New to Data Science? Check Out These Websites.
When I first moved over to this field, I was privileged enough to be able to afford to enroll in a boot camp that would help me become a data scientist in just a few short months. However, not everyone is in such a position and needs resources that will help them gain the same skills I learned in my boot camp. I consider the following sites to be the best resources on the web for learning data science skills — for free.
Typing.io
Learning a new programming language can be tricky and a little awkward. Over time you fingers form muscle memory of the things you type most often, and programing languages often include characters that are less frequently used. This can make the initial stages of learning a new programming language difficult, as your hands get used to some new characters. Typing.io is a fantastic resource to help you practice programming in nearly any language. With 17 languages to choose from and the ability to upload and type any code, this site was a life saver when I first started programming.
Code Wars
The motto of code wars is “achieve mastery through challenge” and this website allows you to do exactly that. With 20 programming languages to choose from, you can improve your skills by training on real code to help you master coding. You can also earn ranks and honors, compare your solutions with others, and enjoy a community of supportive programmers.
Dataquest
A fantastic free resource, Dataquest allows you to work on real-life data science problems to help you prepare for a job in this field by practicing your skills and building project. I was especially appreciative of Dataquest when I first moved over to this field as it broke things down in a way that I could understand it. There are three paths to choose from: become a data analyst, become a data scientist, or become a data engineer. While I can only speak to the data science path, I recommend this site to anyone willing to put in the work to learn.
Tableau Public
Tableau is not strictly data science, but data visualization is a large part of being a data scientist. All the best models in the world won’t mean a thing if you can’t communicate them to people, and visualization is the best way to do so. Tableau is a fantastic software for data visualizations, allowing you to construct beautiful visuals and wonderful dashboards. Tableau licenses are expensive, but luckily Tableau Public is a free version of the program. The Tableau Public website has a gallery for inspiration, a whole host of datasets, and a resources tab that will teach you how to use Tableau.
Have any other websites to recommend? Post them in the comments below!
