If you're interested in FREE ANALYTICS TRAINING, check out my Analytics Career Foundations mini-course at www.tmbanalytics.com/freetraining for more info!
@@mattbrattin Hello Matt, I would like to ask you a question about the case study. Is it just an exercise that you want to do so as to put everything into action or you also had to upload it in order to receive a grade?
I’m just starting my ‘capstone project’ in this course and I must say, it’s a bit overwhelming. I blew through the course in 2 months with awesome grades. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the hands on projects and quizzes. I was feeling really confident going into the final case study portion, but I feel a little blind sided. I’m not quite sure what end result they are after or how to approach it. I’ve been looking at other peoples projects who have taken the same course, and it seems the ones that are readable and streamlined are using coding and programs that weren’t actually taught in this course. I’m brand new to this, looking to switch from a 20+ year career in the service industry. I feel like I just got thrown into the deep end of the pool when I just learned how to doggy paddle. Did any other newbies feel overwhelmed at this stage of the certification process? Any advice is appreciated.
@@shonuff1730 I hear ya! I ended up taking a few more courses through Coursera: excel basics, SQL, and starting a course on Python next. I’m going to come back to the capstone challenge after I finish. I just didn’t feel confident enough to complete the capstone yet, but the more I learn the more confident I become. There’s also a really interesting video from another RU-vidr ‘Alex the Analyst’ where he walks you through a portfolio project on COVID-19 data. It’s more of a step by step portfolio building in video form, which I found very helpful. Good luck!!!
Matt, this was helpful. I recently completed the course and do have some gripes too from an Instructor perspective ( was a Math instructor for about a decade): 1. As a student I felt burned out with the repetitive format although they did mix it up with activities. Mostly I got burned out with the reading. As a suggestion, they should consult with Khan Academy (owned by Google, by the way - maybe they did consult with them?) to come up with a more interactive approach. I used to utilize Khan Academy in my classroom because they do utilize AI to determine what areas of Math students need to work on and establish a personalized curriculum for the individual student.Similarly, they could do that for Adult learners to setup the curriculum for the individual to learn optimally. 2. The Case Study approach: I agree with you 1000% - it's not good to make it optional. However, people have different intentions for taking the course, but it is absolutely necessary to apply it and design something tangible as you state, to connect the dots to make it worth while. Now, personally I feel very overwhelmed with completing the case study - just getting started. So I been checking out the data and been struggling with just uploading it ( perhaps you can provide some suggestions? Been working with Sheets and also Mac Numbers) - maybe I can analyze 3 months instead of 12 to make it easier?. I feel I'm echoing a good percentage of people's frustrations with feeling overwhelmed with getting started. I feel they should've walked us through a Case Study to demonstrate how to do it. I understand part of being an Analyst is to troubleshoot and figure it out, but being new to this would boost our confidence and by walking us through it could make it a requirement. They could have structured it differently to make the process more beneficial and enhance our learning. I felt like they left some of us in the dark with the case study. As for myself, I do have tech experience and am able to troubleshoot but very new to the process of Analysis.
I agree with all your feedback and the amount of folks who have come out after saying exactly what you've said here as well has been pretty telling. I really want to do my own walk through at this point, just need to find the time!
Thanks for this comprehensive review of the certificate!! I liked the way you broke down all eight courses (especially the R one). This is a plus for people who want to get the certificate and land an entry-level opportunity in data analytics. I am starting the 3rd part of the certificate and appreciate how Google is building the course. Thanks again for the great content, and I look forward to your future videos!
Thanks @Marien Abeli for the positive feedback! Glad you've found value in the reviews and best of luck as you work through the program yourself! Definitely chime in with comments if you have questions or additional feedback to add on things maybe I've missed.
I loved your line, "tools don't make the analyst" earlier I am doing the same but after taking this course I get to learn how to "ask right questions" at different stages of Data Analysis. 😃✌️ Thank you Matt😇
Thank you for sharing your insights on this course. I just completed Courses 1-7, started Course 8 yesterday and wanted to hear what others thought about it. " Tools dont make the Analyst. Analyst uses the tools"...great way to put it!
Thank You Matt! I had been plagued by imposter syndrome for few months getting through this course. Your review helped me put things in perspective and I've walked away hungrier to improve my skills in Data Analytics. I've enrolled in one of your courses on the subject and I'm excited to see improvement in my career because of the value you add to this industry. Many Thanks & may God bless you, your business and your family!
