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The Courser

The Courser answers one question: is that course actually worth your money? I'm Josh, and I've spent years reviewing online courses and certifications across Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, DataCamp, MasterClass, and dozens of other platforms at OnlineCourseing.com. No hype and no pay-to-play rankings — every issue delivers straight verdicts on courses, certs, and platforms: what they really cost, who they're for, and whether a cheaper (or free) path gets you the same outcome. If you're investing in your skills and want an honest answer before you pull out your card, this is for you.

Featured Post

10 free Anthropic AI courses, DataCamp at half price & what analysts really earn

Plus Babbel's Halloween code and a free Udacity course on running marketing with AI. THE COURSER · ISSUE #86 10 free Anthropic AI courses, DataCamp at half price & what analysts really earn Anthropic put 10 free AI courses on Coursera, DataCamp Premium is half price, and Babbel’s Lifetime plan has a Halloween code. Plus a free Udacity course on running marketing with AI, the 30+ programs Coursera and Udemy launched together, and what financial analysts actually earn. This week's pick ·...

Registration for the February exam closes 5 November, and the part worth paying extra for is practice, not more reading. THE COURSER · ISSUE #85 THIS WEEK'S VERDICT CFA Level I in February: your $1,490 exam fee already buys the books If you’re sitting CFA Level I in February, register before 5 November and don’t pay for a second set of books: the $1,490 fee already includes CFA Institute’s learning materials. Spend $349 on practice instead, AnalystPrep’s question bank and mock exams. If you...

Plus year-end CE for financial advisors and Coursera's real refund rules. THE COURSER · ISSUE #84 Educative's 50% off, Udacity's new AI Ops program & what Coursera's skills report found Educative’s Unlimited plan is 50% off, Udacity launched a program on running AI in production, and Coursera’s new skills report ranks the US eighth for AI readiness. Plus year-end CE for financial advisors and Coursera’s real refund rules. This week's pick · brought to you by Udacity Udacity's new AI Ops...

The cheapest item on the list is the only one a bank can look up: a $100 FINRA exam that anyone 18 or older can sit. THE COURSER · ISSUE #83 THIS WEEK'S VERDICT Breaking into investment banking: spend $258 before you spend $7,000 If you want a banking job, start with $258, not $7,000. Sit FINRA’s $100 SIE exam, which anyone 18 or older can take without a sponsor, and buy one interview course: Wall Street Oasis’s was $158 through our link when I checked out on 5 October. Leave the $7,000 WSO...

Plus Babbel's year for $96.93 through our link, and the CFI free courses that ended in 2024. THE COURSER · ISSUE #82 edX takes 15% off certificates, free Stanford coding classes & a new AI workflow course edX has 15% off its paid certificates until 21 October, Stanford’s free Code in Place classes start 12 October, and Educative has a new course on building AI workflows that don’t break. Plus two things we found while rewriting our own pages. This week's pick · brought to you by Babbel...

Paying monthly is the worst way to spend a year-end budget. And the priciest option on the list has no annual plan at all. THE COURSER · ISSUE #81 THIS WEEK'S VERDICT Your training budget resets January 1. Spend it on one annual plan. If your employer will pay for training this year, don’t spend the money a month at a time. Put it on one annual plan before December 31: CFI Self-Study ($347.90 a year) if you work in finance, Coursera Plus ($399 a year) for almost anything else. Either way,...

Plus the three big-name coding bootcamps that have no class on the calendar this fall. THE COURSER · ISSUE #80 Live Series 7 classes in October, a free Harvard cyber course & CFI's 30% off, still open Dated live classes for anyone studying for the Series 7, a free Harvard cybersecurity course that is open again, and CFI’s 30% off, which is still running. Plus the status check we ran on 12 coding bootcamps: three of the best-known have no class on the calendar. This week's pick · brought to...

The cheapest plan per month buys you no speaking at all. The cheapest real conversation is on a tutor marketplace. THE COURSER · ISSUE #79 THIS WEEK'S VERDICT Twelve weeks to hold a conversation: app, tutor or live class? If you want to hold a real conversation in twelve weeks, don’t spend the whole budget on an app. Take Babbel’s three-month plan ($45.75) for structure and book two italki lessons a week with a community tutor, which ran $6 to $12 a lesson in my sample. That’s about $190 to...

Plus a free Harvard ethics course with Michael B. Jordan, and why a sale that 'ended' last week is running again. THE COURSER · ISSUE #78 CFI is 30% off with no code, DataCamp's sale is back & a Udacity program built on Claude Three deals I could confirm on the vendors’ own pages, including one that needs no code at all. A new Udacity program built entirely on Claude, a new Educative course for backend engineers, and a free Harvard course with Michael B. Jordan. No news section this week:...

May's early fee is open until 14 October. February's closed in July, and the gap buys a whole prep package. THE COURSER · ISSUE #77 THIS WEEK'S VERDICT CFA Level I: February or May? The later exam costs $350 less. If you’re starting CFA Level I from scratch this fall, register for May 2027, not February, and do it by 14 October. May is the later exam and the cheaper one: its early fee of $1,140 is still open, while February is now standard-fee only at $1,490. That $350 is about what a full...