{"id":305033,"date":"2022-09-25T20:13:01","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T20:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/?p=305033"},"modified":"2022-09-25T20:13:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T20:13:03","slug":"here-why-bootcamp-wont-make-you-data-scientist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/here-why-bootcamp-wont-make-you-data-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why a Bootcamp Won’t Make You a Data Scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bootcamps are en vogue in all sorts of industries, with the idea being that intensive training over a short period can bring newcomers up to speed with complex concepts in a flash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sounds good in theory, and in many contexts, it has a lot of clout. But the field of data science<\/a> isn\u2019t exactly suited to the quick and dirty approach to employee education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The competition is fierce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first issue is that if you want to apply for positions which require a data science background, then even if you\u2019ve undertaken a bootcamp, you\u2019ll be competing against candidates with much more impressive qualifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why bootcamps offer benefits in certain career paths, and not in others. For example, if you complete a front-end developer bootcamp at Altcademy.com<\/a>, you\u2019ll be in a stronger position to succeed when applying for jobs later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data scientists, on the other hand, tend to have Masters-level education<\/a> in a relevant subject under their belt, even if the role they are aiming for is on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve already got a Masters, then a bootcamp could be a great way of refreshing your knowledge and skills. But don\u2019t expect to stand out from a stack of resumes if a bootcamp is the only relevant certification you\u2019ve attained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mainstream narrative is deceptive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another issue facing data science at the moment is that there\u2019s a lot of misinformation out there about how accessible the field is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read articles, watch videos or check out training course marketing and you\u2019ll get the impression that this is a specialism that almost anyone can attain. Furthermore, it\u2019s implied that you don\u2019t need to work particularly hard to enter the echelons of data science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this doesn\u2019t make clear is that only a tiny proportion of data scientists were able to get a job when starting from scratch in 12 months or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority spent years earning degrees, gaining experience and cutting their teeth in different roles before finally reaching the point where they could go pro. And so again, a bootcamp will only work wonders for those with a solid grounding in the right skills<\/a> and knowledge already at their disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breadth of data science is a sticking point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the term \u2018data science\u2019 is bandied around regularly, it\u2019s worth noting that there\u2019s not a single subset of areas that it covers, but rather a multitude of potential paths to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, no bootcamp or short-term training course can possibly encompass every conceivable facet of what goes into making a data scientist, because there simply won\u2019t be the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A true data scientist will need to combine the training they receive with their own, self-guided learning. This has been the way of things for a long time and will remain the case indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other stepping stones to take<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A data science bootcamp can be a little like a get rich quick scheme, in that it promises the world but ends up falling short, and it\u2019s only the fault of the participants if they don\u2019t get where they want to be immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution is to think carefully about your existing skills, as well as your circumstances, and see if there are different ways to gain data science-like experience without taking a course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might mean getting into marketing analytics, for example, in order to understand some of the tools and techniques which can later be applied to data science training. It\u2019s about having realistic goals and knowing when claims are too good to be true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bootcamps are en vogue in all sorts of industries, with the idea being that intensive training over a short period can bring newcomers up to speed with complex concepts in a flash. This sounds good in theory, and in many contexts, it has a lot of clout. But the field of data science isn\u2019t exactly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9094,"featured_media":305035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"2661","_seopress_titles_title":"Here's Why a Bootcamp Won't Make You a Data Scientist","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,2661,9],"tags":[5038,954],"class_list":{"0":"post-305033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-big-data","8":"category-data-science","9":"category-smartdata-collective-exclusive","10":"tag-bootcamp","11":"tag-data-scientists"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305033"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305038,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305033\/revisions\/305038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}