Top 5 Quick Engineering Certifications Worth Getting


Featured Course: Google AI Essentials by Coursera

Our rating: Best for beginners

Google AI Essentials from Coursera stands out as a flexible, beginner-friendly course that shows how to use generative AI to speed up everyday work tasks, like writing emails, summarizing meetings, or solving math problems.

  • Learn rapid engineering techniques such as low-shot indication.
  • Identify potential biases in generative AI and see how to reduce the damage.
  • Determine if generative AI is right for the tasks you need to perform.
  • Plan ahead to keep up with the rapidly developing field of generative AI.

Earlier this year, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang predicted that generative AI is “closing the technology gap” in part due to rapid engineering, or the ability to derive information and actions from the AI ​​model through language. natural. Programming is still an important skill, he said, but “we all need to learn how to activate AIs.”

What is rapid engineering?

Since generative AI interprets natural language, rapid engineering is the process of structuring and choosing the right words for the model to interpret. Message engineering can be deceptively simple and sometimes involves directly telling the AI ​​model which audience to write for or emphasizing when an element of the message is “really important.” Rapid engineering may seem mysterious, but often there isn't much of what is normally considered engineering involved. However, rapid engineering intersects with many other elements of working with generative AI, all of which involve a lot to explore and learn.

SEE: We have selected the best courses to learn about AI in general.

While there are many courses on rapid engineering, we have chosen modules that specifically result in certificates of completion. You can use these certifications to work towards your career goals. Certifications can be included on your resume to demonstrate initiative and continuing education. We base our selections on reviews, community sentiment, depth and variety of topics offered, and practicality of information.

Other good resources for exploring rapid engineering, which may or may not include certification options, are Learn Prompting and DeepLearning.AI.

Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by Coursera.

Best Fast Track Engineering Certifications: Comparison Table

Course
Cost
Duration
Skill level
Google Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals (Coursera)
$49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.
9 hours
Beginner
The Complete AI Advisory Engineering Boot Camp (2024) (Udemy)
$109.99
around 17 hours
Intermediate
Generative AI Specialization for Data Engineers (Coursera)
$49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.
25 hours
Intermediate
Specialization in rapid engineering (Coursera)
$49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.
36 hours
Intermediate
Generative Artificial Intelligence with LLM (Coursera)
$49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.
15 hours
Intermediate

Google AI Fundamentals: Best for Beginners

The enrollment date will always be the current date. Image: Coursera/TechRepublic screenshot

One of the elements this course covers is “Write clear and specific directions to get the result you want”, but this course is also a good overview of generative AI and results in a certificate of completion. This course and certification were produced as part of Grow with Google, a workforce training initiative; Therefore, you can be sure that Google's quality control is applied to the material.

This course consists of these modules:

  • Introduction to AI.
  • Maximize productivity with AI tools.
  • Discover the art of rapid engineering.
  • Use AI responsibly.
  • Stay ahead of the AI ​​curve.

Prices

This certification requires a Coursera account, which for an individual costs between $49 and $79 per month with a 7-day free trial, depending on the course and plan.

Duration

Coursera states that the course takes 9 hours to complete.

Advantages Cons
  • Google approved.
  • It doesn't take long to complete.
  • Covers a wide range of topics.
  • It doesn't just focus on rapid engineering.
  • Not very technical.

Previous requirements

This course has no prerequisites.

The Complete Rapid Engineering Bootcamp for AI (2024) – Ideal for Established Professionals

Screenshot of the Complete Prompt Engineering for AI Bootcamp course (2024).
Udemy has occasional promotions; The promotional price shown in the image ends on June 27. Image: Udemy/Screenshot from TechRepublic

The Complete Prompts Engineering Course for AI (2024) is one of the most up-to-date Prompts Engineering courses we found on Udemy. The instructors last updated it in May 2024, adding information about the ChatGPT desktop app and other information. This is a hands-on course for programmers: it includes how to use Python, Langchain, the AUTOMATIC1111 stable diffusion manager for image generation, and more to get the most out of generative AI, as well as instructions on how to refine prompts, teach an AI to perform a function and more.

Prices

This course normally costs $109.99, but will sometimes be on sale.

