After taking several courses in various niches from cooking to singing to film scoring, I finally decided to hop on Technology, which is far from my knowledge.
As I was searching for courses online, Pluralsight was the most recommended e-learning platform specifically programmed for technology. It instantly caught my eyes.
So, I decided to take up a few courses and share my experience as a compiled review.
In this article, you’ll find an overview of Pluralsight, who Pluralsight is best suited for, their authors, key features, pros & cons, and many more.
In the end, I share my verdict of “Is Pluralsight worth it or not?”
What is Pluralsight (An overview)
Pluralsight is nothing but an online learning platform focussing on tech-related courses.
The 2004-established skill-developing platform is headquartered in Utah, USA. It emerged as an education company that later decided to expand and introduce various courses on skill development online in 2007.
Since then, the company grew up to be one of the best e-learning platforms today with 1500+ professional instructors, 1700+ dedicated employees, and 7000+ skill-developing courses.
The platform has also partnered with some fast-growing tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and many more.
Pluralsight also offers a skill assessment which they say is not a test but a way to find where you are lacking and also helps in finding the right course to scale up instantly, which I found helpful.
The courses offered by Pluralsight are limitless. Though you can base it all under one common umbrella term as “tech-related,” the categories of courses in Pluralsight are as follows:
- Software development (programming & bug fixing)
- IT operations (administrative processing)
- Cybersecurity (protection of network and data)
- Cloud computing (storing data in an online server)
- Machine learning (building AI and learning)
- Business professional (decision making, strategies and management)
- Creative professional (motion graphics, designing, and rendering)
- Architecture construction (AutoCAD, conceptual fundamentals)
- Data professional (analytics, SQL Server, and more)
NOTE: Pluralsight has added new courses for business and architecture enthusiasts. Watch out!
Who is Pluralsight best suited for?
Over the years, Pluralsight has developed drastically and has introduced multiple courses categorized in a way that it is available to use for anyone from beginner level to advanced level.
If you are into a different niche of learning apart from technology, Pluralsight might not be the right option for you.
Pluralsight has structured its courses, but if you are keen on learning tech-related skills, you got several categories to choose from according to your understanding of the skill.
Is Pluralsight suitable for beginners?
As I was going through Pluralsight courses, I found out that they have divided courses according to the depth of the subject and the difficulty in learning; hence there are three different skill levels, namely Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced was beneficial to choose a course accordingly.
If you are a beginner, you need not worry about the struggles in keeping up with the courses’ difficulties because Pluralsight has made sure to ease it out for their users.
Therefore, I’d say Pluralsight is appropriate for any beginner to take a course on technology.
Pluralsight: Their authors and instructors
The instructors in Pluralsight, considered authors, are professional individuals excelling in various fields of expertise with several years of experience across the world.
They are well-qualified to be teaching courses like software development, IT operations, and many more. Trust me. You might think they will be all formal and strict throughout the course.
Guess what? They are not. They are the most fun and enthusiastic instructors I have met in an online learning platform related to a tech niche.
They break down complex concepts into simple terms and make us understand them better. So, you get to learn the course and also be engaged with the author at the same time.
There are 1500+ professional authors in Pluralsight in diverse fields, and the best part about taking up a course in Pluralsight is that you get to pick your author to teach on any type of category.
Top 5 features of Pluralsight That Stand Out (Updated)
Pluralsight is an e-learning platform with outstanding features and incredible authors. In this section, let me share the best key features that I found interesting in Pluralsight while checking their website.
1. Skill assessment
It is the standard skill IQ test that we take to analyze the skills that we lack in. Still, Pluralsight stepped ahead in helping its users in finding the best solution out of their skill assessment, where they interpret your results and find the appropriate course available in Pluralsight for you.
If you are someone considering Pluralsight but unsure which course to start with, I’d recommend you take their skill assessment.
Also, they don’t charge for this, so why not give it a try?
2. Cloud labs
Cloud lab is a new feature that Pluralsight has come up with. It helps practice cloud developing skills within a pre-configurated cloud environment which is an excellent option for beginners.
They also guide their users with step-by-step instructions with applied credentials. I would say this is the best way to practice what you preach. Literally, I am glad Pluralsight has such a feature for users.
The feature lets users have hands-on learning before they step into the reality of working on projects. Using Cloud labs, you can make a “n” number of mistakes and learn from each of them.
3. Flow
Flow acts as a project manager that tracks the working of your team members and gives complete visibility into the workflow. I used this as a sample with my friends on few projects, and it worked pretty well. I was able to have a better understanding of the work progress.
This would be of great help if any disputes occurred while in the middle of work so that it is taken into consideration and gets resolved as soon as possible. Flow is a great tool.
4. Paths
The path is an excellent feature that acts as a collective of all the necessary skill development courses that you’d want to take in a carefully curated section customized according to specific level knowledge of learning, interest, and strength in a course.
