Set off on a data science journey together with Udacity
When I set out on a hike, the most difficult part are the first couple of kilometers. The way is usually uphill, my body is still not adjusted to the exercise mode, and it is normal to get out of breath quickly.
However, once those 2–3 kilometers are behind, I get used to the rhythm and start enjoying the scenery. Even though the peak is still a long way ahead, the feeling of some accomplishment gives me extra strenghts and I am now much more positive and determined about reaching it.
And many times having a good company, supportive and humorous, that helps you take small steps at a time, but also urges you to keep going, might be the secret to success.
Udacity Bertelsmann Data Science Scholarship for me happened to be exactly this — supportive, yet demanding companion who helped me step on the data science path and made the first kilometers of the journey not as scary as they looked from the distance and definitely way more enjoyable that I could have imagined!
Why take this course?
- Get the basics of data analysis
The course is structured in three main parts: descriptive statistics, Python and SQL. While it is far from the full toolset a real data scientist needs, it can give you the needed basics to become more confident dealing with data and can be seen as a solid building block both for some future courses and for some data related projects or tasks. It can also be a great way to learn more about the field itself and get an idea of whether it something you would like to do or not.
I would especially recommend this course to anyone new to data science, or even not familiar with it at all.
- Become part of an inspiring community
Even if you are already at an intermediary level, you can still benefit from the course mainly thanks to the amazing fellow students. Udacity fosters and strongly encourages active participation and collaboration, and most of the stories shared by the participants are a great source of inspiration (and yes, I also thought that combining full-time work and learning is tough, until I read some stories from full-time Moms and Dads who decided to take on a new career path in data science and realized that I’d better not complain).
You probably won’t learn that much of hard skills from the mandatory course material if you are already familiar with statistics, Python and SQL, but you will get a chance to find buddies for building projects or participating in data competitions, try out your tutoring skills or simply find new friends.
- Experience a mindset shift
But most importantly I would recommend this course to anyone who thinks tech subjects or data science are not for them. There is a harmful misconception of separating people into those who are into “humanities” vs those who are good at STEM. Thinking you can be good only at one of the two makes the other path seem too complicated to even try.
This scholarship is an amazing opportunity to prove the above belief wrong and to give you the necessary faith in yourself. By splitting the material into small and accessible chunks, leading you through a lot of practical examples and quizzes, providing forum and Slack to shout out for help if you are stuck on something, this course makes the first steps onto the data science journey way easier to complete.
I know this is just the beginning, and the summit is far ahead. But now I am sure I can do it and I will keep going no matter what!