Duration

This course includes 17 hours of video, as well as assignments that you must complete at your own pace.

Advantages Cons
  • Complete and practical.
  • Course materials are updated frequently.
  • The instructors work in the field of rapid engineering.
  • Sample lists of prompts are included in the course materials.
  • Some critics say the content can be repetitive.
  • Relatively expensive.

Previous requirements

To take this course, you must be able to read and write in Python.

Generative AI Specialization for Data Engineers – Ideal for Data Engineers

Screenshot of the Generative AI Specialization course for Data Engineers.
This certification consists of three courses, all taught by IBM professionals. Image: Coursera/TechRepublic screenshot

This specialization results in a certification that certifies that you have completed three courses:

  • Generative AI: Introductions and Applications.
  • Generative AI: Rapid Engineering Basics.
  • Generative AI: Enhance your career in data engineering.

All courses were developed by IBM. We recommend all three courses to get the most out of the certification, but you can choose which topic and time period best suits you.

Prices

All three courses can be accessed through a Coursera subscription for $49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.

Duration

The materials for this certification cover 25 hours in total.

Advantages Cons
  • Taught by IBM professionals.
  • Stay up to date on the tools used in rapid engineering.
  • It covers generative AI from a data engineering perspective, which is useful for complementing an existing skillset.
  • It may be too general for people who are just looking for quick engineering or who are not interested in data engineering.

Previous requirements

People taking the data engineering section should have some experience in data engineering. Introductions to generative AI and rapid engineering require no prerequisites or experience.

Rapid Engineering Specialization – Ideal for people working with ChatGPT

Screenshot of the Rapid Engineering Specialization course.
Completing this specialization requires taking three courses: Rapid Engineering for ChatGPT, ChatGPT Advanced Data Analytics, and Trustworthy Generative AI. Image: Coursera/TechRepublic screenshot

Vanderbilt University's Rapid Engineering Specialization on Coursera includes three courses:

  • Rapid engineering for ChatGPT.
  • ChatGPT Advanced data analysis.
  • Trustworthy generative AI.

We chose this specialization because it focuses on the specifics of rapid engineering with a popular AI application, ChatGPT, but also covers how to produce the most accurate results possible from generative AI in general.

Prices

All three courses can be accessed through a Coursera subscription for $49-$79 per month with a 7-day free trial.

Duration

The materials for this certification cover 36 hours in total.

Advantages Cons
  • Includes sections on AI reliability and hallucinations.
  • Includes practical tasks.
  • Mainly covers ChatGPT.
  • Some content between courses may be repetitive.
  • It may not have been updated recently or extensively (it still refers to Google Gemini as Bard).

Prerequisites

For the advanced data analysis portion of ChatGPT, a ChatGPT+ subscription and access to Code Interpreter are required. If you are taking the Trusted Generative AI course, you should be familiar with other generative AI applications like Google Gemini or Anthropic's Claude.

Generative AI with LLM: Ideal for those using AWS

Screenshot of the Generative AI course with LLM.
This course was created in part by AWS. Image: DeepLearning.AI/Screenshot by TechRepublic

DeepLearning.ai was founded by Andrew Ng, who also co-founded Coursera, and offers a wide variety of free courses, some of which, like this one, are co-hosted on Coursera. This course focuses on using AI with AWS. Includes “advanced prompting techniques” and configuration parameters for generative AI. It may be especially suitable if you already know AWS and want to build and deploy AI with it.

Prices

A Coursera subscription costs between $49 and $79 per month with a 7-day free trial.

Duration

15 hours.

Advantages Cons
  • DeepLearning.AI instructors are generally considered to provide practical information without any nonsense.
  • It focuses on specific practical skills that can be useful if you use AWS in your work.
  • Some reviews note that the “lab” sections use completely pre-built code and do not require the student to create their own.

Previous requirements

This course is suitable for people already working as data scientists, research engineers, or machine learning engineers. You must have some experience working with Python if you want to take this course.

Best overall certification

While the right certification for you will depend on your specific experience and goals, our pick for the best overall certification is The Complete Prompt Engineering for AI Bootcamp because it covers a wide range of topics and contains up-to-date information.

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