Monday, October 21, 2024

Review - Is Java Programming & Software Engineering Fundamentals Certification on Coursera worth it?

Hello guys, if you want to learn Java and look for the best Java courses online, you have come to the right place.  Earlier, I have shared the best Java Programming courses, and today, I am going to review Java Programming and Software Engineer Fundamentals course from Coursera. This is one of the top Java courses from Coursera, and more than 180K students have already joined this course. This course is offered by Duke University, and it also offers a certification after completing all modules of the course and doing the project on the final module. While the social proof is enough to join this course, we'll review this course on different parameters like Instructor quality, course structure, content, etc., to help you make an informed decision.
Software engineering is probably the most important role or job in every industry, especially for businesses that highly depend on computers and websites. 

Companies use different programming languages to serve their needs, like Swift for iOS and macOS application and every language serve a certain platform, but Java is special. 

With Java, you can write a single code and work on many platforms like Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Java is a modern programming language that supports OOP (object-oriented programming) and was invented in 1995 by oracle corporation. It can be used in any platform that runs java like windows, Linux, or macOS and is used in the android application.

Thankfully, many courses out there to learn Java programming language on different platforms like Udemy, Educative, Pluralsight, Skillshare, edX, and more, but I have found a course offered by Duke University through the Coursera platform, and you are now reading this review for that course. 




Review - Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals Specialization Coursera - Is it worth it in 2025?

Now that you know how important and beneficial learning the Java Programming language can be, it's time to find out how this course can help you become a Java developer in 2025. 

This is one of the most popular Java courses on Coursera and its specialization, which means you will get a certificate from Coursera after completing the course and project, which you can showcase in your CV and LinkedIn Profile. 

1. The Instructor Reputation

The course is created by four instructors from Duke University, and here in this section, I’m going to discuss in brief the reputation of every instructor so let’s start with the first one:

Susan H. Rodger: She got her Ph.D. and M.S from Purdue University in computer science. She is a professor in the computer science department at Duck University and worked on many different computer projects.

Robert Duvall: He taught at this university for over 15 years, is a lecturer in the Duck university computer science department, and holds an MS degree in computer science from Brown University.

Owen Astrachan: One of the best professors at Duck University with over 25 years of experience teaching students computer science, and he helped create some projects related to computer science.

Andrew D. Hilton: a prior advisory at IBM, a teacher at Duck university since 2012, and an associate professor in this university at electrical and computer engineering. 

If you are in a hurry and want to check out the course now, here is the link to learn more about this course on the Coursera platform - Java Programming and Sofware Engineering Fundamental Specialization

Coursera's Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals Specialization Review




2. The Specialization Content and Structure

The specialization contains many courses geared toward beginners until you acquire the skills to create programs that can solve complex real-world problems. You can also join these courses for free for learning. So let’s explore the specialization content: 

2.1. Programming Foundations with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS

This is the first course of this Java specialization, but interestingly, it teaches programming foundations using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which is great for Java web developers.

 Being a programmer, not only as all people think about creating programs but also solving real-world problems, and the most important thing like a computer so you can program it to solve certain issues. 

This small course will teach you the concepts of some other languages like Javascript and creating simple web pages using HTML/CSS. More than 400K students have already joined this course. 

free programming foundation course




2.2. Java Programming: Solving Problems with Software

After understanding how to think like a programmer and some foundation concepts, you will start learning the Java language like the loops, functions, variables, creating classes, and much more stuff, and building some simple programs. 

More than 200K students have joined this course to learn Java programming, and you can also join this particular course for free, but you need to pay for certification. 

free java programming course for beginners



2.3. Java Programming: Arrays, Lists, and Structured Data

You have learned many things in the previous course but still not everything. This course will introduce you to arrays, lists, and structured data, and you will build a program that encrypts data and decrypts them. 

This is an important course because it touches the Java Collection framework, which provides standard implementations of several key data structures like an array, list, set, and map. A good understanding of this module is required to use Java in your professional and day-to-day work. More than 100K people have joined this free course. 

free java collection course for beginners




2.4. Java Programming: Principles of Software Design

After learning many things about the Java language, you will try to create an application that solves real-world problems using the interface. One of the projects is a simple program that analyzes and sorts the earthquake data. 

Software design is a difficult topic to master but yet very important one. There are few free courses to learn Software design, but you can use this one to refresh your software design skills or learn from scratch. 

free software design course for Java programmers



2.5. Java Programming: Build a Recommendation System

There is no better way to learn than by building projects, and this last module of Coursera's most popular Java certification program asks you to create projects. You have achieved a lot, and to prove that you understand Java very well, you will create a recommender system as you see in big companies’ services such as Netflix and Amazon. 

This is a very interesting project for Java programmers as you will work with data from movies, and create a recommendation system using that data.  I highly recommend every Java programmer to try out this project and improve their Java and software development skills. 

best Java project for beginners



3. People Review

This Coursera specialization is probably one o the best courses to learn the foundation of programming and the Java language. The course rating of 4.6 scores and has more than 186k students enrollments proving that it is worth your time and effort to take this course and start a career as a software engineer in the Java language.

The statistics show that 42% of the students started a new career after completing the specialization, and 17% increased their payment or a promotion. 


best Java Course on Coursera



That's all about Coursera's popular Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamental Specialization. This article reviewed one of the greatest courses to learn programming concepts and how to think like a computer and the Java language that becomes more popular day after day, and now you are one step to start your new career. 

So what you are waiting for? Join this course and become a Java developer in 2025.


 Other Java Programming Articles you may like to explore

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you find my review of Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals Specialization by Duke University on Coursera, then please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you are keen to learn Java but can't afford this course and looking for free online training courses to learn Java, I highly recommend you to check out  Java Tutorial for Complete Beginners(FREE) on Udemy. This course is completely free, and more than 1 million developers have joined this course to learn Java for FREE. 

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