During the third decade of the 21st century, the world has gradually moved toward digitization and automation. Such technologies have created disruptions in every business domain, causing many companies to face substantial challenges like never before.
RPA, or Robotic Process Automation, is one of those innovations that spearhead the change. More and more companies are now utilizing RPA solutions to automate laborious tasks, boost productivity, and obtain an edge over their late-adopter competitors.
As adoption grows, there is an increased demand for skilled professionals to create and manage the RPA structure. Undoubtedly, RPA, as a career skill, is now highly lucrative. According to Ziprecruiter, RPA professionals in the US earn $114,737 on average.
Hence, if you are interested in a tech career, RPA is an excellent career option for 2023 and beyond.
Getting started with RPA is not too challenging. You can take one of the best RPA courses online and kickstart using RPA tools in no time. However, not all RPA courses are worth investing your time in. The article will then help you separate the wheat from the chaff, so you can save hours of finding the right course.
Affiliate Disclosure: This article from Victory Tale contains affiliate links. We will receive a small commission from our partners if you enroll in their courses through them.
Nonetheless, we always value integrity and prioritize our audience’s interests. Hence, you can rest assured that we will present each course truthfully.
Things You Should Know
Prerequisites
You do not have an IT/tech background for RPA courses. However, knowledge of the following would be beneficial:
- Programming and scripting in any language, but C# is preferred
- Microsoft applications and .NET Framework
However, since most courses use UiPath and Automation Anywhere, you will need a Windows PC to take them.
Criteria
Below are the criteria for the best RPA courses:
1. Become an RPA Developer
Course Discontinued
Not available in 2024
Created in collaboration with UiPath, this Nanodegree program from Udacity is unarguably one of the best RPA training available. You will learn from a team of experts and receive comprehensive support and guidance like no other.
Course Content
This program consists of three sections as follows:
1. Intro to RPA with UiPath – The first section will introduce you to RPA concepts using UiPath. You will learn about data storage and the logical flow of action executions. Later, you will delve into selectors and how software robots utilize them in performing tasks.
Regarding the practicals, you will use the UiPath studio to create robots that can mimic actions to eliminate the need for human workers to work on tedious business processes. Specifically, you will code automation using variables, arguments, sequences, flowcharts, etc.
2. UiPath Advanced Automation Techniques and Design – The second section will drill deeper into more advanced automation techniques. You will learn about DataTable and data manipulation with Excel.
Subsequently, you will use various RPA tools to perform multiple tasks, including recording, scraping, interaction, and email automation. At the end of the course, you will test and debug your system and use UiPath Orchestrator to manage your software robots.
3. RPA Team Best Practices – The final course will discuss the challenges faced by RPA developers. Later, you will learn how to optimally organize the RPA project and utilize the best practices.
Finally, you will perceive how RPA plays a role in digital transformation and what are the responsibilities of different RPA roles
Like other Udacity programs, each section will have a real-world project. For example, you will build automation that can sort annual reports in one click for a hypothetical company.
According to Udacity, you should spend 5-10 hours per week on the coursework. However, Udacity’s projects are usually challenging even to programmers. Thus, you should expect to spend many times the above number.
Student Support
Once enrolled, you will be able to access three tiers of student support as follows:
Technical Mentor Support – The drawback of typical online courses is that students do not receive timely support when they need it most. However, you will not encounter such nuisance with Udacity programs.
This is because you can request assistance any time. Udacity mentors are available 24/7 for you to ask questions and report technical issues.
Just open the chat interface on Student Hub and send inquiries. You will receive a personal reply within an hour, which is far faster than other alternatives.
Project Reviews – Getting started with Udacity’s RPA projects can be challenging. However, expert assistance is available upon request. They will review your projects and provide personalized feedback, guidance, and tips that you can implement to make them better.
Since Udacity allows unlimited requests, you can ask experts to review your projects without the need to wait until you reach a specific milestone. Based on my experience, this can be extremely helpful since you will learn from your mistakes and gain practical experience over time.
