Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree Review 2024: Learn to Collect and Analyze Data

I am a Bcomm Mathematical Statistics graduate from Stellenbosch University, currently working as an IT Risk Assurance Data Analytics Associate at one of the Big 4 accounting firms.

I am very adamant about my career growth therefore I have been taking steps to ensure that I keep on learning and keep on growing. Especially now that I am still young, and the mind is still fresh.

It is because of this reason that I have been knocking on doors at work and one very exciting opportunity presented itself. I got an opportunity to be one of the digital accelerators and be at the forefront of Digital change within our company’s Africa market.

This required me to at the least have a Business Analyst Nanodegree offered by Udacity. This is how I came to know about Udacity and its offered program.

As a graduate with Data Scientist Nanodegree, I am probably a little more well-versed than most to write this review.

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About The Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree

So if the above words have grabbed your attention and now you are keen to take your first step into the incredible world of business analytics without any hassles.

Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree has been launched for non-technical people who want to make decisions based on the respective data. In this program, I learned about data analysis skills and tools that can help to build up my career in marketing, sales, operations, engineering, etc.

What are the prerequisites for this Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree?

The Business Analytics Nanodegree comes up with no pre requisitions other than having the dedication to learn and complete the course.

If you didn’t invest your interest and commitment in this course, you would go to waste no matter how much money you have invested in this course.

Discussion with your class-fellows will help you explore many things about the study, which will help you excel in it in no time.

What Are The Learning Outcomes Of This Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree?

The course page is full of promises made by the Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree.

Let’s discuss the syllabus in this Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree Review to find out if the course accomplishes its goals.

The following is the syllabus with a brief overview of all the modules included in it.

Lesson 1: Welcome to the Program

This was an introductory lesson. Giving an orientation, explaining the program structure and the structure of the projects.

There was not much here really but just an orientation.

Project 1: Interpret a Data Visualization

Here we were given a dashboard and our task was to draw insights from the dashboards. There were 3 dashboards options to chose from: Madrid in detail, Malaria in Africa and LinkedIn top skills. We had to put our insights in presentation format and include screenshots of the dashboard showing the insights.

Lesson 2: Introduction to Data

This for me was the easiest lesson to go through because I have a statistics background and I have been using spreadsheets for approximately 6 years.

The lesson is split into 8 sub-lessons: 2 Descriptive statistics lessons, 4 Spreadsheet lessons, 1 Business matrix lesson, and 1 financial forecasting model where you use lookup and data validation tools.

I found these fairly easy and I quickly went through them.

Project 2: Analyze NYSE Data

This was one project I had to resubmit 3 times.

The issue I had here was that I used my prior knowledge when I was building models. I didn’t follow the rubric and this counted against me. I used my own formulas, or formulas that could do the same job but were more familiar to me.

This led to me having to re-do the project and re-submit until I realized that I was there to learn new stuff and had to follow what was done in example projects.

For this project, we were given historical financial data from S&P 500 companies and we had 3 tasks to complete:

1. Perform a data analysis and include our findings in a slide presentation.
2. Create a dashboard for a Profit and Loss Statement
3. Create a financial model for a company of choice.

Also Read: My thoughts: Data Analyst Nanodegree from Udacity

Lesson 3: SQL for Data Analysis

The lesson had 3 compulsory lessons (Basic SQL, SQL Joins and SQL Aggregations) and 2 optional advanced SQL lessons (SQL Subqueries & Temporary Table and SQL Data cleaning).

I really enjoyed this lesson as I have learned another way to perform data analysis by using simple SQL queries. This is more efficient in my view and it gives the user the leverage of working with larger data than what excel permits. The pace was perfect and accommodative.

Also Read: Udacity AI for Business Leaders Review

Project 3: Query a Digital Music Store Database

For the third project we were given Data for a Digital music store and we had to formulate 4 questions, analyze the data using SQL to answer our questions, output the results to Excel to create the visualization so that we could answer our questions.

I really appreciate how Udacity walked us through the database setup to ensure that we do not spend time stuck on unnecessary tasks and focus on the main task at hand. They also clearly stated out the common mistakes past students experienced so we could not go through the same trouble and thus waste time trying to fix them and seeking help.

Lesson 4: Data Visualization

This was for me the most interesting part of my Nanodegree experience.

Firstly we were introduced to data visualization, the importance of visualizing your findings and the importance visualization plays in keeping the reader intrigued, understanding, and involved.

For the visualization to accomplish its intended use, it had to follow certain design principles. Among others is the coloring of your visualization, how to use color, and what types of colors to use in order to accommodate the color blind audience.

Once the principles were established, we were shown how to perform Data visualizations in Tableau and make dashboards and stories in Tableau.

It was fun and interesting. I found myself playing around with the provided data above the scope of the lessons. I really like how they structured the lessons in a way that you initially focus on what the instructor does in a video and then you are given the opportunity to do the same thing on your own.

Project 4: Build Data Dashboards

The final project followed the same analogy as the previous project. We were given 3 different data sets to choose from and create visualizations to reveal insights from the data set. There was not much guidance given for this project so this allowed us to be free and play around with the tools.

