A couple of days back, I celebrated learning data science for six months and I can tell you that it’s the best decision I made this year.
For someone who is a master of a try by error, Data science is a career I am glad I decided to try as I have never been so intentional about anything as I have been with it.
If someone had told me a year ago that I would know how to scrape and analyze tweets off Twitter and build dashboards that could tell stories about data, I would have doubted but I am amazed at the many things I have learned and the milestones I have accomplished in the past six months.
I will be sharing a couple of things I have learned in the past six months and tips that helped me stay dedicated and true to my journey in this article.
Early days
First thing I did when I decided to pursue a career in Data Science; I watched a couple of YouTube videos and researched a lot about the roadmap for a data scientist as well as the best way to learn. I wrote down the list of tools I needed to learn and looked for platforms I could learn for free. I had initially started with the IBM Data Science course on Coursera but ended up spending most of my time learning on Datacamp courtesy of a scholarship from Ingressive for good.
Another thing I did was put myself out there, for accountability's sake. Was I scared? Yes, I was very scared because this girl has tried a lot of things and stopped midway. But I was determined to see this to the end so I gave myself a timeframe, learn the basics in six months. I wasn’t even thinking about getting a job in six months, the goal was to learn a lot in six months to help me get started in this career path.
I made a post declaring my intention on Twitter and pinned it to my profile so that every day I came online and looked at my profile, it will serve as a reminder.
Another thing was to ask for God’s grace and guidance. Yes, I prayed about it and I started this journey with God. I am heavy on the GOD factor and I believe this is my secret ingredient.
Also, I mapped out a plan that worked for me, the early hours of the morning is my best time to read and it was quite easy for me because at this point I didn’t have a laptop and I was learning on my phone. My phone is the first thing I pick up every morning after saying Thank you Jesus so straight to Datacamp and straight into python.
In one month, I completed four python courses on Datacamp and I was so excited and looking forward to more.
Statement of accomplishment for the four courses I took in the first month of my journey.
May
I mapped out plans in May to complete even more courses and I worked so hard that I was able to complete 16 Python courses on Datacamp that month.
I also got into the 20 data analytics project cohort with Octave, even though I hadn’t learned enough to build a project, I took the risk to join and learn from others.
20 data analytics project
At the end of May, I worked on my first project, the superstore sales dashboard. It wasn’t so great but it was a stepping stone for me to learn and opened me to the world of growth.
Superstore sales dashboard
By the beginning of June, I had completed the Data scientist with Python track on Datacamp and I started learning SQL immediately.
I worked on another project, an analysis of past Nobel prize Winners, and this time, it was better. I was still consistent in my learning and my growth was consistent.
Analysis of Past Nobel Prize winners
I also got into the Stanbic IBTC trainee program to learn Azure, this was a tough yet exciting journey for me.
By the end of June, I had garnered over 1,000,000 learning XP on Datacamp.
July
In July, I worked on a project that practically changed my learning journey, the Real Housewives of Lagos sentiment analysis project. This project made so many people interested in my journey and I got several DMs from recruiters who would like to work with me.
By the end of July, I landed my first role as a Data Analyst for a Nigerian startup company.
August
In August, I became Datacamp certified.
I also wrote two Microsoft exams; DP 900-Azure Data Fundamentals and DP 300-Azure Database Administrator and I passed.
I also won the Datacamp daily XP learner challenge as well as the #55daysof data challenge organized by Ingressive for good.
September
I had a streak of 150 days of learning on Datacamp by September. I lost this streak 10 days later??. It was a tough moment for me.
It’s been a rollercoaster of learning, relearning, and growing since then and I am so excited about the future. Now it’s time for me to re-evaluate where I am and what’s next for me.
Learning Points
Something I learned in the course of this journey is anything is doable, Once you have the will to learn and you are ready to put in the work, it’s totally achievable. On that note, I have stylishly included a challenge for you. I am challenging you to show up every day this month, Pick a skill or any tool and learn activities for this month and gauge your growth.
Another thing I learned is, showing up every day pays, Consistency was a big key in my journey. I showed up every day for the past six months…I might not have studied a lot on some days and gone really hard on others but I always showed up.
Also, hard work was another determining factor in my six months success story. I worked my brains out. When I started my journey I was learning for 11 hours every day. I would spend at least four hours during the day, at intervals though, not at a stretch, learning concepts on my phone. Then I would spend the night practicing what I had learned on a borrowed laptop.
Another tip that really helped me was sharing my journey, coming online every day to talk about my journey was a key factor in my growth.
Also networking with other data professionals in the space and being a part of the data community was another key factor, I had a lot of passive mentors on Twitter and it influenced my journey.
In the course of my journey, I also learned to accept that burnouts are normal, sometimes I wake up feeling very unmotivated and wondering if I am on the right path. On such days I don’t push myself too hard, a practice workout on Datacamp and that’s all. I don’t hate myself for not going too hard, instead on days when I am feeling very motivated, I go the extra mile to make up for lost days.
There were also days when I felt like a fraud, impostor syndrome hit me hard, it felt like I was just studying and didn’t know anything. I had to work on my self-confidence. I wrote down lots of self-affirmations and read them out loud when I doubted myself.
Highlights of my Journey
Winning the #I4GDatacamp scholarship.
Getting accepted into Stanbic IBTC trainee program.
Landing my first Data analyst role.
Winning the I4G #55daysofdata challenge.
Winning the Datacamp XP learner challenge.
Celebrating One million+ XP on Datacamp.
Celebrating 150 days streak on Datacamp.
Winning a laptop from Ingressive for good.
Lowlights of my Journey
Losing my streak on Datacamp.
Getting lots of rejection mail for every laptop application I sent out.
My Roadmap
Python — Actively for the first four months
Power BI — Started learning in the second month
SQL — Started learning in the fourth month
Azure — Started learning in the third month
Spreadsheet — Started learning in the fifth month.
My Resources and Platform
- Datacamp
- Coursera
- Microsoft learn
- Youtube
I know this has been a long read but I hope it motivates someone to stay true to their journey and keep pushing. It might take a while but it’s your success story I will be reading next.
Tina Okonkwo is a Data Analyst who is passionate about story telling with data. She provide coaching and mentoring for those pursuing a career in data analytics. Her goal is to share my Data analytics journey to a larger audience and help others kickstart their journey into data analytics.
Original. Reposted with permission.
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