I wonder if you are missing the real threat facing Academia-- trade schools. The vast bulk of their "profits" come from undergrad programs which sadly seem to produce a surplus of graduates with skills un-needed in the business world. An HVAC or welding certificate, OTOH, is cheaper and lucrative right from the start.
I have taken a few Coursera and FutureLearn courses and found them... interesting but not useful. Perhaps their third-party certificate programs are different, but...
their ceo leaving suddenly. i'd be careful here because it's hard to see any traditional content seller as an ai winner.
Their microcredentialing in a tough white-collar job market could be a real winner.
my push back would be that these white collar jobs probably don't care about microcredentialing any more.
i care if an engineer knows how to use cursor or some ai coding equivalent, but i don't care if they have a credential from coursera.
Andrew Ng's CV makes me feel like a pathetic loser :D
The key to happiness is framing all your comparisons in ways that are positive. Thank goodness we created a free society where Andrew Ng can thrive.
I wonder if you are missing the real threat facing Academia-- trade schools. The vast bulk of their "profits" come from undergrad programs which sadly seem to produce a surplus of graduates with skills un-needed in the business world. An HVAC or welding certificate, OTOH, is cheaper and lucrative right from the start.
I have taken a few Coursera and FutureLearn courses and found them... interesting but not useful. Perhaps their third-party certificate programs are different, but...
Coursera microcredentials certainly cater to the tech world. I'm not against trade schools, but those aren't scalable
$400/yr is CHEAP but only if it provides ongoing value to the buyer. (DAMMIT I just saw a course I want to take.... )