The biggest challenge I experienced (Flights data) was putting the day, month and year into a Tableau recognizable date format. I eventually got it and was able to build proper dashboards and tell stories.

How Was My Project Experience?

I believe that experience is the best teacher. The lessons were informative, but I think the projects did a good job at cementing the skills and knowledge.

The projects were fair in terms of difficulty. My projects were usually reviewed in 2 hours, and the review was personalized, referring to me and referring to my project. The areas of improvement were clearly indicated and there was enough guidance and advice on what to do in order to pass the projects.

The provided rubrics helped a lot because I had a reference point when completing my projects which was helpful to understanding the requirements.

Also Read: Review of product manager nanodegree

Cost and Duration

Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree is a 4-month degree program. The course timing is also flexible, so you don’t have to worry about your learning hindrance.

As cost is concerned, any individual can become skilled in Business analytics with Udacity by investing $339 per month.

Also, if you are anxious about spending a considerable amount of money because you haven’t taken their courses before, don’t worry.

Also Read: Are Udacity Nanodegree Worth it?

I had access to the platform for 4 months and managed to complete the Business analytics Nanodegree on time and even start with the second Nanodegree. So I believe the timeline is accommodative and attainable.

Thoughts on some Udacity features like

Now let’s know some of the benefits and features of Business Analytics Nanodegree in this complete Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree Review.

Mentorship:

This was helpful and essential. The questions were answered in detail and in a quick manner. Obviously, this depended on how detailed my questions were. I really ensured that I put as much information as possible and included screenshots where I had to.

I ensured that the mentor would have enough information to have an understanding and thus give the most accurate and relevant advice to the question posed.

Project reviews:

The project reviews were detailed and were personalized. I really liked the structure of the review as well. Very constructive. The reviewer gave an overview of the review in the beginning, followed by tips. He/she would then go step by step and give his review per rubric point. He/ She would make a comment per point regardless if your project met specifications or not.

So after discussing all the prerequisites, costs, duration, and syllabus in this Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree Review let’s discuss some of the Pros and Cons of it.

What I liked about Udacity

I like how the Nanodegree’s are structured differently from traditional degrees. This is how practical and interactive the lessons are and how you get insights from industry experts.

This for me is an essential experience to have especially at an entry-level as it prepares you for the real world, something the traditional institutes miss as they mostly focus on theory.

Pros of the Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree:

• This course focuses not only on learning business analytics theoretically but also on exploring it in your practice.
• Your mentor will review the projects done by you, which will help you get accurate reviews and corrections for your projects.
• They will also help you build up your professional skills, which are important in building up a career, i.e., making resumes, CVs, and interviews.

What I didn’t like about Udacity

I honestly love everything about Udacity and I believe the Udacity team is really doing a great job at passing down all the knowledge they have to people all around the world.

Personally, an area of improvement from their side would be adding a form of difficulty indicator at the beginning of each lesson, for students to be able to gauge the lesson and see if they could try and attempt the relevant project before going over the lessons.

The Final Verdict of the Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree

I hope that this complete Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree Review helps you a lot in understanding the curriculum of the program.

With a good investment, you can get the pleasure of a virtual class, a healthy discussion forum, a personal trainer, globally recognized certificates, and what’s more, “A Secure Career”.

The demand for Business analytics is increasing day by day by increasing the opportunities for an individual to earn competitive salaries.

Conclusion

If you want to take your career to the next level, try at least one of the Udacity Nanodegrees. There is a variety of courses to take and I am almost certain that they will carry your career to new heights.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself enrolled in the Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree to earn some business analytics skills.

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Reviews from graduates of Udacity Business Analytics Nanodegree

Hessah AlMansour

Computer Science | CSM®

★★★★★

I would like to announce that I have successfully completed the Business Analytics certification from Udacity, it was an amazing journey learning how to analyze, explain, explore and visualize data to be able to answer questions that support decision making.
Major software used through the Nanodegree were:

-Microsoft Excel
-SQL
-Tableau

Thank you Misk Academy and Udacity for this rich, generous, and great opportunity to help develop local talents and future leaders.

#businessanalytics
#MiskAcademy
#udacity

     -via LinkedIn

Rubenia Borge

PhD Candidate at University of North Texas

★★★★★

I graduated from the Business Analytics Nanodegree at Udacity! It was an amazing experience! Thank you very much, Udacity!

#udacity#businessanalytics

     -via LinkedIn

Mohammed Al Saikhan

General data analyst in JAL International Co. Ltd.

★★★★★

I just finished the Business Analytics Nanodegree with #Udacity

     -via LinkedIn

Job Scenario

The scope in the area of Business Analytics is rapidly growing due to its improving in the mainstream of all sizes of businesses and upgrading its analytic skills level.

Now business increasingly relies on data to make their decision. That’s why Business Analytics offers many benefits, including highly competitive salary opportunities to an individual who pursues Business Analytics as a career.

In 2018, it was estimated a total of 364000 openings for business analysts. By 2020 it has increased to 2.7 million. An individual who works in the field of business analytics can earn $85000 to $92000 annually.