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Post Bootcamp Perspective

It’s been a while since I started this blog as part of my data science bootcamp. Looking back at my little blog, it seemed like I should either take it down or start using it again. Since it’s NANOWRIMO month, let’s see if I can maybe get it going again?

Since this blog was born in a bootcamp, I thought a good ‘welcome back’ post might be how I look back on my bootcamp experience.

Things you should know before doing a data science bootcamp

  1. Think of a bootcamp as “the icing on the cake.” At the end of the course, you will be “whoever you were” (your cake) plus “shiny new data skills” (your icing). Figuring out how to sell that in the job market depends on your previous experience, what you do during the training, and how well you do the work of imagining your next life. My fellow students with the clearest career goals got jobs faster (one was even hired before she graduated!). I was probably fair-to-average in that respect, but I knew that I didn’t know. The main reason I chose the bootcamp I did was because I had a good feeling about the career advisor. (Thanks for everything, Marybeth!)

  2. Covid seems to have moved all of the in-person bootcamps to online. I personally am glad that I did an in-person class. The ability to practice giving presentations in front of a live group was great pracice for both interviewing and for going back to work. The casual face-to-face conversations in the break room with my cohort and the staff were also important parts of the experience for me. When you’re all working in a computer lab together, it’s easy to ask the person next to you for help, while online you might not really a sense of whether other folks in the room are having the same issue, or if they are ok with being interrupted.

  3. You will not learn all of data science in 12 weeks, but you will learn a lot, and you will learn how to figure out “just in time” learning, which is the only way to keep up with a constantly changing field. Expect to have to continue to study afterwards to prepare for interviews and to continue to grow on the job. But, also, once you’re away from the experience a bit, you might appreciate it more than you do a week after you graduate. At the end of the whirlwind of curriculum and projects, it’s maybe easier to have a feel for how much you still have to learn than to appreciate your accomplishments.