Hands down, I found Paths as the best way to learn courses. It enabled me to track my progress, gave an insight into skill levels, recommended the appropriate in-demand courses, and, most importantly, helped me build up my skill set on a path that eventually enhances my career.
5. Podcasts
This was something foreign to me because I did not expect a learning platform to host podcasts.
Especially on technology, Pluralsight had a different approach towards their users and leveraged this to upscale their potential traffic, which was evident to me.
I enjoyed myself through few podcasts which talked about getting started with Cloud and things related to it. Other podcasts cover topics like becoming a software developer, the state of JavaScript, leadership skills in technology, and many more.
Experienced professionals host the podcasts so you can trust the advice they share.
What are the kind of categories that Pluralsight cover?
Previously, I listed all the categories that Pluralsight offers. Let us look at it a little deeper with some popular and most recommended courses in few categories.
To make it easy for you, I will share the courses that I took to get an idea from someone who had experience with these Pluralsight courses.
There were ten different categories divided in Pluralsight, from developing software skills to managing a business to learning AutoCAD.
Although the courses are grouped into sections of each category, the categories are updated regularly. I heard there are a new set of courses added in software development recently.
Popular Pluralsight courses and paths (recommended)
The courses in Pluralsight were excellently programmed with professional-level teaching. I got to learn from Microsoft engineers, Adobe certified experts, and many more valuable teachers.
For a smooth flow of listing, I’ll recommend the two best courses with difficulty levels in few categories and a follow-up path which could be helpful if you are looking for a path to learn multiple skills at once.
Starting with:
Software Development
1) Introduction to Testing in Java by Richard Warburton
Level: Beginner
Brief: The course poured in-depth knowledge about Java on me with basic understanding since I opted for beginners. I was able to learn about programming, how to code, and the implementation of codes in Java. It was a useful course.
2) Getting started with Web API Test Automation in Java by Andrejs Doronins
Level: Beginner
Brief: The course managed to break down the introduction to Web API, and it also was easier to understand as the teaching was simple yet significant.
Path recommended: Java Language Fundamentals
Total number of courses covered: 21 courses
Time taken: 50 hours
Brief: As the title says, the course covers everything about the Java language. Even if you are a newbie, there is nothing to worry about because each course explains all the tools fresh from the beginning.
IT Ops
3) Fundamentals of Cloud Computing by David Davis
Level: Beginner
Brief: The course talks about the basics of cloud computing and what all should be kept in mind. It also explains how effective of a tool it is in managing data across devices. It was insightful.
4) Software Troubleshooting by Daniel Lachance
Level: Beginner
Brief: The course is all about protecting your system, finding viruses, and software malfunction. You get to learn various ways to tackle situations where you might be facing problems with the software.
Path recommended: Fundamentals of DevSecOps
Total number of courses covered: 4 courses
Time taken: 7 hours
Brief: The perfect path to learn the core subject of DevSecOps. There are only four courses, and combining them all makes it a practical learning module.
5 ways to find the best Pluralsight course:
This might seem like a hack, but it is a genuine effort in finding the right Pluralsight course.
Trust me. I was able to find the appropriate course with one of the ways I’ll be sharing below.
They are:
- Free weekly courses
- Free account
- Free trial
- Role IQ
- Skill IQ
Free weekly courses
A great way to experience the learning in Pluralsight for free is through their free weekly courses program, where they stream a new set of courses by experts every week regularly.
You can use this opportunity to sample through their courses and know how effective it is.
Free account
Unlike every other learning platform, Pluralsight allows users to create an account for free, leading to a library of 50+ free courses pre-installed on the website. You can try out a few of the courses available in the library then decide if you’d like to pay and learn in-depth about the chosen course.
Free trial
An easy choice of accessing all the premium features through a platform is the option of a free trial. Usually, free trials, if not canceled, can be charged later. Likewise, Pluralsight follows the same rule, but you benefit from accessing content offline, video courses, and certificate of completion.
The best part about a free trial is that you get access to the entire platform so make sure to do complete research on their platform before it runs out. The free trial is for ten days only.
Role IQ
The Role IQ is a measurement unit of your skills in relevance to the role that you are looking for. This way, you’ll be classified under levels, which will tell you which courses can be taken according to your knowledge about it. I took this and found out that I should be taking beginner-level courses.
You can use this to understand the difficulty level of courses and which one will suit you.
Skill IQ
The Skill IQ is a follow-up to the Role IQ, which is used as an interpretation to figure out which skills you are lacking and which skills can be gained through Pluralsight. Once you take the skill assessment test, you can take Role IQ to determine which level can be appropriate for the course.
For example, if you take an advanced level course and find it extremely difficult, it is a waste of time and energy. The Role IQ and Skill IQ are two essential things to consider before taking any course.
