10 Tips. Can Data Science be Self Taught?
As is discussed over at runrex.com, data science is one of the most trending and most highly-rated career paths right now. Because of this, more and more people are looking to get into this career path for job satisfaction and the relatively high wages. Some are even looking to pivot from their career paths, some of which are unrelated to tech, to get into data science. The question that begs is if data science can be self-taught, particularly due to its large body of knowledge. This article, with the help of the gurus over at runrex.com, will look to help in answering this question by as well as highlighting how one can be a successful, self-taught data scientist with the following 10 tips.
Yes, data science can be self-taught
The simple answer to the question posed by this article is, yes, data science can be self-taught, something the subject matter experts over at runrex.com agree with. This is because of the sheer number of online resources which have ensured that self-learning is not beyond the scope anymore when it comes to data science, and any other field too. As revealed in discussions over at runrex.com, almost all of the skills required to be a successful data scientist, from programming to machine learning can be acquired through self-learning with the help of the resources available online.
Job prospects
It would make little sense to self-learn data science only to find out that self-taught data scientists aren’t hot in the job market, which is why the next tip is going to highlight the hiring trends in data science to know if you would get a job as a self-taught data scientist. According to the gurus over at runrex.com, different companies have got different preferences when it comes to the job candidates they hire for data science jobs. Many, like LinkedIn, hire candidates based on their skill set and not necessarily on one’s educational background. You will still encounter barriers, but there is a job market for self-taught data scientists.
Paid resources
One of the avenues you can choose when looking to become a self-taught data scientist is one that makes use of paid resources. These, as discussed over at runrex.com, include Udacity, DataCamp, Dataquest among others. These online resources will not only create an education program for you that will guide you from one topic to the next, but they also require you to do very little course-planning, if any at all. If you have the money, then you can try these resources, as per the advice of the gurus over at runrex.com.
Free alternatives
If you feel like the above resources are too expensive for you, then there are free alternatives that you can explore. According to discussions over at runrex.com, sites like edX and Coursera offer free, one-off courses on specific topics, and are a great resource if you can learn well from videos or a classroom setting. There are several free data science courses which you can search for online, just make sure you choose one that is credible and the right fit for you.
Learning python
As the gurus over at runrex.com will tell you, programming is a key skill as far as data scientists are concerned, with Python being the go-to programming language here. If you are to become a self-taught data scientist, you will need to learn Python and get comfortable with its syntax. Many resources can help with this, including “Learn Python the Hard Way” by Zed Shaw, the coding challenges on CodeSignal among other resources.
Learning SQL
Another thing you will have to do if you are to become a self-taught data scientist is to learn SQL. Here, as per discussions over at runrex.com, there are several online resources you can use, including the Mode Analytics tutorial on SQL which will help you learn all the key concepts of SQL, helping you create a robust SQL foundation. On top of that, they will also provide you with their SQL editor and data, which you can use for practice.
Learning statistics and linear algebra
You will also require to have some understanding of statistics and linear algebra if you are to become a self-taught data scientist. This is because, as explained by the gurus over at runrex.com, statistics and linear algebra are a prerequisite for machine learning and data analysis. Several online resources can help you with this, with the key being to make sure you focus on descriptive analysis as this will help you in understanding data sets.
Learning machine learning
In your journey to become a self-taught data scientist, you will also have to learn machine learning; learning both the theory and application of the machine learning algorithms and applying concepts learned to real-world data as per the subject matter experts over at runrex.com. Many resources can help with this, from Udacity to the UCI machine learning repository and many others. If you have the resources, you can also try pout the Grokking Deep Learning book which provides clear and relatable examples on machine learning and its fundamentals.
Apply your learned data science skills
While it is important to learn all the above skills, and many other such as database manipulation, it is crucial that you also apply all these skills in projects if you are to be a successful self-taught data scientist. This will allow you to practice what you have learned while also showing potential employees the scope of your knowledge as far as the practical use of your skills is concerned. As discussed over at runrex.com, resources such as Kaggle, GitHub, and others will help you create a data science portfolio. It is worth noting that tech companies nowadays actively scour these online portals when looking for talent.
Gather work experience
It is important that you also go further than just learning the relevant skills needed to be a data scientist and applying them on online projects. To give yourself an edge over competitors, you will need to gather some actual work experience, as per the folks over at runrex.com. To achieve this, you should try looking for freelance gigs and internships, which will give you experience in a corporate environment.
The above discussion focusses on some of the tips to keep in mind if you are to be a self-taught data scientist, and a successful one at that, all of which show that data science can be self-taught. You can get more information on this and other related topics by visiting the highly-rated runrex.com.