Ask HN: Is Udacity's Machine Learning Nanodegree Worth $1k?

I'm considering applying for Udacity's ML nanodegree program: https://www.udacity.com/course/machine-learning-engineer-nanodegree--nd009t

Syllabus:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/iridium-content/documents/en-US/MLND+2-Term+Syllabus.pdf

I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with Udacity's ML-related courses. I see that they have a Deep Learning course and a Data Analyst course as well, which are appealing.

I've been studying these topics in my spare time, and I've been able to pick up the basics thanks to a few good books. Judging by the syllabus, would I come away with skills similar to what a working ML engineer actually uses in the field?

I'm interested in programming my own AI bots similar to OpenAI's dota 2 bot.