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Finding the right platform or course is never easy when you're looking to learn something new. It involves a lot of trial and error, and the worst part is when you pay for them. You feel like you've been going around in circles trying to find the best path to improve your career, but then you end up back at square one and you've hurt your pockets (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot).
That is why I have decided to put together this article, so that you can learn from my mistakes and gain all the knowledge of data science, on a limited budget!
Link: Understand data science
Let's start with DataCamp, an online learning platform that offers a variety of different courses. Their course 'Understanding Data Science' is aimed at beginners who want to get started in the world of data science. And you don't have to worry about having coding experience either, because it's not necessary!
It is a 2 hour course and consists of 15 learning videos and 48 exercises! Divided into 4 sections, the first section, Introduction to Data Science, is free and the remaining 3 sections will require you to obtain a membership. Membership prices are reasonable and with it you will have access to the full DataCamps content library, making it useful when you want to take additional courses.
Link: Data science from scratch
This is for book lovers who prefer this as a learning method. In the book 'Data Science from Scratch' you will learn about the discipline of data science such as libraries, frameworks, modules and toolkits. As well as how the algorithms work and how you can implement them from scratch.
If you are looking for a crash course on Python and want to learn the basics of data science, delve into the fundamentals of machine learning, and go deeper, this book is for you.
Link: Introduction to probability
A FREE 10-week course from Harvard! With many online training courses, probability is sometimes forgotten. However, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of data science. Learning probability can take you from being a “good” data scientist to an “expert” data scientist.
In this course you will learn about uncertainty and randomness, how to make good predictions, common probability distributions, and more. The course is free but you can add a verified certificate for $209.
Link: Python in a nutshell
Python has been ranked as one of the most popular programming languages for a while now, and there's a reason. Its simple syntax has made it easy for people to transition into the world of data science with ease. There is a demand for data professionals and the Python language has definitely paved the way.
This fourth edition of the 'Python in a Nutshell' book consists of 26 chapters that will take you from a complete Python beginner to an absolute expert! From representing data in Python to debugging – this book has it all!
Link: Data analysis with Python
Freecodecamp.org started as an organization that wanted to make learning accessible to everyone, hence the name. If you are looking for a course to take you through it all, then this Data Analysis with Python course comes highly recommended. Many things have changed in the world of data science, especially Python, SQL, and more.
In this course you will learn the absolute fundamentals of becoming a data scientist, from reading your own data to using libraries to analyze it and creating data visualizations.
With these 5 courses/platforms, you'll be able to go from someone who didn't have any data science experience to fixing your resume to apply for your first data science role. Data science continues to be a very popular role and there is no better time to start than now!
nisha arya is a data scientist and freelance technical writer. She is particularly interested in providing professional data science advice or tutorials and theory-based data science insights. She also wants to explore the different ways in which artificial intelligence can benefit the longevity of human life. A great student looking to expand her technological knowledge and writing skills, while she helps guide others.
