$25 subscription versus $200

Full disclaimer, I have not taken any of the tech degrees courses ($199) that you mentioned, however, I've plugged into treehouse for a few years now. As far as I'm aware, its the same videos, lessons, etc, however the real value is you get plugged into some solid one on one reviews of projects, and so while you can probably get as good of results staying at the $25 level, you should at a minimum heavily accelerate your time frame in gaining those skills, and probably pick up some additional things along the way. And that curated, fast track one-on-one is very likely worth the additional money, if you can afford it. Understandably, it's not for everyone, but it is nice it's an option. And I think TTH has been able to build a reputation that what they offer is a quality product, and some other techdegree students I've talked to have agreed. Haven't heard anyone wish they hadn't yet.

Shameless self plug, a handful of us treehouse students also hang around this slack channel :http://newdevelopersteam.herokuapp.com, and I know there are a handful of tech degree students that hang around and have some questions for us about what the program is like. You can get yourself an invite email with that link, if you'd like.

We also hang out here, but the slack channel is a nice place for us to just have general chit chat about what we're working on, where the forums here are more question / answer format.

I am considering it when my workload at the job gets more manageable. Looking at the curriculum for the techdegree it looks as though the video content is the same - the main difference is that there are also an additional dozen projects to work on, along with feedback and support from a mentor. And a final exam. The mentor's wages are no doubt where the majority of the additional money goes. If you require several hours of mentorship per month or more then it would seem to be reasonable.

thank you both for your feedback. much appreciated!!!