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Posted on Feb 24, 2023 • Updated on Jan 6

Coursera Plus Review - Is Coursera Worth it in 2024?

#review #programming #development #coding

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Hello guys, if you are thinking of joining any Coursera course, degree program, specialization, professional Certificate, or any other course and wondering whether learning on Coursera is worth it or not, especially their Coursera Plus, which cost $399 per year or $59 per month is worth it or not then let me tell you that it's worth it for anyone who loves learning and wants to join multiple courses or specialization.

A single Specialization on Coursera costs anywhere between $49 to $79, so for $399 getting access to more than 7000 courses is worth it in my opinion for cost-saving purposes but if you only going to join one course then you are paying more than what you need.

The best thing about Coursera Plus is that it provides access to 90% of Coursera professional certificates, specializations, and courses and offers a flexible way to join and learn anything, you don't need to buy the course every time you want to learn something. This flexibility and cost-saving

As a programmer, we always need to learn new technologies, skills, frameworks, technologies, and libraries, and we often end up buying so many courses for that; I know people who have more than 300 courses on Udemy and other online course platforms, but Coursera now has a better way, Coursera Plus.

This is a subscription plan for Coursera courses and specializations, which will provide you access to their 7000+ courses, guided projects, specialization, and professional certificates with just one subscription.

As I said, it costs around $399 per year or $59 per month, which may sound more than other subscription and membership online learning portals like Pluralsight, Educative, and CodeCademy, but Coursera provides certificates and courses worldwide reputed universities which no one else.

5 Reasons to join Coursera Plus for Learning Tech skills

Here are a couple of reasons that make Coursera Plus worthy of your time and money and why you should join Coursera Plus to learn and improve your tech skills in 2024.

1. Learn anything, anytime

With just one subscription, you can explore any interest or trending topic, take prerequisites, and advance your skills. Yes, this is the biggest reason to join Coursera Plus as one subscription plan gives you access to their 7000+ courses, projects, specialization, and professional certificates.

It also removes friction in your learning as you don't need to buy the course every time you want to learn. You can just join and learn without dealing with payment hassle creating an account etc.

2. Cost Saving

Coursera Plus is a cost-effective way to take Coursera Plus courses. Given that you need to pay $30 to $50 on individual Coursera specialization, You spend less money on your learning if you plan to take multiple courses this year.

3. Flexible learning

Coursera Plus boosts your learning. You don't need to buy courses every time you want to join a course which is great flexibility.

You can learn at your own pace, move between multiple courses, or switch to a different course without buying them. With just one subscription, you access many top-rated courses from top-class universities.

4. Unlimited certificates

One of the main reasons many people join Coursera courses is their certificates which certainly hold more value than any other course completion certificate for any other porta. With Coursera Plus, you can earn a certificate for every learning program you complete at no additional cost.

5. Professional Training and Trainers

For me, the biggest reason to join Coursera plus was getting a chance to learn from Google experts. But, it's not just Google, Coursera also have courses form Meta (Facebook), AWS, and several other companies and world-class universities and Coursera Plus provides you the chance to learn from the very best in the world.

In short, Coursera Plus is both a cost-effective and flexible way to join Coursera Courses. With Just one subscription, you also get access to more than 7000+ courses, professional certificates, specialization, and guided projects, making it worth the money.

If you are doing more than one certification on Coursera, I highly recommend joining Coursera Plus to save a month and gain access to unlimited certificates and training materials.

6 Best Coursera Certifications You Can Join Using Coursera Plus?

If you have already decided to join this program but are wondering where to start and how to use the most benefit of this Coursera Plus program, here are the 5 best Coursera Specializations you can join using Coursera Plus 2024.

This includes a variety of skills like Data Science, Python, Programming, IT Support, and Personal Development.

1. Google IT Support Professional Certificate

This is one of the most useful online programs to launch a career in IT. This program is designed to take beginner learners to job readiness in about 3 to 6 months. The best thing about this Professional certificate is that its offered by Google, which increases its value and makes it the most popular Professional certificate on Coursera.

Here are the key skills you will learn in this course:

Customer Support
Linux
Troubleshooting
Ipv4 and Domain Name System (DNS)
Network Model
Power shell
Linux File Systems
Command-Line Interface
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

The good thing about a Professional certificate is that you need to complete a project to earn the certificate, which gives you a chance to apply whatever you have learned in this course.

2. Python for Everybody Specialization

This is probably the best Python course on Coursera. This specialization is offered by the University of Michigan, and it is a collection of 5 courses to learn to Program and Analyze Data with Python. You will also develop programs to gather, clean, analyze, and visualize data.

Here are the key skills you will learn in this Python Specialization:

Json and Xml
Python Programming
Database (DBMS)
Python Syntax And Semantics
Basic Programming Language
Computer Programming
Data Structure and Tuple
Web Scraping
SQLite and SQL

Talking about social proof, more than 39% Started a new career after completing this specialization, and 19% Got a pay increase or promotion, making it one of the best Python specializations and courses on Coursera.

3. Applied Data Science with Python Specialization

Gain new insights into your data. Learn to apply data science methods and techniques, and acquire analytical skills. This specialization is a collection of 5 courses offered by the University of Michigan.

This will teach you everything you need to know about Data Science with Python.