Career Services – After completing the program, you can request the team to review your resume, Github portfolio, and LinkedIn profile. Hence, you can rest assured that all are optimized for job applications.
Pricing
This program costs $249 per month. However, Udacity often offers discounts, which can be as high as 40%. As a result, you can pay only $100 per month for this exceptional training program.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Unarguably one of the best online courses on Robotics process automation (RPA)
- Taught by an RPA developer and a trainer from UiPath
- Well-structured curriculum
- Self-paced learning
- In-depth, informative lessons
- Include three real-world projects for students to obtain hands-on experience
- Timely and comprehensive student support
Cons
- Costlier than other alternatives
- Udacity’s projects are challenging. You will need to spend many more hours per week than suggested. Otherwise, you will end up paying more tuition fees to complete the program.
2. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Specialization
Created by UiPath itself, this Coursera specialization will introduce you to the fundamentals of RPA. Later, you will learn to use the UiPath RPA platform to design and create automation for multiple business tasks.
Course Content
This program consists of six minor courses as follows:
1. RPA Basics and Introduction to UiPath – The first course will discuss RPA basics and the core components of the UiPath platform. You will learn about all of its user interfaces and key features. Hence, you will be comfortable creating the first software robot.
2. Data Manipulation in RPA – The second course will guide you through Variables and Arguments. Later, you will delve into data manipulation methods and operations performed on various data types.
3. UI Automation and Selectors – The third course will introduce you to using UiPath with UI of other applications such as Excel and CRM. You will also learn to utilize the recording feature to generate practical workflows.
Subsequently, you will learn about Selectors and how to use them in your projects appropriately.
4. Control Flow in RPA – This course will drill deep into Control Flow activities such as Loops and Flowcharts. You will also understand how to handle errors in an automation project.
5. Automation Techniques in RPA – The fifth course is about extraction and related techniques, including screen scraping and PDF extraction. Also, you will learn how to build a Workbook/Excel/ Email automation with the UiPath studio.
6. UiPath Orchestrators and Capstone Projects – The final course will explain Orchestrators and their potential. Later, you will work on two automation projects, including an invoice entry and stock price trend comparison.
Generally speaking, the curriculum closely matches Udacity’s Nanodegree program. However, the latter will include a part on best practices and RPA team organization, making it more comprehensive.
Still, the program is 100% worth taking, especially if you are an absolute beginner who wants to test the waters.
Regarding pricing, you can audit all the courses free of charge. However, this option will not grant access to graded assignments and projects or a certificate of completion.
Since this program has many assignments and projects, if possible, I suggest subscribing to the full program to get a comprehensive learning experience.
Suggested Pace: 3 hours per week for four months
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
3. Implementing RPA with Cognitive Automation and Analytics Specialization
This Coursera specialization by Automation Anywhere will guide you through the steps of using its cloud RPA platform (a leading UiPath alternative) to design, develop, and deploy software bots. You will then be able to digitize and improve the productivity of your workforce.
Course Content
This program comprises four courses as follows:
1. RPA Lifecycle: Introduction, Discovery, and Design – The first course will essentially explain how to transform your workforce with RPA.
You will then learn about the two steps of the RPA implementation lifecycle, Discovery & Design, and perceive how to implement RPA with cognitive solutions and analytics.
2. Development and Testing – The second course will guide you to develop and test software bots through Automation Anywhere Enterprise Client. These bots will be capable of recording, modifying, and running business tasks.
3. Deployment and Maintenance – The third course will explain how to deploy the bots and create a routine monitoring schedule. You will learn to use the Web Control Room, Automation Anywhere’s web-based application for workload management.
4. Cognitive Solutions and RPA Analytics – The final course focuses on automation with cognitive abilities (artificial intelligence). You will develop and deploy automation solutions that can assist users in decision-making and speed up task completion.
Upon completion, you will be familiar with IQ Bot, Automation Anywhere’s AI-based RPA tool.
The curriculum is direct to the point. You will learn key concepts and how to build fully-functional bots using Automation Anywhere’s RPA tools.