Wow! Incredibly kind words, thank you so much. It's so nice to know you've found value in the content and it's pushing you to continue on the learning journey!
I'm so grateful and thankful for this and you. Thank you so much for encouraging people like me who are trying so hard for a career change. I got so disappointed last couple weeks after reading all the bad review on the course, tho I know better to not do that. I'm on course 6 of this certificate now, and tbh coming from a different industry to try to study on my own and understand the material that I can tell this is a great course to start like you mention many times. Just want to let it out there for everyone who is trying for a career change like me to believe in themselves and just do it. cheers!
I’m also working towards a carrier change and feeling discouraged this week. Watching videos like this and reading messages from people like you who are (or were) going through the same thing really helps provide a bit of encouragement and understanding, Thank you! Wishing you success in all of your future endeavors!
I appreciate your comments on the actual hiring process for new analysts. It makes me feel a little less stressed, and a little more competant, because this capstone project is really making me reasses my abilities right now! I enjoyed the course and felt like I had a pretty good understanding up till now. But like you mentioned in one of your comments it's a pretty big leap that the capstone project expects you to make. It's not supposed to be easy.. I actually think I will create my own case study after watching your video.. something I am actually more passionate about and not the same as all the other newbie analysts.
Matt, shot a lot!!! I'm all the way in South Africa and your videos have been a joy to watch. I'm personally starting course 7 at the moment and you've made this learning journey a lot more pleasant! Keep it up mfowethu!!!!!!
Loved this video. I'm on course 4. Pivoting from a role as an Ops Manager in the food service business to hopefully a data analyst position. My position entails a lot of data analysis, but I'm enjoying the deep dive on the technical side. Glad to have subbed. Looking forward to more
I'm working on the capstone right now. Cyclistic just has too much data. Not doable unless data is reduced. On the second one, Bellabeat, data is meaningless to me. The business question is too broad. I'll see if I can do my own project. That said, this whole thing is a pain in the ass.
Thank you for walking through the Capstone module! Honestly, I was dragging my feet a little bit on the R module because I was anxious of the possible intensity of the capstone. Now I realize it's what you make of it!
100% @willenaraines4596 - it can get as intense or involved as you want it to be. The key will be using it as an opportunity to try new things and test your learning in a low-risk environment. Have fun with it!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this course @Matt! I love the way you have dive into insightful details about how to take advantage of this course! You have added value to Google's material by sharing your own experience in the field! You're AWESOME! Keep rocking! 🚀🚀🚀
@Giovanna Galleno! Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm very happy to know you saw some value in what I've shared and always wonderful to see your uplifting commentary. You are most definitely AWESOME!
I absolutely have LOVED this course. I am on my capstone now... and am going to work on 3 different projects for my portfolio. The ONE thing that SADDENS me is that I will not be able to get my certificate. I AM however screenshoting every finished course to prove to potential employer that I have completed all 8... 7 now... just finishing these projects!!❤️
This is just what I needed, really: Track 1. For someone like me who is a slow learner, I prefer to be guided; this would greatly help me once I reach course 8. I'm currently on course 4 and working my way up to that certificate. Kudos to those who took Track 2. But for me, I'd rather go to Track 1 and be guided in my journey to the finish line.
Wow! Yeah it's a lot. I used PowerQuery to grab several months at one point and it was over 2m rows, but was handling it just fine. I would still like to make a video walking through how it'd approach it, but haven't had the time.
Thank you Matt. I feel like I needed a little more clarity before diving all in. I'm excited to finish it up and start looking for work! I really needed to re-think how I communicate my technical skills. It is cringe looking back and knowing your Data Analytics "skills" was using "Tableau, excel and SQL before." so captivating in interviews.... NOT haha.
When it comes to interviews I always say you need to be ready to go into the weeds, but rarely should you initiate. Keep things high level and work your way down whenever possible.
Great video! Thank you for breaking the last project down. I just started the program 4 days ago and I am cruising through it; I am already planning ahead and wondering if you had any recommendations (of course I will binge on your content asap)! I saw Coursera had an "Advance DA certificate", Introduction to R or SQL courses etc... Thank you
I guess it depends on your goals - if you like the program then the advanced one might be a good option for you. If you have other interests more specific that you want to explore there are a lot of great instructors out there who cover R (like Matt Dancho) and SQL (like Danny Ma).
