Courses or a mentor?
The short answer
Online courses on sites like Udemy and Coursera are an inexpensive way to get good lessons, and they are enough if you can keep going alone. A mentor adds what a recorded course cannot: a path chosen for your goal, review of the code you write, and someone who notices when you stop. For most beginners the best value is a course for the lessons and a mentor for direction and feedback.
ZAM Academy's founder, Azzam Makki, has taught 36,000+ people through his own Udemy courses, so this page is not against courses. It is about knowing what a course can do for you, and what it cannot.
Two private classes, no card. Updated 11 November 2026 by Azzam Makki, founder of ZAM Academy.
The options
Prices from each provider's own page, checked on 11 November 2026. Check the current price before you buy.
Course marketplaces (e.g. Udemy)
You buy individual video courses from many instructors, usually with exercises and a Q&A board. Quality varies by instructor, so read the reviews and preview lessons.
Subscriptions (e.g. Coursera Plus)
Coursera Plus gives access to many of Coursera's courses for one subscription: US$239 a year, or US$35 a month after a 7-day free trial, according to Coursera.
1-on-1 mentor
A mentor decides what you learn next, reviews the code you write, and checks in every week. At ZAM Academy plans run from US$59 a month.
Where courses stop
A course follows its own syllabus. It cannot know your goal, so you end up buying the next course and the one after that.
Exercises have model answers. Your project does not. Nobody in a recorded course reads the code you wrote for your own idea.
Most unfinished courses are not too hard. A busy week breaks the routine and nobody asks where you went.
Using both
What you want to build decides which topics matter and which can wait.
Use a good course for the lessons your mentor points you to, instead of watching everything.
Change the course project or build your own idea with the same skills.
In your weekly session you go through your code, fix what matters, and agree the next step.
Questions
They can be, if you finish them and build your own projects afterwards. Most people who stall do not lack courses. They lack a clear order, feedback on their code and someone checking in.
Coursera lists Coursera Plus at US$239 a year, or US$35 a month after a 7-day free trial (checked 11 November 2026). Coursera runs discounts from time to time, so check its page.
They do different jobs. A course teaches a topic well and cheaply. A mentor plans your path, reviews your code and keeps you going. If you finish courses and build on your own, you may not need a mentor.
A certificate shows you finished a course. Employers mostly check what you can build and explain, so projects online and on GitHub count for more.
Yes. Your mentor starts from where you are and can build your roadmap around good material you already have.
A team of mentors led by Azzam Makki, a full-stack developer whose Udemy courses have taught 36,000+ people. Every student is matched with one mentor who reviews their code every week.
Keep reading
Start with two free classes
The first class maps your goal, level and weekly hours. The second is a real coding session with feedback. Then your mentor recommends one plan, and you decide.