Like the previous Coursera specialization, you can audit all the courses in this program for free. Alternatively, the full program is available for subscribing at $49 per month.
Suggested Pace: 3 hours per week for four months
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
4. Blue Prism Foundation Training
This 20-hour Coursera course from Blue Prism, a provider of one of the most popular RPA software tools, will introduce you to the foundations of RPA and how to use its platform to build bots to automate mundane tasks.
Course Content
Below are the topics that you will learn in this course:
- Introduction to Blue Prism
- Process Studio: Blue Prism Processes (Decision Stages, Calculation Stages, Data Items, and Process Validation)
- Process Flow
- Inputs and Outputs (Parameters, Control Room, etc.)
- Business Objects and Object Studio
- Exception Management
- Work Queues and additional features
- and many more
Generally speaking, the curriculum is easy to follow and hands-on. You will handily create intelligent automation to perform tasks with Blue Prism upon course completion.
This course is free to audit. Alternatively, you can buy the course for $49 to access all learning features.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Coursera Plus
Suppose you are interested in more than one Coursera program. In this case, you may want to subscribe to Coursera Plus instead.
Starting at $33.25 per month, the subscription provides full access (not just audit) to almost all learning resources on the Coursera platform. Its monthly fees are also lower than those for an individual program, costing $39-$79.
This fact makes Coursera Plus a superior alternative for diligent learners.
5. Complete UiPath RPA Developer Course: Build 7 Robots
This Udemy course by Leon Petrou, a systems engineer at FutureRPA, will guide you through all the steps of building robots to perform industry-specific tasks automatically.
Therefore, if you have learned some concepts but are still not confident in implementing them, I highly recommend taking this course.
Course Content
The following is what you will learn from this 11-hour course:
- Introduction to RPA + UiPath Studio installation
- Panels, Variables, and Arguments
- 7 Projects (step-by-step guidance)
- Additional assignments
In this course, you will work on multiple projects. For example, you will create a clothing consultant bot by scraping web data and using control flow. The projects will increase in difficulty sequentially. Thus, you will develop your RPA skills over time.
Reviews: 4.6/5.0, Students: 37400+
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
6. RPA Developer Masters Program
Provided by Edureka, this program offers comprehensive training in business process automation technology tools from both UiPath and Automation Anywhere. Hence, you will become a versatile and in-demand RPA developer upon program completion.
Unlike other courses on this list, Edureka’s training is live online so that you can ask questions to the instructor in real-time.
Important Note: You must have a good understanding of programming concepts before enrolling in the program.
Course Content
This program is essentially two Edureka courses merged. Thus, the content would be immense. Below is a summary of what you will learn in each course.
1. RPA Certification Training Using UiPath – This 24-hour course will start with RPA and UiPath fundamentals. Subsequently, you will learn key features of UiPath Studio and be able to create sophisticated business processes and automation projects.
Upon completion, you can handily start comprehensive RPA initiatives for your organization.
2. Automation Anywhere Certification Training Course – The first chapter of this course (on RPA basics) will overlap with the above UiPath course. However, the rest is entirely different.
This 30-hour course replaces UiPath with Automation Anywhere’s RPA tools. You will learn about Variables, Commands, Metabots, and finally delve into Enterprise Web Control Room, IQBot, and other advanced features.
Included in each course are assignments and real-world projects. For instance, you will create a workflow to automate the candidate onboarding process from scratch.
Based on my observations, these projects are pretty challenging, so you gain substantial hands-on experience throughout your journey.
Apart from the above two courses, you can also take a free, self-paced .NET course, which could be extremely helpful if you plan to pursue a career in the RPA industry.
Pricing
The entire program costs $799. You will get lifetime access to the course materials, including session recordings that you can rewatch anytime.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Other Alternatives
Below are other alternatives that you may want to consider. However, I decided not to include them on the list because of specific issues explained below.
Bryan Lamb’s UiPath Series – This series used to be a solid RPA tutorial. However, its content is severely outdated. Many features taught in the courses are not in line with the current version of UiPath.
Since it is currently under the remastering process, you may consider this series in 2023.