Hi Matt, new subscriber here. Glad I found your channel. You're giving helpful advice. I'm also doing the course and are about to start on the Capstone course. Like others, I feel a little overwhelmed too and I will check out some of your other videos.
Glad you found the channel too and that you're finding it helpful. Yeah I have plans to create an update (or two) on the Google Cert going more in depth on the capstone and talking more openly about a lot of the feedback I've received since this came out. It's normal to feel a bit overwhelmed tackling something new, but the capstone also wasn't setup in an ideal way to offer the kind of support I believe the students needed.
Please do make those videos even if very basic. I’m at course 5 and I’m now very panicked about whether I’ll be able to do the capstone. I’m looking for a career change and going from zero. I’ve powered through it all so far but now I’m not sure if I should continue or change if i can’t finish. I watched your whole video series on this certificate and subscribed. Thank you so much!
Greetings Matt Brattin, thanks for making this video, indeed it is very helpful. I don't have relative field experience in data analytics. Now im planning to enrol for this course. Subscriber from India
Hopefully someone can help me. I'm having an issue with importing all the bike data in any of the 3 databases. Its too much for all sql, sheets, and r. How am I supposed to analyze the data if I can even get all the data in a database without the software crashing
@@mattbrattin yes please do a video for us there is none out there walking you through projects. And it’s like I know I’m good at Asking questions etc. to get the common goal for the project , SQL and I love R but I just don’t know how to bring it all together when starting a project. Maybe we’re thinking too deep into it but I think the google Cert. was a bit too many definitions and not enough bringing things all together.
Certificate not generated for 3 and 4th course. However certificate generated for 1st and 2nd course. Doing it on financial aid, finished each course 100%.
Being from an accounting background (CPA), having no Computer science/diploma credentials, and wanting to transition to a Data Analyst role, I am not so sure if I should enroll in this course? I already have a Tableau Specialist Desktop Certification and have spent considerable time/effort self-learning Python (Pandas, Matplotlib libraries), actively doing projects to showcase my skill, and posting it on Github and Tableau Public Profile. I somehow feel, and as you mentioned in the video, having a portfolio that you can talk about to a recruiter has a better impact than having a certificate alone. BTW, thanks for making the video on the topic.👍👏👏
Sounds like you've got a pretty solid profile as it stands, I agree and am not sure this program would be the best use of your time. If you're looking to get into analytics you should be able to apply confidently already!
I'm a complete newbie to the DA/Tech world. What are some tips for a brand new person trying to break into the tech world? And how to limit feeling like you're drowning during work.
Thanks for the comment @Chaz Rooks - it's a great question because it's not easy to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed. My guidance would be to try to take a very practical approach and get fairly specific around the things you want to learn and why. For example, if you want to get into financial analytics, then focus on learning some basic financial principles and key metrics important to financial operations. For marketing analytics, business intelligence, data science, etc - just zero in on what you want to do and only focus on skills or topics that pertain to that area to start. It takes a long time to learn any one of these things to a high level, but basic proficiency can be attained within a reasonable time if you come in with intent and focus.
You got this! When in doubt, just start small. Grab some of the data, and just start playing with it. No pressure, just get familiar with it. Look at the headings, re-read the request, have fun!
Hi Matt. Thank you very much for publishing this video. I am currently in week 3 of the Course and from my experience so far it has been great. I'm coming from a technical background in the Marine Corps so learning these new concepts has been a nice experience outside of my Computer Science degree studies. If I may ask, what would you recommend as the next knowledge stepping stone after this for someone trying to round out any potential shortfalls of this course to be more "job ready"? Thank you.
Hi @Anthony Nishiyama, Glad to hear you're enjoying the program! Next steps really depend on where you're headed, so if you're trying to land an Analytics role - Sr. or otherwise - just based on your experience and background you may very well be ready through this program. I'd caution you against waiting to collect all the skills and tools everyone touts as needing to master before even getting into a role, as it's rarely that straight forward and this program gives you enough exposure to speak intelligently about those things. Honestly I'd start dipping my toes into the job market and see if you start getting any bites. Also, there's an excellent network out there for veterans out there - I just sent you an invite on Linkedin and I could introduce you to some folks who might be able to point you in the right direction.
