Career Track
Data Science
What Is Data Science?
Data science is a multidisciplinary field that combines computer science and statistics. With so much data being produced every day, data science makes it possible to draw useful insights from datasets which may be too large for traditional statistics to analyze. This data is often referred to as “big data,” and can include anything from analyzing complex genomic structures to interpreting handwriting to optimizing a marketing strategy. And data science is not limited to just numbers! Data science finds patterns in all unstructured sets, including text, images, and audio files.
Data Science Jobs
With everyone from businesses to non-profits to the government collecting data, there is high demand for turning that data into smart business decisions. There is a wide variety of data science jobs, and if there’s one thing that we’ve learned after interviewing so many data science bootcamp graduates, it’s that no two companies use the exact same job titles. Common job responsibilities of data scientists include data engineering, data cleaning, and data analysis. Here is a list of the most frequent data science job titles for bootcampers:
- Junior Data Scientist
- Senior Data Scientist
- Data Engineer
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Data Scientist/Software Engineer
- Big Data Analytics Consultant
- Data Science Instructor
- Decision Scientist
- Data Analyst
- Business Analyst
- Business Intelligence Analyst
- Data Journalist
- Financial Analyst
- Product Analyst
- Database Administrator
Data Science Salaries
| Data Science Job | Average Salary |
| Data Science Analyst | $80,265 |
| Senior Data Scientists | $105,909 |
| Data Engineers | $105,909 |
Data Science Skills
According to Josh Wills, Director of NYC Data Science Academy, a data scientist is a “person who is better at statistics than any software engineer and better at software engineering than any statistician.” While math skills and coding skills are an essential part of data science, business intelligence and a scientific approach are key to making sense of data. Most data science students have a previous background in STEM, but overall, data science students and professionals are detail-oriented and excel at problem-solving, logical reasoning, and communication.
Here is a quick list of data science skills and technologies used in the field and often taught at data science bootcamps:
- SQL - SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is designed for managing data in relational database management systems. SQL extracts data for data analytics and reporting.
- Hadoop - Hadoop is a suite of technologies used to manage data and execute programs in a cluster. Hadoop includes a file system designed for large datasets, the MapReduce system which allows for running programs in parallel, the SQL-like Hive database for querying data in a cluster, and other components.
- Spark - Spark is a system for writing parallel programs to run in clusters. Spark has a powerful machine learning library, mllib, and can be used with R.
- Python and R - Both languages are equally important in data science! Python is used for computer science components of a data scientist’s job. R is used for building statistics packages and visualizations. Combining both Python and R greatly increases their range of capabilities.
- Machine Learning - Machine learning is a set of algorithms that is put in place to analyze large sets of data. Many of these algorithms are built so that the machine learns to feed better data into later models, and ultimately make predictions about future events.
- Natural Language Processing - Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a method for pre-processing text to turn it into numerical data. NLP is also known as computational linguistics.
- Data science math includes linear algebra, calculus, statistics, and probability.
How to Become a Data Scientist
Many Data Scientists start their careers in academia – if you have a bachelor’s degree or PhD in a quantitative field, then you’re already close to a data science career. A data science fellowship like The Data Incubator or Insight Data Science would be fantastic options.
Most data science bootcamps require students to have a degree in STEM and an aptitude for math and statistics. If you don’t have a quantitative degree, then you should sharpen your math skills like linear algebra, calculus, statistics, and probability. Then, you’ll be ready to apply to a data science bootcamp.
Master’s in Data Science vs Data Science Bootcamps
While a Master’s in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Science typically takes 3 years to complete, data science bootcamps are typically intensive 3- to 6-month programs. Data science bootcamps often offer career assistance, and prepare graduates for entry-level and junior data science jobs, such as Data Analyst, Data Scientist, and Data Engineer.
A data science bootcamp is not a traditional coding bootcamp. In addition to learning programming languages, such as Python and/or R, data science bootcamps teach students how to extract valuable knowledge from large datasets using analytical and programming skills.
Are Data Science Bootcamps Worth It?
