4 Reasons Why Codecademy Pro Is Worth It

Even though Codecademy is filled with free resources, only with a paid plan can users access the platform in its entirety. So, in addition to the free plan called Basic, there are Plus and Pro. These plans are for individuals, but Codecademy also has a dedicated one for teams to learn together.

When scaling up from Basic to Plus, users have access to all courses and much more. However, if your top priority is to land a job in tech, then a Pro membership may be just what you need.

Codecademy Free vs Plus vs Pro

With Basic, learners can enjoy limited access to courses, learning resources, and exercises on the mobile app. The Plus membership lifts all these restrictions and adds valuable features, such as auto-graded quizzes, curated learning paths to develop a specific skill, access to portfolio-building projects, and certificates of completion.

In addition to everything Basic and Plus offer, Pro users take advantage of features specifically designed to help them get their next job and develop a career in tech. Plus, Pro learners can receive professional certifications, take technical interview prep courses, and gain knowledge and experience in a specific tech job.

The added bonuses are the code challenges based on real-world technical interviews, career services, and assessments. All these resources are essential for you to boost your progress toward job readiness. Additionally, it’s worth noting that college students are eligible to get 55% off the Pro plan.

Moreover, all plans offer access to Codecademy’s community support on Discord. Still, Plus and Pro users have priority support when contacting the team, receiving a response within 12 hours or less.

What makes Codecademy Pro worth it

What makes Codecademy Pro worth it depends on which goals you want to reach by learning how to code. If your priorities are to slowly get to know the tech world and build coding skills, then Basic or Plus may be enough.

However, signing up for a Pro plan is worth it if your main objectives are to develop a career path, practice code challenges recruiters are asking for, prepare for interviews, and get personalized career services.

Career paths

Career paths are a unique service Codecademy provides for those who already have a tech profession in mind. The platform guides users through the knowledge they need to develop their target careers. Users can choose between 12 career paths to learn the ropes of becoming a Full-Stack, Front-End, or Back-End Engineer, Computer or Data Scientist, and iOS Developer.

For example, if you wish to become a Data Scientist, curated learning paths prepare you to reach this goal. The ‘Data Scientist: Machine Learning Specialist’ career path provides lessons that teach enrolled users the skills to analyze data, draw predictions with machine learning, and much more.

Plus, users build their portfolio along the way with projects that prove they’re job-ready. Giving the final flourish is the professional certificate of completion users get when finishing the path.

Technical interview prep courses

Once you feel confident about the knowledge you’ve acquired, it’s time to apply for jobs and prepare for the selection process. Pro users get ahead of the competition by taking courses that teach what to expect from a tech industry job interview.

The courses are designed to help users understand the technical interview process, get ready to answer questions, and talk the interviewer through their skills. This preparation is essential, as it builds your confidence so you’ll feel equipped to prove you’re right for the job.

The Data Scientist Interview Preparation guides users throughout the job hunt for entry-level data scientist positions. The course teaches aspiring data scientists how to navigate through job postings, build a portfolio, and answer specific area-related questions. Still, various interview prep courses are available for other areas, including Interview Practice and Pass the Technical Interview with Java, JavaScript, and Python.

Code challenges

Another reason to scale up to Pro is that the code challenges are the perfect way for you to prepare for knowledge tests, which are standard practice during recruitment processes. There are over 50 challenges based on real-world technical interviews. Keep in mind that there are only Python, Java, and JavaScript practice tests.

The challenges are shown in the form of an instructional prompt on the left panel. Then, users can complete their code and test it on the panel to the right. The platform checks how much of the code passes the test and based on this assessment, recommends courses that you should focus on learning next.

Professional certification

Getting your first job is a challenging task. Coding newbies often feel downhearted when trying to land their first job, as the market requires experience. However, to have the necessary experience, you need to have a job.

This demotivating job-searching cycle can be broken if you prove you have the skills to perform the role you applied for, even though you don’t have the formal experience yet. This is when professional certifications come in. When learners finish a career path and pass all the exams, they get a professional certification to prove their proficiency as a Full-Stack Developer, for example.

Moreover, it’s important to note that professional certifications differ from the certificates of completion provided for Plus subscribers. While the latter is only a document that shows you’ve completed a course, the former certifies your expertise through a rigorous exam process based on industry-standard core competencies. Only Pro users can earn a professional certification.

Codecademy Pro success stories

Kailie Arbeau used to work as a youth support worker at a group home. While taking a UX design course, she decided that just designing wasn’t enough for her. She was determined to build a website, so she signed up for Codecademy Pro and committed. She took the HTML, Learn CSS, and Learn JavasScript courses and followed the Front-End Engineer career path.

Codecademy’s Pro Career Paths perfectly matched Kailie’s learning style. She wasn’t the most disciplined person, but she did stick to a program when she had one. So, following the Front-End Engineer Career Path program was essential for Kailie to maintain a learning routine. After applying for many jobs and getting support from the Codecademy group on Discord, she managed to get her first job as a web developer.

Like Kailie, Juan Paredes also counted on Codecademy Pro to switch careers and land a job in tech. He used to work as a Sales Representative and decided to kick off his coding journey with Codecademy’s free JavaScript course.

Later, Juan scaled up to a paid subscription to start the Front-End career path and was hired as a developer before finishing the program. From upgrading to Pro to getting hired took him only five months. Nowadays, Juan still goes back to Codecademy documentation to find information because ‘it’s very organized’, in his words.

Codecademy Pro is worth the hype

Kailie and Juan’s stories reinforce that Codecademy Pro’s features provide you with the resources needed to acquire coding skills and carve your way into the tech industry. The career paths, which were crucial to their learning process, make it easy to follow a program and know what to focus on.

Alongside the paths, the technical interview prep courses give you the confidence needed to make a good first impression, and code challenges test your knowledge and tell you the areas you need to improve. At last, professional certifications help you prove your expertise. These are the reasons that make Codecademy Pro worth the investment.

All in all, Codecademy is best for individuals looking to build coding skills, and Codecademy Pro is the go-to plan to land a job in tech. Go for the annual subscription to get an amazing 50% discount compared to its respective monthly price.