UDACITY advice

[Merlin]

I think you need to know what you want to do fairly specifically, and then ask some people in those industries which certs are the best to get.

I also know that the Nanodegree is part of a degree for one of the IT degrees at WGU (can't remember which one).  So that might be a better use of your money.

There are lots of free/cheap things you can do to start, before you think about spending money though.

The Udacity Data Analytics Nanodegree will clear the majority of the major in WGU's BS in Data Management/Data Analytics. If that is something you're interested in, it is definitely worth completing ahead of time. 

Be aware that the nanodegree is a lot of work (they suggest 4-6 months to complete it), and not inexpensive (they have a deal where you only pay ~$1,000 if you can finish in 4 months), but still cheaper than completing a term at WGU. On the other hand, WGU will pay for it if you sign up and take it as part of the degree, but personally, I don't think that is worthwhile.

In my opinion, if that nanodegree is going to take 4-6 months to complete either way, I'd rather spend $1,000 to complete it in advance than pay $3,500 for a 6-month term at WGU. That way I could just focus on finishing the easier/faster courses at WGU and complete the balance of courses in a single term.