Data Science & Analytics – The 5 Most Talked About Tech Skills and Where to Learn Them for Free
Share This
Blog by Dr Paula Beer, Educational Consultant, Academic and TechUP Tutor.
In the first two blog posts of this series I spoke in detail about how to organise your time effectively to make the most of free resources and made a start with AI and ML. The skill we are looking at today is Data Science and Analytics.
Skill 2: Data Science and Analytics
Data Science and Analytics are transforming industries by enabling systems to learn from data and make decisions. These technologies are crucial for developing intelligent applications that can automate tasks, uncover patterns, and provide actionable insights.
By using techniques such as machine learning, statistical modeling, and data visualisation, organisations can improve customer experiences and drive innovation. As data continues to grow in volume and complexity, the role of Data Science becomes increasingly vital in turning raw data into strategic value.
Data Science and Analytics Resources
1. DataCamp
What is it?
DataCamp is an online learning platform focused primarily on data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and programming. It offers interactive courses and hands-on projects in a myriad of skills.
What is it like?
Again it has a huge offering, some of which is free. The courses also provide an AI generated coach and gives you flexibility in terms of how you approach the course. The quizzes provide a little more interactivity too, including coding challenges and the option to pay for hints with XP.
Are there any quirks?
When you sign up you are asked for your company or school. You might not have one, so just put “private study” – belonging to a company or school isn’t a prerequisite.
2. Coursera
What is it?
Coursera provides access to courses from Top Universities. It is partnered with American universities such as Stanford, Yale, University of Michigan, and Harvard, as well as companies like Google, IBM, and Meta. This particular offering “Data Specialisation” is by Johns Hopkins University.
What is it like?
The format is understandably a little strange due to Johns Hopkins offering so many courses and IT changing all the time. Therefore, they have taken the decision to teach via short animations and automated voices with video transcriptions to keep the courses accurate and up-to-date.
Are there any quirks?
You can “audit” this path for free, so just avoid the 7 day free trial and get to the page which offers the “audit” option.
3. Alex The Analyst Data Analyst Bootcamp
What is it?
Alex The Analyst is the online alias of Alex Freberg, a data analytics educator, content creator, and analytics manager based in the US. After being openly critical of paid for Bootcamps he decided to take his existing resources and make it his mission to make data analytics accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or resources.
What is it like?
Alex is very easy to listen to and very knowledgeable. The “Bootcamp” consists of approximately 24 hours of Youtube videos giving instruction and projects taking the learner from beginner, through intermediate to advanced in SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, Python, Web skills, Pandas, Azure, AWS and other topics.
Are there any quirks?
A completely free certification at the end of the course. The final YouTube video of the series gives instructions on how you can download the certificate from his gitHub. The video is followed by lots of adorable comments from people proudly saying “It took me 6 weeks!” – “It took me 6 months” and genuinely thanking Alex for his encouragement. It’s quite touching.
Conclusion
Again having awareness of Data Science and Analytics is essential for anyone working in tech, so it’s worth at least making a start on some of these resources and finding out if it’s your cup of tea. Next up is Cybersecurity.