Here are the key skills you will learn in this program:

How to conduct an inferential statistical analysis
How to discern whether a data visualization is good or bad
How to enhance a data analysis with applied machine learning
How to Analyze the connectivity of a social network

Talking about social proof, more than 36% of people have started a new career after completing this specialization, and 23% got a pay increase or promotion.

4. Excel Skills for Business Specialization

Microsoft Excel is one of the useful skills for both business and IT, and this is the best Coursera Specialization to learn Excel Skills for Business. Master Excel to add a highly valuable asset to your employability portfolio

Here are the key skills you will learn in this specialization:

Data Validation
Microsoft Excel Basics
Microsoft Excel Macro
Pivot Table and Graphs
Spreadsheet, Chart, and Pivot Chart
Concatenation
Lookup Table
Microsoft Excel VBA

More than 42% of learners have started a new career after completing this specialization, and more than 32% of people have received a pay increase or promotion.

5. The Science of Well-Being by Yale University

This is a free course on Coursera taken by more than 2.8 million people. In this course, you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your happiness and build more productive habits.

As a programmer, we often ignore these kind of courses, but I strongly suggest you join this course to experience how much difference it can make.

In preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.

Even if you don't have a Coursera Plus subscription, you can still join this course as it's completely free, and I encourage you to do so as more than 36% of people have started a new career after completing these courses, and 34% of people got a tangible career benefit from this course.

6. Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate.

One more course or certification I highly recommend you to join in Coursera is Google's Data Analytics Professional Certification. This is relatively new certificate which was added last year but since then almost a million people have joined this and why not, this is the most comprehensive Data Analytics certificate available online and it comes right form Google.

The course material is also well-designed and structured so that you learn byte by byte and never overwhelmed with long lecture. It also covers all the skills like Data gathering, Data cleaning, Data normalization, and Data visualization which a Data Analyst should know.

This Data Analytics course not only teaches you process but also gives you tools that can help you in your job.

Tools are really important if you want to become a professional Data Analyst because the amount of data you are going to analyze will be Giga bytes and Tera bytes and you just cannot analyze them without the right tools, which this course will teach you.

While the syllabus may look daunting because it covers Data Analytics in-depth, you have no pressure to complete them in one day or one week, you can take your time.

If your goal is to become a Data Analyst in 2024 then I highly recommend you to join Google's Data Analytics Professional Certificate, you will thank me later for this recommendation when you become a Data Analyst and start earning good salary.

Is Coursera Plus worth it for Programmers and Developers in 2024?

As I said, If you are someone interested in taking multiple courses or even pursuing a professional certificate from Google, Meta or AWS then Coursera Plus is worth it as it offers flexibility and cost saving.

On the other hand, if you only plan to take one or two courses, it might be more economical to pay for those courses individually.

Here are a few advantages of joining Coursera Plus:

You get access to a wide range of courses, certificates, and degree programs
You just pay a flat annual fee, which can be more cost-effective than paying for individual courses
There are no additional fees or hidden costs
You can cancel within 14 days for a full refund

However, there are some potential drawbacks as well which you need to be aware of before joining Coursera Plus:

Some courses and programs are not included in Coursera Plus, particularly from IBM and it has many great courses on Python, Data Science, and Machine Learning but Google and Meta professional certificates like Meta Front-End Developer Professional Certificate are included. so it's important to check the catalog before subscribing
The annual fee can be a significant investment upfront for many of us but if you are a professional, it's not a big investment, considering we expend much more money on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, etc.
There is a risk of "overloading" on courses and not being able to complete them all, this is a real risk to be honest as many of us have several unfinished courses on our account.

Ultimately, whether Coursera Plus is worth it or not depends on your specific learning needs and financial situation, but if you are into programming and Software development where you always need to learn new things, I think it's worth it.

The biggest reason for that is the course quality and expert trainers from Google, Meta, AWS, etc. Just the thought of learning from Google ENgineers and Facebook Engineers gives many of us goosebumps and excitement.

And, if you are wondering what others are saying about joining Coursera Plus, you can check the reviews on the site itself, as I said, flexibility, cost saving, and getting a chance to learn from Google and Meta Engineers is the biggest reason to join Coursera Plus for programs and Software Engineers.

That's all about the Coursera Plus, a premium subscription plan from Coursera. It's a great initiative, and you will save money and have so many courses, specializations, and professional certificates.

You don't need to purchase courses; you can just join them. This flexibility is very useful, particularly if you are constantly learning and joining more than one specialization.

If you are a programmer or developer who is interested in taking multiple courses or even pursuing a full degree program, Coursera Plus can be a cost-effective option and worth it. On the other hand, if you only plan to take one or two courses, it might be more economical to pay for those courses individually.

In short, Coursera Plus is worth it for programmers and developers who constantly need to learn new programming language, framework, tools, and libraries.

It's one of the best investments for your professional goals as it gets unlimited access to over 90% of courses, Specializations, and Professional Certificates on Coursera, taught by top instructors from leading universities and companies. So, what are you waiting for? Go look at what Coursera Plus can offer you.

Other Coursera and Programming Articles you may like

Thanks for reading this article. If you like my review of Coursera Plus and using Coursera Plus and find it worthy of your money and time, please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you are looking for free Coursera courses to learn Python, you can also check out my free Python tutorials from Google, Microsoft, and Coursera. It contains free Coursera courses to learn Python from scratch.

Top comments (1)

Mia Conn • May 7 '23

Thanks :) Did you check my review?

Comprehensive Coursera Review: An In-Depth Look at the Leading Online Learning Platform
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