Science to Data Science

Let me begin by stating that I applied for S2DS,  but was not accepted. The people that I interacted with during the process seemed to know what they were doing, so I will assume that they were right in rejecting me. If I do not fit in the group or am not fit to be a data scientist, I can only agree with their decision not to waste a valuable spot on me. What I do not agree with is the way that information on my rejection was provided to me. 

In April 2018 I applied for S2DS London. The programme looked great and I was very enthousiastic and eager to join, as I was at the end of my neuroscience PhD and was thinking of a career in data science. I was invited for an interview and had a pleasant (but definitely not flawless) conversation with the woman on the other side of the skype connection. I was given her e-mail address for any further questions and I was told that I would receive information on acceptance by April 30th latest.

Being very eager and nervous whether I would get accepted, I barely made it until May 1st before I couldn't take the excitement any more and I e-mailed the person I had my interview with. I never got a reply from her. Two days later, I decided to e-mail the person that had invited me to the interview. She finally replied a week after the self-applied deadline of May 1st with the information that they were very busy accepting people and would get back to me soon. 

Two weeks later (May 21st), I still very much wanted to join and decided to be the one to open the conversation again. I got the reply that I was not immediately accepted, but rather placed on a waiting list with the information: "There are always a few who decline their places or drop out and then I would like to be able to make you an offer". I thanked her for the place on the waiting list and decided that all I could do was wait and I did. About three weeks before the course was supposed to start, I decided to let them know that I would still be very happy to accept any open spots in the course. I never heard from them again.

Sorry for the long post. In summary, I assume the course is great and very worth taking. However, the rejection procedure is not very professional and may leave you with a slightly bitter taste, given the time you probably invested. 

This course is a great way to get soaked in the world of data science. It provides a great overview of the data science scene, at least the English one, and offers great opportunities to start your career.

The training is not a course where you learn to program, that should be had beforehand. This is a training where you learn a few new tools and methods, but the most valuable part of the training, besides the project experience, is the business talks they offer, they give a great introductions to understanding the motivations of the science you do in industry. Having the experience in a company (of course this depends on the size of the company) is by far the best thing of the course, since you get to see how things move "out there".