Does Pluralsight offer any certification after course completion?
A familiar doubt that any user would have about taking an online course is if there is a possibility of receiving a certificate. In Pluralsight’s case, it is possible but not entirely.
It is said that the users who complete any video course entirely in Pluralsight will be acknowledged with a certificate of completion. In contrast, if the user does not follow and skip lessons in-between, the certificate cannot be guaranteed.
Also, it appears to be that certificates offered by Pluralsight do not add any value in terms of acquiring a job or applying for a higher role though it can be considered an accolade.
Will Pluralsight courses help in your career?
Pluralsight is a wonderful option if you try to enhance your career and build up relevant skills accordingly. As I suggested earlier, the Role IQ is a great way to find out the levels you lack so that Pluralsight can recommend an appropriate course based on your understanding of the role.
It results in developing the required skills for a particular job role that you lack and transforms you into a better fit. I would recommend people working in the tech sector take up Role IQ and hop in an appropriate course right away.
Although Pluralsight does not offer a recognizable certificate, it will definitely help you gain the required skills for the given role of your desired career.
Pricing plans: Is Pluralsight affordable? Or expensive?
Pluralsight has created two modules for their pricings namely
- Individual which is sub-divided into
a) Standard – $299 per year
(course library, paths, and skill assessments)
b) Premium – $499 per year
(entire course library, hands-on learning, and expanded courses)
- Team which is classified into three sub-plans
c) Starter – $399 per user/ year (core library)
d) Professional – $579/- per user/ year (basic reporting and user analytics)
e) Enterprise – $779/- per user/ year (advanced analytics and core features)
If you are looking for an individual plan then I’d recommend the Premium Plan and for Team, Professional would be an appropriate option since you get user analytics for all members.
Note: There is a free trial option in all the plans except the Starter plan in Team.
How to get started with Pluralsight?
Getting started with Pluralsight is not a big deal. All you have to do is follow the simple steps listed below:
1. Head to www.pluralsight.com and look for the “Try for Free” option.
2. Click on the option, and you’ll be directed to their pricing plans.
3. Choose the appropriate plan that has the most benefit.
4. You will be asked to enter account details for the chosen plan.
5. Fill in the account details, don’t worry, Pluralsight will not charge until the free trial ends.
6. Note down the number of days left for the free trial.
7. Make the best use of the free trial and cancel it before it ends.
That’s it. You can try out all the features within the free trial period and then decide if you would like to return to Pluralsight and invest in some in-demand courses to enhance your career.
Is Pluralsight suitable for business training?
Although Pluralsight produces courses for business professionals, the platform is known for its top-excelling courses on technology. I mean, even now, they are known for software courses.
The business training courses on Pluralsight can be recommended to remote workers who’d like to know about work culture in a business or get an idea of business knowledge. Other than that, I don’t think Pluralsight is “much of a business-related” learning platform.
So, Pluralsight is less likely suitable for business training, but you can try it for yourself once.
Pros & Cons of Pluralsight:
Every platform has a set of perks to benefit from, while some downsides are overlooked upon. Likewise, in Pluralsight, I noticed few points which I would like to share from my experience.
Pros:
- 24/7 email and phone support.
- Availability of offline downloads.
- Free trial on all the pricing plans.
- Flexible for individuals and businesses.
Cons:
- Chat support is limited to premium users only.
- Courses are only related to technology.
Related Read:
Final verdict – Is Pluralsight worth it?
Taking up Pluralsight was a good decision for a person of no tech-related knowledge.
If I were a computer nerd, then Pluralsight would have been a waste of time for me. I swear.
Pluralsight enabled me to learn Java, cloud computing, Web API, and many more complex concepts in a much easier way by their A-class level experts. The teaching was excellent.
The courses are aimed at self-paced learning, wherein you can take the course and complete it whenever you want. You might be having a job and lacking one of the crucial roles of that job.
With Role IQ offered by Pluralsight, you’ll be able to find that missing part, take an appropriate course recommended by Skill Assessment in Pluralsight, and hopefully develop skills over time.
Pluralsight is absolutely worth it if you are keen on learning about technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Though Pluralsight is not available for free directly, there are several ways to access it for free, like free weekly courses, free accounts, and the best option of a free trial.
Skill IQ and Role IQ are two of the best features in Pluralsight. It helps in finding the right course at an appropriate difficulty level curated specially for you.
Pluralsight is best suited for anyone trying to learn technology online.
Though the features Pluralsight offers are incredible, it is relatively expensive.
Of course, you can cancel your plan at any time when you want.
I’m Ishan from Toronto, dedicated to simplifying online education choices. I explore and review eLearning platforms and courses. My insights are shared on “Enlightened Learning,” helping learners make informed decisions. Passionate about making education accessible and engaging for all.