Quick update to say I’ve given DataQuest a try.
It’s radically different from the Microsoft or MOOC approach. Zero videos, all lab work. They’re big fans of the learn by doing approach.
I’m still on the (free) Python introduction, but already I can say it’s a step above Interactive Python. There are fewer walls of text and more chances to play around with code.
It costs ~29USD a month though. I haven’t been on the program long enough to judge if its worth it.
Also, I’ve decided to go for the Data Analyst path. I feel it’s less intimidating than the Data Scientist path. And I like that the progress bar goes up faster due to the smaller scope (I’m a bit of a completionist gamer, sorry). I can switch tracks later on anyway.
A more in-depth review in the works.
danna is a dork 
Don’t pigeon hole yourself this early. You can follow any path you want or even make your own. I treat this like when I go to the supermarker (Uni/MOOCs) to do my weekly shopping when I forget my list. I end up with a whole bunch of products (skills and tools) and so the game is to make something delicious with them all throughout the week (DS projects). If I need one extra thing (an ad hoc learning of a tool) I just get it quickly from the corner store near my house (my PC).
If you love visualisation….do D3.js, If you love seeing trend on twitter…look at beautiful soup/text mining/text analysis and models.
Loving your posts.
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Thank you! Last night I was reading DQ’s recommendation on how to take their course, and they recommended something similar–i.e., choose the lessons you’re interested in on week 1, then try it out on a personal project on week 2. I’ll try this method next and see if it works on me 🙂
D3.js! This one just keeps popping up. I definitely need to try this, and soon. Any recommendations and where’s the best place to learn?
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