Udacity came out with a really cool commercial that actually worried me. I’ve seen commercials like this before with a lot of promises about jobs. I remember watching these types of commercials on TV about ITT Tech and thinking “That is exactly what I want”. ITT was never an accredited school but it also promised people jobs for the future. I ended up going to ITT Tech Seattle, WA / Rancho Cordova, CA for about a year before it shut down. This little adventure costed me around $10k. I didn’t learn anything marketable at that school. I always say that I just paid $10k to learn that I can learn by myself.
The reality is that the for profit school’s only goal was to make money for their investors. It doesn’t matter if the students are not able to find jobs in their field. It doesn’t matter if most students work dead end jobs waiting for a tech job that never arrives. ITT Tech promise of tech jobs was never fulfilled. I have a friend from HS who graduated with a BA degree in game creation but could not get a job with the degree, the price tag was $50k.
Udacity is a fraction of the cost of ITT but I don’t believe that this will last. I expect Udacity to move to the bootcamp price model. They already moved from a $400 minimum for a nano degree to 3 x $800 = $2,400. I don’t expect them to back down from that formula. I don’t necessary think this is a bad thing because that is still way cheaper than other bootcamps.
“You don’t sell products, benefits or solutions — you sell feelings.” — Trump University
Udacity’s commercial starts by trying to imitate Apple’s iconic commercial Here is to the Crazy ones. I actually like this part. The parts that don’t sit well with me are the future jobs scenes. It makes me feel like they are selling me feelings instead of the actual education to get a job. The blue theme logo strikes a similarity to the way ITT used to close their commercials. I don’t question the effectiveness of the commercial. I believe it is going to be a big hit. Perhaps my biggest issue is the target audience: Already Software Engineers who are looking for a change. There is nothing about the commercial that makes me think that I need to be a software engineer to take full advantage of their programs. Udacity’s Model seems to be. If you are a software engineer who wants to do Android development then taking their nano degree is a no brainer. Maybe you always dreamed of working with artificial intelligence? Sure. They have a nano degree for that too. but good luck trying to get an actual job if you are not already a Software Engineer.