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“I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat. It was definitely worth the money. The learning environment, having the type of classmates that you can learn from, the instructors — you definitely couldn’t have gotten it just by learning on your own.” Itelina, graduate of Metis |
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“I can say that, for me, 100% it was worth it – but I will say the boot camp is also about the work you’re putting in and the goals that you have. I really wanted to sponge off of the people around me – not just the teachers, but also all these PhD students around me. It was the most intelligent group of people I’ve been around in such a small space before. I’ve never had such an amazing opportunity.” Sumanth, graduate of NYC Data Science Academy |
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“I definitely think I needed Galvanize. Because I wanted to break into the tech industry, having Galvanize on my resume along with the skills I learned there, bolstered my ability to get a job.” Rosie, graduate of Galvanize |
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“For me, It was totally worth it. I would do it all over again. IE in particular taught me a lot more than how to use Python and SQL. It teaches the technical skills, but at the same time it gives you access to professors that are going to make the process a lot less frustrating and more fun so that you have the motivation to keep going. Plus all of the extras. You get to network with companies and those companies come to give talks. I made a lot of friends in this bootcamp, too.” Inna, graduate of IE Data Science Bootcamp |
How much does a data science bootcamp cost?
Full-time, immersive data science bootcamps typically cost between $10,000 and $20,000. Many data science bootcamps offer scholarships and financing options to make tuition affordable. There are also fellowships and free data science bootcamps, such as Insight Data Science and The Data Incubator.
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Featured Schools
The 192 Best Data Science Bootcamps
Portland, Salt Lake City, Online32 Courses
The Tech Academy offers several full-time and part-time technology bootcamps that can be completed online or in-person at campuses in Portland, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Tech Academy offers bootcamps in computer programming, website development, cyber...
Read our Full Review of The Tech AcademyBoulder, Seattle, San Francisco, and 6 more...2 Courses
Galvanize offers a 13-week full-time and a 26-week part-time data science bootcamp, as well as Hack Reactor's 12-week JavaScript coding bootcamp in Austin, Boulder, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City. The data science bootcamp...
Read our Full Review of Galvanize
AcadGild is an online coding bootcamp offering courses in full-stack web development, digital marketing, data science and mobile development based out of India and California. Founded by IT professionals, AcadGild's focus is on mentor-based technology education and the...
Read our Full Review of AcadGildOnline9 Courses
Simplilearn’s Masters Programs are intensive 90-hour online bootcamps for full stack web development, data science, cybersecurity, DevOps, digital marketing and other tech topics. Simplilearn’s mission is to help professionals acquire the skills to succeed in the...
Read our Full Review of SimplilearnSalt Lake City, Las Vegas4 Courses
DevPoint Labs teaches 11-week full-time and 11-week part-time full stack web development coding bootcamps in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The full-time class is part of the University of Utah Professional Education school, and covers HTML, CSS, Ruby on...
Read our Full Review of DevPoint LabsChicago, Washington, Boston, and 2 more...4 Courses
Coding Temple offers 10-week, full-stack coding bootcamps and data science bootcamps with campuses in Chicago, Boston, and live online. The Full Stack Web Development bootcamp focuses on ASP.NET, C#, MVC, JavaScript, JQuery and more. The Python + Data Science bootcamp...
Read our Full Review of Coding TempleOnline2 Courses
RMOTR by INE offers 4-month online Python web development and data science bootcamps. Students interact with teachers, mentors, and classmates remotely and are equipped with the skills to land a new role in tech with the help of RMOTR career advisors. Trainings include...
Read our Full Review of RMOTROnline1 Course
Data Science Dream Job offers a self-paced online course to help aspiring data scientists land a job. The course includes 150 hours of material and covers goal setting, understanding the data science industry, technical skills, portfolio creation, personal branding,...
Read our Full Review of Data Science Dream JobCape Town, London, Johannesburg, and 1 more...4 Courses
HyperionDev offers 6-month, part-time and full-time tech bootcamps in software engineering, data science, web development, and mobile development, available online and in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Students learn part-time (about 8 hours per week), work...
Read our Full Review of HyperionDevOnline8 Courses
Metis offers data science and analytics training via live online immersive bootcamps & courses, part-time bootcamp prep courses, and corporate training programs. The Metis Data Science & Analytics Bootcamps provide specialized curriculums with real-time...
Read our Full Review of Metis
