Learning Data 2023: A Retrospective from Team Maven
2023 is rapidly coming to a close, and we wanted to celebrate how far we’ve come!
We had no idea what to expect when we launched this publication in May. We wanted to meet our audience where you were already established, and we knew that you guys were missing us on this platform…so all we had was a simple goal:
Create one more space where the Maven Community could come together to share their knowledge and get eyes on their work, no matter where they are in their data journey.
Since we’re all about the data, here are some impressive numbers that we’ve come together to create in the last 6ish months:
- 43 — The number of guest writers who have voluntarily joined the publication to share their knowledge with our community.
- 101 — The number of articles published in 2023
- 748 — The number of subscribers to our publication (as of 12/18/23)
- ~200K — The number of minutes you all spent reading our publication
- ~7.4K — The number of claps collected by our articles
- ~70K — The number of times you’ve viewed our articles
We couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built here, and we couldn’t end the year without looking back at some of our favorite articles from 2023!
The Audience Favorite
The numbers don’t lie: your favorite article of 2023 was 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Job as a Data Analyst by MargaretEfron!
Since this article was published in August, it has gained a whopping 2k claps and 54 comments. You guys thought it was so good that it caught Medium’s attention…and they agreed! After a Medium team member manually reviewed the article, they found it so valuable that they boosted their own promotions beyond their basic algorithm. Way cool!
For those not familiar with this one, it’s a great read; Margaret recaps some of the lessons she’s taken from her own job experience as a data analyst, and it just might help you in your own career!
And if you like that article, be sure to check out some of her other stuff; since joining the publication in July, Margaret has published 18 articles with us and we can’t wait to see what comes next!
Maven’s Choice
If you’ve been a part of the online Maven community for any amount of time, you’re probably familiar with the name Gerard Duggan.
A Maven Hall of Famer and triple Maven Challenge Winner, Gerard gives 110% to everything he does — and his first Medium article for us was no different!
In A Data Journey Starting with Discovery, Gerard shared an incredibly detailed account of his own career transition. It’s a fun story, with a lot of specifics shared about how Gerard became the data pro we know and love today.
You’re guaranteed to take away at least a few lessons that will help you in your own career.
A few Honorable Mentions:
- If you’re interested in a freelance data career, then you may want to check out My Journey from Data Newbie to Data Freelancer from Ashley Copp! It’s a quick read, and Ashley is definitely someone to watch in the data community.
- We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the deep-dive that is The Art of Data Storytelling from Luke SJ Howard; after all, Luke was our very first guest writer when we opened the gates in June!
John’s Pick
“You may already know Asa Howard from the data community on LinkedIn where he shares lots of technical tips and career advice.
I loved that in From Science Classes to Data Analytics Career in 8 Months he talked about a number of the things that didn’t work for him; in his study, his internship, and when applying for jobs. There’s a great message there about continuing to try new things until you find something you love.
His advice on being more targeted when applying for jobs is very solid, and something everyone should take note of for better results when job-seeking.”
My Pick
My favorites this year were some of the unsung heroes! And no, I couldn’t pick just one…and probably could have listed 15 easily, so I restricted myself to 3 that I felt did not get enough hype when they were released.
(If you’re looking for a new job, these next articles could really make a difference in how you market yourself!)
While technical skills are important and valuable, so often soft skills get overlooked or pushed to the side in favor of the “shiny”, tool-focused, resume builders.
As someone who has been on both sides of the hiring process in multiple industries, there’s one fundamental truth that resurfaces time and time again when it comes to identifying a great employee:
You can teach technical skills, but it’s soft skills like communication that can make or break a team.
Stacy Giroux captured this and more in her article Small Things, Big Impact: Lessons from Interviewing! I loved reading her personal stories and found so many other valuable nuggets in there for those looking to stand out in a job interview.
Stacy hit a great balance between vulnerability and transparency while communicating a few moments in her professional life that were pivotal in her career, and that resonated with me.
My next pick was somewhat of a dark horse right from the title: Branislav Poljasevic’s It’s really not all about the tech….
At a time when a FAQ for every industry seems to be “Will AI replace my role?”, Branislav’s poignant reflection on viewing our humanity as an asset to partner with the productivity advancements of AI is a refreshing (and reassuring) take on the technology.
Finally, I just need to take a moment to spotlight one last article from Lauren Rosenthal! As a social media marketer, I see a lot of people struggling with how to present complex concepts. In the data community, it’s especially prevalent for SQL users!
If you’re looking for an opportunity to share your code in a way that will wow your audience (and maybe a future employer!), be sure to check out Lauren’s article Portfolio Projects: Beautify Your SQL Queries. It’s a game-changer!
Chris B’s Pick
“As a former bootcamp instructor, I loved the impact I could have on students’ careers by even providing minor feedback or tips to improve the quality of their presentations & visualizations. I also love a good data analysis.
So it’s no surprise that I love MargaretEfron’s article: I Analyzed 100 Dashboards. Here are the most common data viz errors I saw., which combines an empirical analysis of common data visualization mistakes in 100 dashboards that she reviewed, as well as best practices for addressing them.
Any analyst who is just starting out will be able to learn a lot from Margaret’s article, and thinking back to my first dashboards, I know I would find a lot of concrete steps to implement simply by starting at the top and working my way down.
The fact that Margaret took the time to quantify the mistakes made in project portfolios makes this article so much stronger, because unlike just providing a list of best practices, the frequency of these mistakes makes it clear analysts aren’t alone when they realize they have room for improvement, and also gives clues as to how analysts can separate themselves from the pack as they position themselves for the job market.
If I were to pick a second article, it would be An Analyst’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Colors in Seaborn. First, because I have a Python bias, but second — we get a lot of great technical deep dives, but few are as polished and well-written as Annette Dolph’s article. She clearly explains not just the “how” but also the “why”, and takes her advice to a level of depth that adds a ton of value over reading the documentation.”
Lauren’s Pick
“This was just a fun, fascinating, and well-done analysis.
When we think about what data analysts do, inevitably we think, “they analyze data”…right?
But (in my opinion), what makes a great data analyst different from a good data analyst is their ability to communicate their findings in a way that is interesting, a way that makes you want to learn more.
Akshay Singh accomplished that and more with Swiping Right on Data: Analyzing the Trends of Tinder. Combining data-driven insights with humor and pop culture references, Akshay managed to present his findings about swiping patterns, conversation starters, and user stats in a fun and informative way.
This is definitely an article I’d recommend, regardless of if you’ve dived into the world of online dating or not.”
Wrapping Up…
2023 was an amazing year, and we couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.
A huge thank you to all of our guest contributors who put their faith in us as we dove into a new medium (see what we did there?) and trusted us to distribute their work.
And thank you to YOU, reader, for being a part of our amazing data community and empowering our work. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we can’t wait for 2024 — you know we have more awesome content in the works, for Medium as well as our other platforms!
Happy holidays, and, as always…
Happy Learning!
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