K2 Data Science

I went through the K2 Data Science program in spurts and I loved it.   Who was I going in:   Had a degree in Econ and had taken a handful of computer science courses in college. - I had the baseline for applied statistics, calc, linear algebra, and basic coding   I had just started building a startup. - My time availability was sporadic and limited. I needed incredible flexibility not provided by in-person programs or grad school programs. I also needed the program to be modular so I didn’t have to start over whenever I had to divert my attention from the course. - My funds were largely allocated to paying my bills and pushing the startup forward. I needed a reasonably priced option.   I knew that I wanted to understand Machine Learning and apply it to business in the future. - I wanted a course that took deep enough dives and provided practical applications for me to  really understand the 5W’s of the real world application of the techniques.      Who I was coming out:    I had paying gigs as a Data Strategy Consultant while still in the program. I then started my own consulting firm working with Enterprise & Startup clients to demonstrate how to leverage ML in different verticals. That’s now my full-time job and passion.   Not bad for a bootcamp...   More Info:   If you’re interested in learning Data Science with project-based learning and excellent mentorship, but need flexibility, K2 is for you.   If you’re not sure where to start, go to their free foundations program and reach out to the course managers. Foundations: https://github.com/k2datascience/ds-foundations Course Manager: ty@k2datascience.com   If you want to reach out and ask me questions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikenemke/ Read less

I was on the K2 Data Science program part-time track. I had a little experience with machine learning by doing some academic projects. I was working full-time and could not move to a location or quit my job to pursue my interest in Data Science. It has a great comprehensive study material and good assignments and projects which can be done at a flexible pace. My mentor and the TA's were very patient with my schedule. My mentor Pavitraa did a great job at making sure I got the concepts right and also helped me prep for my interviews. Overall it was a very pleasant experience. 

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K2 is a great option for anyone interested in becoming a Data Scientist. They offer that very industry-oriented curriculum bootcamps are famous for and at the same time you can do it without having to drop your current job/university program and move to a big city — I even went through the curriculum while living in Brazil. They successfully leverage the perks of self-paced online education and make spending 1-2 years on a Master’s program feel so outdated.

Quality-wise, they have the most comprehensive Data Science program I have ever seen. They have a core curriculum for those looking to get a job as soon as possible and also offer electives for those with specific needs and for those willing to explore as much as possible.

More importantly, in addition to office hours you will have a mentor helping you throughout the program and supporting you on the multiple projects you will work on. K2 students learn by doing and as a result they also end up with a portfolio, which to most employers in the field is more important than a diploma.

They also have an internship program with partner companies in several industries which can be super valuable. Ty - the program manager - is overall a great person and will get out of his way to help you any manner he can and to keep improving the program.

I definitely expanded my skills at K2 and today I am a Data Scientist at a top Brazilian fintech startup.

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I completed the K2 bootcamp under a *mostly full time schedule.  I found the material, instructors and mentor support to be top notch and believe this is an excellent option for those students who wish to pursue a data science education on their own schedule.

Prior to enrolling I evaluated K2 alongside several other on-campus bootcamps.  I would be leaving my job prior to starting the bootcamp to allow for a full time educational experience.  However, my wife and I were also expecting our first child, so I wanted the option of flexible hours if needed.  K2 was the only bootcamp that allowed me to pursue a full time comprehensive education on my own schedule.

Prior to enrolling I had spent 10 years working as a consultant in the civil engineering industry.  My educational background includes a bachelor's and a master's degree in that field.  I had spent roughly 8 months teaching myself python, SQL and refreshing myself on statistics and linear algebra.  The introductory curriculum also covers these topics, though I would highly recommend at least an intermediate level understanding of each prior to starting to ensure you can keep your head above water.

The instructors provided excellent support and feedback on all projects.  They are also continuously revising and updating the curriculum to keep up with current trends within the industry.  I found the mentorship sessions to be extremely useful as well.  Being able to bounce questions off of a practicing data scientist was invaluable in broadeniing my understanding of how concepts are applied in industry.

