newbie. I'm taking the Udacity SDC course starting next week.

mengibar10 8y ago

Question is, have you finished any one of those courses from MIT? Many, including myself lack self discipline to follow through those courses from beginning to end. I believe Udacity and it's ilk provide great service. I did finish one, a paid nano-degree, and although that is not the only reason, I guess paying for it played a great role. You start with a cohort, you share experience, and grievances, and try to deliver assignments on time. That is something those MIT courseware lack.

povertyworld 8y ago

I think the point of Udacity, or at least why I did Udacity, is to get some kind of credential to get past HR gatekeepers (which did not work). I didn't do it to learn. I already taught myself Swift and iOS, and I'm sure I could have taught myself Android too, but I wanted some kind of credential, and I can't afford to get another degree. You know all of those videos are optional? You can just skip the intermediary assignments if they are too easy, and go right to the final project in each section, which is the only part that is graded anyways. Also, the last project is a portfolio piece of your own design, so you can make it as hard as you want as long as it meets certain criteria.

nwsm 8y ago
>get past HR gatekeepers (which did not work) Were you able to switch jobs/careers at all eventually?
- povertyworld 8y ago
  No.

ramblerman 8y ago

I hated the programming assignments for deep learning. It felt like a connect the dots drawing - giving an ipython notebook with pieces of code missing.