Data science mentorship, Parquet files and other nuggets of (practical) wisdom

Aug 09, 2022

Dear friends,

Data science and Machine Learning (ML) are hot fields. There is a huge demand in the market for these roles, which pushes lots of people to learn the skills to land such jobs.

However, the path to learning data science and ML can be extremely overwhelming.

When I started studying Machine Learning, around 7 years ago, there were just a handful of online courses and books. Nowadays, the amount of free educational content has increased up to a point that it becomes hard for a student to understand what is important, and what it is not.

In my experience, two basic principles guided my learning path:

Project-based learning. I learned by doing projects. Hitting the wall often, researched, and hacked my way through. When you work on a project you have a clear end goal, that you can articulate in simple terms. e.g. "I want to build a REST API that does sentiment analysis" Clear goals give you focus and direction and help you keep track, and avoid distractions. Once you have the project and the goal, you can understand what you need to work on to get there, so you work backward. e.g. "I need to improve my Python skills first. Also, I need to learn how to do sentiment analysis in a fast and easy way".
Receiving feedback from senior colleagues. Having someone close who knows more is a source of learning. Ask her to take a look at your solution, and suggest improvements. Good feedback is actionable and lets you improve your solution, and learn a few things on the way. In my first job I was lucky enough to have a very responsive senior data engineer, who helped me improve my Python, SQL, and software engineering skills. These were nuggets of wisdom I still use nowadays.

Projects and feedback. This is what worked for me, and I believe it will help you as well.

This is why I recently launched a Data Science and ML Mentorship program, to help you become a professional data scientist. The program has 4 pillars:

A personalized learning path adapted to your background and end goal.
Project-based learning. You build things every week.
Feedback. I review your work and give you constructive feedback. I also answer your questions through the Discord channel.
Written recommendation. At the end of the program, I write you a recommendation based on your skills and completed projects.

You can check all the details on my website, and apply today.