Initially when the program launched, people were concerned that the "job guarantee" could be met with minimum wage job. Has anyone on HN done the Nanodegree plus? If so, what was your experience?
Udacity is great for learning what you need to learn. From what I've heard they do a good job of providing you the tools you need to get started but I don't think any of these online nano-degrees should be considered a means toward a job. So to answer your question "is it worth it?" maybe
I haven't used Udacity personally but I've used Treehouse and Lynda to learn some specific technologies. I used what I learned to take on side projects and those projects have been impressive enough that resulted in getting interviews and eventually a job with a YC company. (I would also note that I have a four year Bachelor of Science in Computer Science).
I've never considered finishing their courses as a certification that would entitle me to a job. So whether it's worth it or not it all depends on what you get out of it. For me, I wanted to do something specific, their courses covered what I needed to learn to do it, so I took them and used what I learned to do what I wanted to do. What I ended up building with my new found knowledge got me the interviews and eventually a job. So you can say it was worth it for me.
I haven't used Udacity personally but I've used Treehouse and Lynda to learn some specific technologies. I used what I learned to take on side projects and those projects have been impressive enough that resulted in getting interviews and eventually a job with a YC company. (I would also note that I have a four year Bachelor of Science in Computer Science).
I've never considered finishing their courses as a certification that would entitle me to a job. So whether it's worth it or not it all depends on what you get out of it. For me, I wanted to do something specific, their courses covered what I needed to learn to do it, so I took them and used what I learned to do what I wanted to do. What I ended up building with my new found knowledge got me the interviews and eventually a job. So you can say it was worth it for me.