@@mattbrattin Hi Matt, thank you very much for the reply. In terms of my pathway, as this will be a transition from my former career I will be getting into an entry level analytics role. I'll be sure to confirm your invite on LinkedIn. Thank you very much for the assistance. Cheers!
Hi Mr Matt Brattin. I have a very important question that could impact my decision in the near future. Should I spend 3 years in college getting Data Analysis degree or should I take these courses for 3 years in chronological order, note that some of the courses are data science just to get the best of two worlds :D. 1- Google data analysis 2- University of Pennsylvania Business Analytics Specialization 3- University of Pennsylvania Finance & Quantitative Modeling for Analysts Specialization 4- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate 5- Johns Hopkins University Data Science Specialization 6- University of Michigan Applied Data Science with Python Specialization I could save so much money for not going to college but im worried that employers will require university degree.
Hi Abdullah, do you have an existing degree in any field? I'm not very familiar with each of those courses, but judging by the names and who is issuing them I'm sure they're all quite good. The issue is, by taking all of these it'll make you look like a certificate collector, and not necessarily have the impact I think you're wanting to have - which I assume is to land a job in Analytics?
@@mattbrattin I only have diploma in business administration but due to covid I didn't continue after the diploma for 2 years. Currently Im in Analyze Data To Answer Questions in Google Data Analytics. The reason I mentioned these certificates is because they are very cheap and don't know if i can land a job with only google certificate. Also, I wanted to learn different programs like python and have more knowledge about Data in general. Like u said in the video, you prefer to hire someone who knows what he talks about. Im not interested in collecting the certificates if I just speed run without learning anything and sadly dont know how to make an impact in analytics since no one I know in this field. Lastly, Im a foreigner who lives in middle east so I don't have the advantages as the locals. Sry if its too long of an essay :D.
@@abdullahbinmadhi8306 I appreciate and respect you for sharing that - I don't claim to know anything about the job market in SA. Are you active on Linkedin? If we're not already connected, add me at www.linkedin.com/in/mattbrattin and maybe we can chat a little there?
Abdullah, please don't worry about the money, there is a lot that you gain by going to college, you will not only learn data analysis, you will also learn communication, English, History and all courses that will help you be a well rounded person. My advice to you is if you can afford it, try and get a B.Sc degree, I know you said that you completed a diploma, that is good. Also, you will make life long friends in college. I cannot say how important a college degree is, if you cannot afford it, it is a different story.
To also add, yes, employers will always require a degree. You can study a different field in college like accounting, finance or business majors in general and take maybe 3 of the courses you listed.
Hi Matt, thank you so much, as always for your time and thoughtful analysis of these courses. I have this one and the one on R to complete and I’ll be finished. I’m very interested in the Excel test you were giving to candidates. I may have missed the link to that? Again, thanks as always for your on-point content!
Hi @Laura K, glad you found the videos valuable and it sounds like you're getting close on the program, so great work! The Excel test I have as both a stand-alone walk-through in my Excel Fundamentals course, and as a bonus in my Interview Secrets Workshop. Both are 50% off right now at the links below: Excel Fundamentals - www.tmbanalytics.com/offers/dDU5txwv?coupon_code=CAREERLAUNCH Analytics Interview Secrets - www.tmbanalytics.com/offers/a3izUeor?coupon_code=CAREERLAUNCH Let me know if you have any questions!
thanks for this video. i finished it but i fell lost about capstone project yes, i think there was too much excel and less about others, R part was diffcult for me, very general information i don't feel prepare to do it :( but i will try later, when i learn more about SQL and R
Hello Matt, I just entered my capstone phase but I actually wanted to talk about the course in whole I started this course because i feel i was lacking 2 things: 1. asking the right questions 2. getting insights from the data to then eventually act on the data I fell that this course fails to expand on these two critical subjects, for one leads to another and the added value CEOs see from an analyst is if that person can translate data into money. because at the end of the day, that's what we need to do. ETL data into money for the company. and i fail to do that. so, on that subject, do you know of a course that can boost my insights ability to find how I can make a company more profitable, and therefore make me a abetter analyst? thanks
Great observation @Adam Ben kiki. I would consider what you're asking to be the kinds of questions one would ask who is prepared for more senior roles, not necessarily beginners as this course is aimed at. So, I'm not surprised it's not covered in this course, as it's more foundational. If you're on Linkedin, send me a connection request and maybe we can chat more about this. My Analytics Career Access program has a practicum component that works through various projects with a very financial lens, but the questions part is interesting and not something I hit hard in the program...but it's mine, so I can change that!
