What's your assessment and take on nano degrees? Are they worth it?
22 replies (most recent on top)
Leave the nano nano degrees to Mork and Mindy. Use your tuition assistance and get a meaningful degree that means something outside the company too.
I completed the Front End Web Developer nanodegree as an attempt to do a "skills pivot" and keep my job. I was outsourced a week later, talk about irony! But . . . I'm glad I took the nanodegree because I learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in six months. Udacity is not for everyone, especially those who like a classroom environment and a lot of hand holding. It is mainly self-directed learning. They point you in the right direction and it's up to you to learn. It requires a fair amount of research beyond the course materials (just like in the real world). My advice is to take the nanodegree for the skills you will learn but not for the credential, which may or may not be worth anything to another company.
Nano is a four letter word.
Waste of time. If they want to get rid of you they will. Does not matter. All depends on who you know and how well they are liked.
I completed 2 nano degrees while working for ATT and was surpluses didn’t mean squat to any hiring managers while applying to open positions..Surplused 3-29-19
I’ve been with the company 18 years and started in the Sales Channel since day 1 even though my undergraduate degree was Electrical Engineering. Started in union and went into management 10 years ago. I then got a Masters in IT around 7 years ago but stayed in the sales channel. Big Mistake! I love software, AI, and all things Technology but now I’m over 40. Poor life choices
No one outside of AT&T knows what that term even means.
Nano degree gets you a nano raise and nano opportunity.
Nanodegrees are nothing more than a community college level certificate program. You don't get a job from those, you get an introduction to something you can leverage to build the experience necessary to get a promotion or enter into a new job field.
It is in no shape equivalent to a 2 year or 4 year degree, or a post graduate degree.
And honestly, based on the few I did, enrolling in your local community college for similar material would probably be better organized.
They are worth it if you are wanting to add a bit of advantage when applying to the companies that support the programs(ATT, AWS, Google, Tableau, etc.)
Spend the time and effort to get an industry certification if available.
Lol. NANO NANO
At&T's most ridiculous plan ever created for consumption of fools, dumbdegrees.. for the right people.
What you learn in a 3- or 6-month program isn’t enough to land you a promotion or job in a new field. That’s why hiring managers don’t value it much.
Having said that, they are good INTRO programs that teach you the basics to get you started in a new field.
They are worthless. I took it like a dummy, got surplussed. Could not be used. Basically laughed at by interviewers. So I went back completed my traditional degree while studying on my own to be a software engineer, youtube of all places. Traditional degree got me in the door, my own self taught skills got me hired. Did not include T or nano in resume. Triple my income now.
T doesn't defined how a Nano Degree helps one pursue a career. Therefore, it's a non-essential attribute you can use broaden your knowledge, but nothing more. An "elective" as it's called in college.
Absolutely worth it.
there are promotions here? maybe on ork but not here.
they are a joke. every one I took I had the content in college. pretty insulting they want you take them basically telling you your college degree was worthless.
nothing transforming about them. but they provide good publicity for senior management making it look like they care about their employees.
I kept my skills with content I chose to take on my own time that is desired in the industry not att fairyland.
if its something you aspire to change or enhance (ex: already a programmer branching into big data/ai) your career go do it.
If you want to get promoted, pick one you can easily do and go do it. All things being equal between you and someone else up for a promotion and they'll take the one who put in the effort to get a nano degree, regardless if they have the chops to apply what they learned
I finished the Intro into Programing nano degree in 2018 and was surplussed in 1st quarter at AT&T. I have landed a new role but during the interview, they never asked or questioned me on it and my new role does not have anything to do with it. If you want to learn something new, offered by company and introduces you to possible understand what it takes then go for it. If you enjoy it then it may lead to a degree towards what the nano degree introduced to you. It will not land you a job.
Never got to complete it due to being surplused.
I hire. I give them minimal value. They indicate to me that you are willing to spend time and that you have an interest (to some degree) into a topic.