Online learning is an excellent way to increase your skill set and advance your career. Online courses are often easier to adapt to a busy schedule and allow students to learn from the convenience of their own homes.
If you’re interested in online learning, it’s impossible to overlook Coursera. This massive e-learning platform is home to courses led by top institutions from around the globe.
But if you’re interested in a specialization, you might prefer a more focused platform. For coders, Coding Ninjas is an exciting avenue.
In this guide, we’ve taken a deep dive into the benefits, disadvantages, and similarities of Coursera VS Coding Ninja. Read on to find which platform is right for you.
What Is Coursera?
Coursera is one of the biggest and best-known online learning platforms. Having partnered with top universities and companies, Coursera delivers high-quality courses in a range of subjects to enthusiastic learners.
For casual learners, Coursera has a free tier. This will grant you access to a huge number of courses, in a massive array of subjects.
When you’re ready for something more, the Coursera Plus subscription service opens up the possibilities. You can also join specialist courses with Coursera Plus, which often include certification.
If you prefer a more intense learning experience in a specific area, Coursera has you covered. It offers advanced courses, complete with certification, and even degree-level programs.
Coursera largely offers STEM-based subjects, with a smaller arts and humanities section. If you aren’t interested in data science, computer science, or technology, you might find Coursera limited.
And because instructors are allowed to set their own lessons, there’s some variety in quality and learning style.
Overall, Coursera is an extensive online learning platform with enough options to suit almost everyone.
Coursera Pros
- Coursera is a massive online learning platform, with course options in a huge range of subjects targeting different skill levels.
- Partnered with leading universities and institutions, Coursera provides high-quality courses.
- The Coursera free tier is extensive, and a valuable resource for casual learning.
- The Coursera Plus service offers access to specializations, guided courses, and professional certificates on a subscription plan.
- Ready to learn more? Coursera has degree-level programs.
Coursera Cons
- Coursera focuses mainly on STEM subjects, with fewer arts and humanities.
- Coursera lacks some customer service options.
- Free courses rarely include certification.
What Is Coding Ninjas?
Technology has become integral to the modern world, and coding is essentially what builds and powers our most important computer systems. Coding Ninjas is an online learning platform designed to provide learners with a complete understanding of coding.
Coding Ninjas is entirely focused on coding and web development with courses ranging from entry-level introduction to complex explorations of advanced coding.
As well as teaching coding, Coding Ninjas aims to prepare students for the job market, with interview prep lessons.
Coding Ninjas combines online learning with mentorship and hands-on project work, to better prepare students for finding a job in the field.
Courses last for several months, and enrolling in a course will set you back a lot of money. But the results speak for themselves — Coding Ninjas graduates have gone on to work at leading tech companies.
Not sure if Coding Ninjas is right for you? Some previous students have struggled with their learning styles. But Coding Ninjas offers a free introduction to each competitive programming course, so you can try it before you commit.
Coding Ninjas Pros
- Developed and created by coders.
- As well as learning coding, Coding Ninjas students are prepped and prepared for entering the job market.
- Students can try parts of the course for free like machine learning, before making a financial commitment.
- Coding Ninjas courses feature hands-on experience, to help you build your resume.
Coding Ninjas Cons
- Coding Ninjas instructors might know the subject well, but some students have struggled with the teaching method.
- The free tier is limited, and mostly provides a chance to try before buying.
Coursera Vs Coding Ninjas
In this section, we’ll explore the similarities and differences between Coursera and Coding Ninjas.
Course Options
What types of courses are available on the platform? Which offers the best variety, and where should you turn for a specialist interest?
Degrees, Certificates, & Free Online Courses
- More than 5,000 courses
- Professional Certificates
- Degrees from the Top Universities
Coursera
Coursera is a massive online learning platform, with courses available in a vast range of subjects. The majority of the courses focus on STEM subjects, but there are also arts and humanities, as well as a big language department.
Coursera doesn’t limit itself when it comes to subjects. There are hundreds of coding and coding-related courses available on Coursera, ranging from free introductions to computers, all the way to specialist courses that can earn you college credits.
The only thing really missing from Coursera is hobby-based courses, but they aren’t really what the platform is designed for. If you want lessons in your favorite craft, we recommend looking elsewhere.
As well as subject variety, Coursera offers courses in all skill levels, from beginner introduction courses to advanced programs for furthering your career.
If you’re looking for a course in a specific subject at a specific skill level, Coursera is one of the best places to start the search.
Coding Ninjas
It’s no surprise exactly what kind, of course, you can expect from Coding Ninjas — this is a platform dedicated exclusively to coding.
By focusing exclusively on coding, Coding Ninjas can ensure learners are always receiving the best quality course.
Coding Ninjas also offers options within the area of coding. There are courses for students and professionals, ranging from mastering the basics to exploring complex coding matters.
