Is DataCamp’s Data Scientist Career Track(or any other online course) worth it?

It is more than a year now that I am done with the Data Scientist Career Track from DataCamp. As nowadays I see a lot of posts questioning the worth of MOOCs(massive open online courses), I thought of penning down on this topic. I will be covering the below points:

1.Why I went for a number of online courses

2.Why not books?

3.Clearing the air

4.Cons of MOOCs

5..DataCamp’s Data Science Career Track Review

Before starting, let me state all the online courses I have done (Data Science related):

• Data Scientist Career Track (22+ courses, DataCamp)
• Tableau Fundamentals (Pluralsight)
• Couple of Big Data & PySpark(Coursera)

Hence, in all accounting for about 30 certifications!!

If you wish to cross-check, you can find them on my LinkedIn profile

The big question, Why so many MOOCs?

I will be pointing a couple of reason:

1. No idea where to start.

When anyone tries to pick up a stream (whether Data Science, UX/UI design, Web Designing, BlockChain, etc), he/she struggles to structure his learning.

• What should I learn first?
• Which topics shouldn’t be touched?
• What are the components of the stream? Data Science itself constitute skills like Machine Learning, Stats, Data Analysis, Visualization, etc. Many of the beginners start with Machine Learning which I feel should come in last.

Online MOOCs introduces the topics for an absolute beginner & provides structured material to kickstart.

2. Something to add in your resume

When you go for a Data Science interview (whether 1st job or intern), you can have only certain related sections depicting your skills in Data Science in your resume like

• Your projects(majorly)
• Some Datathons (if you have performed well)
• Previous intern experience.

Hence in your resume, MOOCs can confirm you have passed at least basic level assignments & won’t be a wanderer sheep in Data Science as most of you might miss on the ‘Datathons section’(everyone is not getting that 2 digit ranks in Kaggle competitions). And if it’s your 1st Data Science intern, you only have projects that might look relevant for the position.

Think over this!!

Why don’t books?

Like a number of books are available free of cost online. From my point of view, they are the best for this purpose but,

Visuals, assignments make learning faster & interesting.

Books have elaborated explanations for each topic which is good but when a beginner, at least I wish to have basic knowledge 1st & then move to the depth study.

Lot of self motivation is required

You can’t write ‘Read this & that book for Data Science’ in your resume. For any doubts, check here

Clearing the air!!

I read a post last week on how an UnderGraduate went through about 6–7 interviews got rejected though having MOOCs from renowned website & he penned down how Online certifications are worthless.

Below are some points to consider:

1. No certification can help you in interviews. They are similar to your college degrees. Even if you are from the best college(take any IIT or IIM), your college degree won’t help you in interviews. What these MOOCs & your college degree do is provide you with ample opportunities to get interviewed at least.
2. Your 1st motivation should always be learning and not a Certificate.
3. It is quite difficult to bag a Data Science position from college in any firm as very rarely any organization visits a college for Data Science roles. You might need to go off campus where your first impression is your resume. In my case, I believe(can’t be 100% sure), DataCamp’s tag really worked out to clear the resume screening rounds as I wasn’t with many quality projects.

Does this mean one should go for Online courses?

Depends!!

1. Online courses can be time-consuming. At least I don’t prefer watching a 10-minute video for a small topic & then practice it. A blog is best in my opinion!!
2. Very few MOOCs provide an interactive environment. You might feel itchy after some time.
3. Paying hefty amounts for online courses is something that I never prefer (I never paid a single penny for any of the above courses).
4. Last but the most important point to consider is that now, we have tonnes of MOOCs available. Hence, choosing a reputed source is very important.

DataCamp’s Data Scientist Career Track Review:

Firstly, some Positives:

1. To be honest, out of about 22 courses, DataCamp nailed all the courses related to Python basics, Data Analysis (I guess the best place for this topic at least) & Visualization. I would encourage every newbie to go for it.
2. You will actually be filling up missing codes using instructions in all the courses with just about 15 minutes of videos per course. You might even feel heavenly if you have some experience on Coursera. This is what a quality Online course is.
3. Each course is 3–4 hours long, hence manageable in a couple of days.
4. There aren’t any assignment, hence no major blocker.

Now, some cons

1. Modules related to stats, machine learning & deep learning aren’t up to mark. I must say they are below average.
2. This is because very few concept has been explained. In these modules also, you will be filling up incomplete codes. But to be honest, Statistics & Machine Learning can’t be learned this way. ML & stats would remain a Blackbox forever if followed this approach
3. Quite costly. It can be the deciding factor for many of you
4. There aren’t any assignments that you definitely need to pass to get a certificate. If you get stuck, you take a hint & move on. In the end, you don’t even need to have a required XP(awarded once you fill up a segment completely correct without hints). So in short, you can have 0 XP (filled up everything using hints/autofill option) & even then can get a certificate. Hence, it might be the case (at least I did this), you might skip certain sections when stuck for long & never get that concept!!

Summing up!!

MOOCs should never be considered a bummer. Though spending too much time (like I did) won’t help either. Also, It is always your skills & knowledge that can help you in interviews. Try to engulf this truth as early as possible. Talking about whether you should pay for DataCamp’s DataScientist Career Track, you should 1st see the contents, try out the first module (it used to be accessible for free for every course till last year, no idea about the current situation) & if you feel in sync, then go for it. Also, the above words are completely my thoughts & shouldn’t be taken as a ground truth!!

If you are looking for a Data Science intern (with multiple interview assignments), this can really help you:

How to get your 1st Data Science intern

Or for free book resources: Free resources for Data Science