The Complete Node.js Developer Course (2nd Ed.)

Basic Info

• Link: https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-nodejs-developer-course-2
• Instructor: Andrew Mead
• Price: $85 (Often on sale for $15)
• Format: Online / Video
• Certificate: Yes
• Overall Score: 9/10

Summary review

I came across this course while taking Andrew’s other class, The Complete React Web App Developer Course. During the React class I kept wanting to understand how the React App would interact with a backend API so I purchased this course on sale and dove in. Overall the course was well paced, informative, and I felt highly successful by the end. This class enabled me to develop my node-ttd-api.

Disclaimer: This was my first review and thus I may be a bit over-enthusiastic with my scores. I prefer to think Andrew really deserves every single point.

Instructor

Andrew comes across as very polished and prepared. His speach patterns are easy to listen to and follow. You will nearly never hear an “um” or “uh” during his presentations which is a welcome change in the world of online learning. Projects nearly always work exactly as described and for those moments when you simply are stuck, Andrew is available and ready to help. I had to ask for help twice in Andrew’s courses and received responses in the minutes to hour timeframe.

The only deduction I take is for the use of “awesome” and “fantastic.” After recommending the course to a friend it became an almost inside joke to refer to things as “fantastic.” Fortunately you’ll only notice this occasionally and Andrew never uses it in the way you see fillers (um, uh, annnnd) used in other classes. Instead it feels like these are just goto words he uses in normal speech.

Take away: I would take any course taught by Andrew on any topic, full stop. 10/10

Content

I started this class in the middle of another JS based class so I was fairly comfortable with JS. I was able to double the play speed in earlier modules (Section 1 and 2) since I already had Node installed and was comfortable using VSCode for my editor. Andrew recommends Atom and covers installing and configuring if you need it but I was able to complete the course in my editor of choice.

Andrew starts everything the hard way with the student not relying on a framework or shortcuts. This is excellent so that by the time you reach later Sections and start using frameworks you understand exactly what is occurring under the covers and you are very comfortable troubleshooting issues that arise.

The video production is highly polished with clear audio and text. I never had to play something back for lack of clarity.

Take away: Clear professional content that covers all the expected topics. 9/10

Hosting Platform

Udemy is a stellar platform. Load times are consistently fast, Q&A forums are directly integrated to facillitate communicating with the instructor or other students, and there are downloads available so you can take content offline.

Take away: Udemy is a purpose built platform perfect for online learning. 10/10

Closing Thoughts

This was a well rounded course and I RECOMMEND to anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of developing, deploying, and maintaining a web application in Node.js.