Nanodegrees: A New Kind Of Credential For Jobs in Technology | Hacker News Reader

Nanodegrees: A New Kind Of Credential For Jobs in Technology

udacity.com

44 pointsratsbane8 comments

As a statistician working for a bank, this is good news. I was doing some self-study to become proficient in JavaScript (I already know a bit of programming in C, Haskell, Java and JavaScript) - and this looks like it could lend some stamp of credibility to a prospective employer or client. While I am sure this is not enough, and should be backed up with open source contributions, this is definitely a good start.

So, we are just calling certifications by different names now?

I opened the iOS nanodegree page:

The core courses will bring you from zero to hero in developing industry-quality iOS apps using Apple's innovative programming language, Swift

. . .

* 7-8 months if you can commit 10 hours per week * 3-4 months if you can commit 20 hours per week

So assuming one spends 40 hours a week (normal work week) in 1.5-2.0 months you will be a 'accredited' iOS developer.

Sorry, I wouldn't hire you, and I can't remember a place I worked at that would.

They will just be like the MCTS or whatever from Microsoft, but without at least a 'governing' body that issues the requirements. Just something to add to your resume to work at a place that doesn't know how to do hiring.

A degree/certificate/certification is a signal based on reputation of granting institution, requisite work, and quality of others possessing the signal.

I am a huge fan of udacity, so I personally would take a udacity nano degree at higher value than an average certificate. I think their pedagogical approach delivers 2-5x the average course hour worth of knowledge per udacity hour. (1 he udacity ~= 2-5 hrs normal course).

Right now there's an enormous pool of self taught developers who can only point to portfolios to demonstrate their competence, and a portfolio is heavily, heavily bias able with a little bit of sales and marketing talent.

In the long run, the question is: how much do you have to know to get the nano degree?

I wouldn't vote to hire a candidate solely because of a nanodegree from Udacity but I would consider it a positive signal; not as strong as an MS in CS from Stanford or a long list of published apps, but evidence of a desire for self-improvement and the discipline to act on that.

Even an online CS degree from Stanford (if one existed) could not compete with their regular CS degree. I think this is more appropriate for "average" developers to put a stamp on their resume, and demonstrate to a prospective employer that they have taken the time and effort to complete a course. It is possible that you do not hire average developers, but then you are a minority.

Stanford does offer certificates and degrees delivered either partially or entirely online: http://scpd.stanford.edu/publicViewHome.do?method=load

I've taken CS courses at Stanford both through SCPD and on-campus. They're literally the same classes. Lectures are videorecorded and online. Tests and assignments are exactly the same.

There are minor advantages to being on campus: asking questions after class; sitting around your TA's office in Palantir bean-bag chairs while someone sketches sparse autoencoder on the dry-erase board; Axe burgers; but really, remote is okay too.

They have reinvented "certification"?

MCSE and Cisco might want a word with them about their "new kind" of credential.

I think that's a little harsh. Vendor-specific certifications have earned a bad rep, some more than others, but that doesn't mean there's no advantage in any educational recognition short of a degree from an accredited university.

I wonder if the Udacity, in a few years, will be an accredited university capable of granting degrees?

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