Udemy Review
A bird’s-eye view
Overview
This Udemy review is one of many in a qualitative analysis comparing popular ‘Learn to Code’ platforms using
6 categories, each with 5 distinct grades. This is a bird's-eye view, rather than a comprehensive dissection of Udemy.Table of Contents
Who is Udemy Great for?
- Discerning learners who can distinguish between low and high quality courses. Udemy does not screen individuals, but they do review courses.
- Experienced developers who want to learn about something very niche and aren’t worried about the quality of the videos.
Cost
| 4 | Most courses are free, or there is a small (US$40 or less) one-time fee for most courses. |
|---|---|
| Cost category and grading details | |
Udemy courses carry a one-time fee which gives you access to that course forever. The cost varies US$20-200, however there always seems to be a +70% discount promotion which can be applied to most courses. Search Google for Udemy promotions.
Teacher Feedback
| 1 | Feedback from a teacher or other experienced developer is not reliably available. |
|---|---|
| Teacher Feedback category and grading details | |
Udemy does not offer any feedback from a formal teacher. The activity of a course’s discussion forum varies from course to course. Courses are sometimes accompanied by multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank quizzes.
Range of Tools
| 5 | Each tool from the basket of tools was covered. |
|---|---|
| Range of Tools category and grading details | |
Udemy is a marketplace where anyone can submit a course. A review process does exist before an instructor’s course is available on Udemy, but their library is still a vast mixed bag of quality. There are plenty of gems, so experienced developers and discerning learners can find great value.
Computer Science
| 3 | Complex data structures covered in some courses. |
|---|---|
| Computer Science category and grading details | |
Courses covering basic and complex data structures do exist, but their quality varies.
Real-World Projects
| 4 | Real-world projects are presented with a description or walkthrough as a primary objective of courses. |
|---|---|
| Real-World Projects category and grading details | |
Udemy’s open marketplace model results in a very large selection of courses. Courses often contain project walkthroughs or descriptions (or both). However, Udemy’s platform doesn’t have a strong student support system or assessment model. Sometimes after a project, you’ll be presented with a quiz which should be easy if the project was completed successfully.
Beginner Environments
| 1 | No beginner-friendly coding environments available. |
|---|---|
| Beginner Environments category and grading details | |
Udemy does not offer any interactive coding environments.
Final Words
Udemy offers tens of thousands of courses, so if you’re browsing their courses, hopefully you have an idea of what you want. Course pages display the title of each lecture in a course and typically provide access to a few of them to preview. This goes a long way to making this wild marketplace a great value.
Author
Sam Malayek works in Vancouver, using this space to fill in a few gaps. Opinions are his own.