Thank you so much for doing these videos, Matt!! I really appreciate it. The big question now (to be clear): would *you* hire someone who is transitioning into Data Analytics who completed this certificate program? Assuming, of course, they can speak intelligently about all of the subject matter. It sounds like you are saying "yes," but I just want to be clear.
Glad you enjoyed it, and yes, if I were hiring a Jr Analyst and someone had completed this program and could speak intelligently and with clear comprehension of the topics, for sure they would be a contender for the role.
It's hard to say because this will depend on each individual and how hard they want to hit it. Some will want to really build out a thorough project and it'll take a few days of dedicated time, while others will spend a few hours and get what they want out of it. This is ungraded, so it's really up to you and how much learning you want to try to extract from the program
Hi Matt, thanks for your helpful videos and reviews, I'm taking this course and I'm still in course 2 about asking questions, I feel it's boring and I didn't get that experience in it, is that ok to continue? And I would like to ask you how can I get hands-on experience from the course? How can I practice it and get experience to find good opportunity and build a portfolio, waiting for your advice
The hands on experience really starts after the second course as it gets into spreadsheets and SQL, so keep going and you'll find yourself getting hands-on in no time. Tableau and R are isolated to their own courses (6 & 7).
I have completed this course but the capstone project doesn’t look like it’s for beginners. So quick question yea. There is plenty of datasets don’t even know what to do with it. There is like many files for month of January with different datas in it. How do i even cleaning? Will i clean each dataset differently ?
Yeah the capstone isn't necessarily a good one for beginners based on what I've seen and heard at this point. I plan to do a walk through soon of the cycle project, so hopefully that'll help some folks out.
Just wrapped up my certificate and thanks for the videos which I found helpful as I progressed through the course. Do you know if there is a quick way to keep/download the material for later use? So much content that I don't want to lose access too. Any tips very welcome. Thanks
@Daniel Temple I actually do not know. I will say once my subscription expired and I realized I'd lost all access I was pretty bummed. I'll have to look into this, but wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a proper "quick" way to collect the material.
such dope content , i guess my question is how do i build on this? Am thinking of doing the ibm certificate so that i can showcase my python skills , but how can i build my accreditations to a degree certificate? Any suggestions ?
Does Coursera/Google review your capstone project after you complete it? I'm asking because if that's not the case, I'd probably write it in my native language and not in english.
Where did you even see other people's projects? The "share your work forum" that appears to me on week 2 is full of people commenting just a dot ( - ) I have absolutely zero benchmark as to how I even start doing this project. ANY, literally ANY company where you start working as a junior will tell you to analyze something concrete, not dump 25Mb of data onto you and say "see what you can find, good luck". How do I even start "asking questions" if I haven't seen the data? I mean, there are all the raw data files, but so what? Seems ridiculously counterintuitive, because every data is collected with a PURPOSE, and here you need to find a purpose by rummaging through data. The ONLY guidance they give you is a word document talking about the products the company offers, ZERO insights on how to start or what to do. I honestly wanted to see an example of how a project is done, even if with a different case study, so that I can start with this. If I can see an example of a project I would be very grateful
Yeah this one didn't age well for me as I came to see A LOT of people sharing your frustration. I have it on my to-do list to actually work through the case as an example. The problem I had with a lot of the results I saw were people just taking the data and visualizing it, fairly aimlessly. I believe (if I recall) the prompt for the bike exercise was to come up with a marketing strategy (which itself is a silly ask of a data analyst), so by attacking the data from that perspective what are some things you'd want to know/understand. I have a lot of thoughts here...guess I should make a video!