Coding Ninjas is also a platform aimed at helping people start on the job path. As well as coding courses, students are offered interview experience, which can be applied to finding a job in the industry.
Former Coding Ninjas students are now working at Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and Samsung (among others)!
In terms of variety, Coursera is the clear winner. There’s just so much on offer, almost any learner will find a course that appeals to them.
When it comes to coding, it’s a harder choice. Both platforms have multiple coding-based courses, aimed at different skill levels.
Quality Of Course
The type, of course, available is just one-half of the equation. Quality is the other key factor. How trustworthy are the available courses? And how well respected is each platform within the industry?
Coursera
It’s hard to deny the quality of Coursera. They’ve partnered with top universities and institutions to provide courses from those leading industries.
Take a quick scroll through the coding options, and you’ll see courses designed in partnership with Google, Meta, and several notable universities. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Coursera offers quality by building its courses with the help of instructors already recognized in their specific fields. By creating these partnerships, Coursera subscribers and students can feel comfortable in the guidance they’re receiving.
Coursera also ensures quality by offering certification, and even degree credits, once you’ve completed a course.
This isn’t available with every course (the free options don’t come with this reward), but the majority of high-level options provide recognition of your accomplishment.
Most employers will recognize Coursera certification, allowing you to use the platform to advance your career.
Coding Ninjas
If there’s one thing you know for sure when you sign up for Coding Ninjas, it’s that the instructors know what they’re doing. Coding Ninjas, it’s run and operated by industry experts, who’ve been chosen to share their knowledge with eager students.
In terms of course materials, Coding Ninjas is high quality. The specialist coding courses are designed to target key areas of the subject, at different entry points.
Coding Ninjas is primarily designed to help students enter the workplace, and to help professionals level up their skills.
And Coding Ninjas has had results. Students have gone on to work at many leading institutions, including big names such as Google, Microsoft, and Adobe.
Over 50,000 students have used Coding Ninjas, and many of them have left positive testimonials. Some have even gone on to start their own companies!
However, Coding Ninjas does have a mixed reputation when it comes to the quality of the teaching itself. Just because you know a subject inside out, doesn’t mean you can teach it.
This doesn’t appear to be a universal problem, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Ease Of Use
How easy to navigate are the platforms? Do they keep you coming back?
Coursera
When you first enter Coursera, there is a lot going on. For first-time users, the sheer breadth of courses is astounding. It can also be a little intimidating. We’re sure many people log onto Coursera, get lost in the course listing, and never come back.
Once you’ve got to grips with the platform, which shouldn’t take long, Coursera is enjoyable to use. You can search the courses using keywords, and filter results to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Each course page provides detailed information on what you’ll be learning, how you’ll be learning, and the end result of the course.
Get past the initial onslaught of information, and Coursera is intuitively designed. It requires a little extra effort to navigate, but that’s expected from a platform this big.
Coding Ninjas
It’s difficult to discuss ease of use when it comes to Coding Ninjas. This isn’t a platform that’s designed for casual users. Primarily, the site offers easy access to information about the courses on offer, including the advantages of joining Coding Ninjas.
Coding Ninjas provides a well-organized website, and once you’ve joined an online course, it’s clear that the instructors know technology.
One of the advantages of Coding Ninjas is that all your learning is in one place. Including the integrated coding environments. To get started, you don’t need to download any additional tools.
Teaching Method
How will you learn?
Coursera
Coursera gives instructors the freedom to build their programs as they choose. This translates to a variable user experience. Teaching methods change depending on the course in question, so there’s no overall Coursera style.
However, there are similarities you can expect between courses. One common teaching method uses illustrated video lectures, supplemented by quizzes and tests. The tests ensure you’ve mastered the materials before you move on to the next stage.
If you often struggle with traditional online learning, then the variety of Coursera can be a benefit. But it’s difficult to know what you’re getting before you start.
Overall, Coursera provides quality instruction through multiple methods, primarily video lectures and testing. But because Coursera allows instructor freedom, each course can use a different teaching method.
Coding Ninjas
Coding Ninjas offers blended data structures, combining online lectures with 1:1 mentorship, and practical projects and problems. Coding Ninjas isn’t just a course you can read through in your spare time. Instead, you need to be actively engaged.
This is good news for anyone hoping to work in coding. Coding Ninjas courses provide hands-on experience with coding, expecting you to build projects that can then be part of your resume.
Coding Ninjas uses milestones, testing, and classroom forums to keep students motivated and moving forward.
Assignments ensure you understand the subject before moving on, so you won’t reach the end of the course and realize you brushed past the relevant materials.
And coding is key to every stage of the course. Instead of simple video and book learning, Coding Ninjas integrates coding into the workflow.
The Coding Ninjas teaching method requires hands-on participation and dedication to the subject matter. If coding is a curiosity, then you might prefer a basic course from Coursera.
But if you really want to master the skill, the combination of testing and achievement makes Coding Ninjas a solid choice.