I also found career support to be top notch.  The mentors and instructors remain invested in the students well after completion of the curriculum.  I was provided resume and portfolio review, mock interviews, and direction on which concepts to study prior to interviewing.  I highly recommend K2 to any self-motivated student who is looking for a flexible, yet comprehensive, data science education.

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I'm a recent K2 gaduate having had a basic programming class in Python and an introduction to Data Science class at a reputable Masters in Data Science program prior to starting the curruclum. I invested approximately 20-25 hours per week within the part-time cohort while additionally taking classes within the aforementioned degree program. My focus was primarily Financial Engineering focused with much of the curriculum projects dedicated to this domain.   

My overall experience with the program is excellent to exceptional. I developed Python, pandas, scikitlearn and numpy skills beyond my expectations and am very pleased with my generaly understanding of Data Science. I've since been hired to launch an Asset Management division of a boutique Merchant and Investment Bank and will be relying upon the skills learned within K2 to direct my department. I was in the first cohort and have witnessed the development of the Curriculum since I first began and believe it to be continuing to improve from a very good to excellent base. The highlight of the program, undoubtedly, was the mentoriship experience. This program ranks highest amongst any bootcamp or traditional educational program (again curently enrolled as an M.S. in Data Science) I've every taken (or heard of).  Meeting with my mentor twice a week for numerous months while I coded my projects has proven to be invaluble in shortening the learning cycles. The program surpassed my already high expectations. 

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I went through the K2 bootcamp full-time, and thought it was great. I came in with a fairly scattered data analysis background, but even this wasn’t necessary. They’ve produced a really excellent curriculum which teaches data science very effectively — lectures and exercises get you familiar with the material, and then project-based work helps you apply it. The mentors and TAs were responsive and helpful, and very proactive in offering help and advice. By the end of the program you’ll be familiar with pretty much every tool and technique used by data scientists in their day-to-day work.

More than that, K2 also does a great job teaching you not just how to use tools, but how to really understand why they work. Exercises like creating my own implementation of machine learning algorithms gave me a much deeper understanding of the field. I’m now doing research in a computational neuroscience lab, and the techniques and skills I learned at K2 are still applicable even in cutting-edge academic work.

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I left my role in financial services to do a data science bootcamp. At the time, I had only conceptual knowledge of computer science topics, little programming experience, and no knowledge of advanced statistical / data analysis / prediction methods. K2 Data Science provided the tools I needed to change my profile from that of "generic financial analyst" to manager-level quantitative professional. The curriculum is all original content developed in-house, the online platform is great, TA's and mentors are readily available and provide great feedback, and the work teaches exactly the tools one would need to be a data scientist.

You'll work with Python and learn to use machine learning to predict a variety of outcomes in machine vision, forecasting, clustering, and classification. You'll work with the sklearn package as well as build your own algorithm class from scratch, and electives within the course will get you started on niche topics like language processing, big data engineering, and neural nets / deep learning.

For some perspective: I took ~4 months to finish the curriculum and found a new role with a substantial increase in compensation after just 22 days of searching. This is a great option for any student or professional with the motivation to do great work.

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Overall, I thought it was a great webinar. I felt like I learned a lot during the few hours I attended. I thought the instructor did a great job explaining the inner workings of each section and made even the more boring topics interesting with fun real world examples.

The founder also did a Q&A about their data science program and covered their curriculum in depth and talked about job assistance. I can honestly say this is one of the better experiences I have had with bootcamps.

I can't wait to attend the online bootcamp program. I can only imagine it holds the same quality, if not better.

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I attended a webinar hosted by the teaching assistants of K2. It was about data preprocessing. It was an introductory topic, but the TAs went in-depth about various edge cases. The attendees were able to ask questions throughout the webinar and the TAs would change the code and use ad-hoc examples. Will definitely attend any upcoming webinars they have. I have not seen a comprehensive intro to preprocessing like that on any free online tutorials or blog posts.

I have not decided whether to apply for the part-time bootcamp, but it is definitely on my radar.

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