@@mattbrattin Wow, thanks so much for replying! I thought that no one would ever see this comment on a video from 2 years ago, let alone the creator! I thought I was actually replying to @danielleneversaid267 's comment as she said "I’ve been looking at other peoples projects who have taken the same course, and it seems the ones that are readable and streamlined are using coding and programs that weren’t actually taught in this course.". But yes, you also mentioned in your video that Path 2 was full of people mindlessly copying others' work. It would be very nice to have any sort of guidance / tutorial, for instance: 1) How do you even get started - download the data(?) - open RStudio and create a blank project there (?) - install the packages(?) - and even talking about which packages would be interesting to install or learn more about (Is that it? Is that how you start? I don't even know how to visualize the zip file they asked us to download from Keggle. Even in the penguin examples, there was always a specific .csv to open on RStudio) 2) How to start visualizing the data to start asking yourself questions (you're not saying what questions to ask, but just showing the data and guiding through possible routes 3) How to come up with questions by looking at the data (if that is the order of work, I mean, I have no idea, I'm just giving examples) 4) etc Like, something really basic, so that people who are from completely different areas and are doing this for the 1st time ever, and were bored to death for 6 "theory" modules on the definition of concepts can follow along, but coming up with their own conclusions and analysis, of course. I literally don't even know where to start, what to do. I can't even "copy other people's results", because people are simply uploading their powerpoint presentations, not their actual work process.
You can find the bike data here: divvy-tripdata.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html I did not do the other case study though, so I'm not sure where that data set is.
No, it's all just added support if you need/want it. Learning journals can be helpful for retention, otherwise it's up to you if you want to do these things.
There's nothing stopping you from doing that if you feel so compelled. It's not a bad idea either if you're really wanting to get some reps in on project work and play with data.
Depends on the job market you're after, but I'd always start by knowing what it is specifically you want to pursue, doing research to see who is hiring for that, then making connections on Linkedin to gather more intel about how to get your foot in the door.
Hi Matt. I'm trying to finish the capstone for the bike or exercise apps and I noticed the files were too big for excel one drive. The bike case study has datasets over 100mb and it won't load. So then I tried the exercise app one, which has smaller files, but I think I need to combine them and that will also make them too large for google one drive on excel to open. Any advice?
Halfway through an MBA now, but also started this course. Will this be good for Business Analytics? Will the MBA help start at a mid level Data Analytics career instead of a junior position? Thanks!
It honestly depends on the company and the role. After my MBA I was recruited into what might be classified as a mid- level role, but it was a larger company with those levels. So, it'll be a matter of looking for a role that says 'MBA or Master's preferred'
Hi @Amit Nanjannavar - It makes you enroll in each course along the path. So, when you sign up and complete a course, you have to go back to the program and enroll in the next one. It's all the same program, but the courses are still individualized and you have to register for each. Hope that makes sense.
Hi Matt! I'm doing the Track 1 Project. I've completed the data cleaning process in Excel and have loaded the individual monthly CSV files (202004-divvy-tripdata, 202005-divvy-tripdata,202006-divvy-tripdata,202007-divvy-tripdata, etc.) into a dataset named "Cyclistics" in BigQuery Sandbox. I want to merge whole individual tables into a single CSV file using SQL and then load it into tableau for visualization. I'm using tableau public and takes only single CSV file as an input, can't load multiple CSV file. I don't have tableau Desktop else I would have loaded the whole SQL file into Tableau. Is there any other way I can merge those multiple monthly tables into a single Annual table.
Have you tried using PowerQuery in Excel? You can append/merge data sets in there and process things much faster, and larger data sets. Might be worth a try.
Do you think this certification is enough to get an internship ? By the way teamtreehouse just released a Data analysis techdegree, can you take a look please ?
@Joseph Guardian, I honestly believe that it can help make one's candidature more competitive, so in that regard yes. But, the caveat is how much you truly take away from the course and how well you can convey what you've learned to prospective employers.
sir, only 1 doubt . will i get a job as junior analyst or something similar roles after completing this course as i am btech computer science graduate. or whether we must add on some other certifications or internships to this
Hi @Gautham Krishna, while I nor Google could guarantee anyone's ability to secure a job after the program, it does arm you with very good skills and exposure to experiences that should aid you in the process during your job hunt. I would focus first on the roles you're trying to land and if you see skills that you think need to be refined then seek them out to help make you more competitive, but that doesn't mean you can't at least apply and see what happens.
Do I need to keep my subscription going for course 8? I'm going to start week 4 of course 7 soon but my schedule has become super busy lately and I don't know when I'll be able to finish the whole thing. If not, once I finish course 7, I might have to cancel the subscription and come back later
Yeah you can, if you grab the data (some, if not all, is actually publicly available) and copy the synopsis you can run with it. You'd need to get your cert before letting it expire, though.
Believe me, it isn't my preference to have my mug all over the place, it's because I've read research indicating that people prefer having that connection throughout the video. I tried to ensure it was in the least obstructive location, but your feedback is noted.
