Health Data Science FAQ Central

My unique career path as a pharmacist turned data science professional has allowed me to connect with a number of pharmacists and students who are wanting to make similar career transitions. I’ve started an FAQ series to help answer some of the most common questions I get to help others get a jumpstart on their path to health data science.

Stay tuned and check in frequently as new articles in the series get released. A link to each article will be included in this FAQ central location!

001 — Programming Languages

This FAQ answers questions about what languages that newcomers should learn, the most common question I get. This article highlights the three languages I use at work: SQL, R, and Python.

002 — Technology Tools Part 1

This article focus on technology tools that assist data scientists outside of programming languages. Topics highlighted are visualization tools, version control, and development environments

002 — Technology Tools Part 2

This article focuses on “nice-to-have” skills that will help you be more competitive in the data science career path. Topics covered include cloud computing and containerization

003 — How are Pharmacy Informatics and Data Science Different?

I get a ton of questions about how data science and informatics differ. This article highlights three main differences between these two hot fields in healthcare.

004 —Higher Education Pathways Into Data Science

There are a number of different educational pathways to learn skills that data scientists need. This article highlights the learning paths that are available through higher education, specifically Bachelor’s degrees / minors / concentrations, Master’s degrees, and certificate programs. Covered are things to consider, advantages, and disadvantages for each.