Career Tracks

Data Science

101 What Is Data Science?

Data science is a multidisciplinary field that combines computer science and math. The objective of data science is to pull insightful and useful knowledge out of datasets to make smart business decisions. The average salary of a data scientist is $80,265.

Jump to a list of all Data Science Bootcamps

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. 

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. 

How to Choose a Data Science Bootcamp

The best data science course for you depends on your own learning style, career goals, availability, etc. Here's our advice for choosing the data bootcamp:

  1. Narrow down your options – you can rule out some bootcamps based on location, cost, and time commitment.
  2. Examine the curriculum – does the bootcamp teach the most modern data science languages (Python or occasionally R), tools (Hadoop, Spark, Tableau etc), and topics (machine learning, data engineering, etc).
  3. Ask About Projects – communication is so important in data science, and projects are a great way to walk a hiring manager through your thought process and experience. At a good data science bootcamp, you'll build at least 2-3 projects using real-world data sets!
  4. Meet the Instructors – do the bootcamp instructors have qualifications like quantitative degrees, masters degrees, or even PhDs? This is much more common in the world of data science bootcamps. Pro-Tip: Take an intro course or free workshop hosted by the bootcamp to really understand the teaching style.
  5. Ask About Outcomes – do past bootcamp graduates get jobs in data? Ask the school directly for their CIRR report or job outcomes report, read data science bootcamp alumni reviews, and even reach out to alumni on LinkedIn to ask questions.

Red Flags – instructors don't have enough experience or qualifications, projects don't use real-world datasets, or the bootcamp can't tell you about past student career success. 

Are Data Science Bootcamps Worth It?

 “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

“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 

“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

“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.

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.

FEATURED SCHOOLS

 

Showing 101 - 125 of 309

  1. 32
    Reviews
    4
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    Elbrus Coding Bootcamp offers full-time programs in Full Stack JavaScript and Data Science, and offered online (15 weeks) and in Moscow and St. Petersburg, R... Read More

    Irina

    5Graduate - Moscow

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Все супер!

    Пару лет назад узнала от знакомой, что ее знакомая была филологом, а потом прошла буткэмп и стала веб разработчиком", то есть по сути  - с нуля. Пол года назад ... Read More
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    Rice University Boot Camps offer a 12-week, full-time web development course, 24-week, part-time, web development, data analytics, cybersecurity, financial t... Read More

    Mohammad Sattar

    5Graduate

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Very informative and inspiring

    I wasn't satisfied with the basic 4 year degree path and wanted a fast track to gain the necessary knowledge so i'd know i can go back to college at any time an ... Read More
  3. 29
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    2
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    Assembler Institute of Technology offers a 28-week, full-time Master in Software Development and a 24-week, online, full-time Master in Data Science. Assembl... Read More

    Valentino Traverso

    5Student - Course: Master in Software Development - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Mejor sitio para aprender progamación desde 0

    ¿Estas buscando realizar un bootcamp en Barcelona o remoto?En Assembler te ofrecen mas de 1200 horas de trabajos grupales como individuales, simulando entornos ... Read More
  4. 29
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    Desafio Latam offers part-time courses in full-stack and front-end web development, mobile game development, and digital marketing in various cities in Latin... Read More

    Juan Lozda

    5Graduate - Course: Carrera Desarrollo Full Stack JavaScript - Santiago

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Gran lugar para crecer profesionalmente

    Es una plataforma que te ayuda a crecer tanto académica como profesionalmente, y logra poder formarte como profesional capacitado para poder entrar al campo lab ... Read More
  5. acte-logo

    ACTE

    5.0
    28
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    5
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    ACTE offers online, self-paced, 8-week Masters bootcamps covering topics, such as Cyber Security Expert, Digital Marketing, Full Stack Developer, Data Scienc... Read More
  6. 27
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    Southern Methodist University (SMU) boot camps offer 12-week, full-time and 24-week, part-time web development courses, 24-week, part-time data science, fina... Read More

    Jeremy Pierce

    5Student - Course: Financial Technology - Part-Time - Dallas

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Fintech

    I'm an ex-military cop with no prior coding experience that decided to get into the financial technology industry after studying economics at a prestigious univ ... Read More

  7. Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Boot Camps are 24-week, part-time courses in full stack web development, data analytics and cybersecurity. The full st... Read More

    Jacob Owen

    5Graduate

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Full stack

    This is a great boot camp, they are always willing to work with you. The instructors are all very knowledgeable.   ... Read More
  8. 26
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    3
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    Codenotch hosts 12-week full-time, and 6-month part-time web and mobile Development bootcamps in Madrid, Spain which focus on teaching students how to think ... Read More

    Guillermo

    5Graduate - Course: Web and Mobile Development Bootcamp (Full Time) - Madrid

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Desarrollo Web y Móvil

    El profesorado es la principal ventaja de este bootcamp. Todos ellos son profesionales en activo, y con experiencia en la docencia. Crean además muy buen ambien ... Read More
  9. 26
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    Jigsaw Labs is a data engineering bootcamp taught part-time and online. Jigsaw Labs offers a 24-week Data Engineering Bootcamp and a 12-week Web Development ... Read More

    Seena Sardashti

    5Graduate - Course: Data Engineering Career Course - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Process over python

    "Process over python" was a quote that the instructor Jeff reinforced throughout the course. Yes we learned the technical knowledge of python for building ETL p ... Read More
  10. 26
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    7
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    University of Minnesota Boot Camps offer a 12-week, full-time and 24-week, part-time web development courses, 24-week, part-time data analytics, cybersecurit... Read More

    Jon Snover

    5Graduate

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: MERN Full Stack Bootcamp

    Great instructors, they gave myself and my group members support whenever we needed it. This bootcamp made me realize that I like doing UX/UI design, I'll be jo ... Read More
  11. 25
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    365 Data Science is a self-paced, online Data Science bootcamp. The flexible course schedule means there is no set time limit in which to complete the progra... Read More

    Wolfgang Miller

    5Student - Course: Data Science - Online

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: lots of real-life examples

    I found the training very useful, due to the high focus on real-life examples. Contents are challenging, but doable due to excellent support from tutors and tea ... Read More
  12. 25
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    World Tech Makers is a 12-week digital education program based in Latin America. WTM focuses on major web technologies like Ruby on Rails, HTML/CSS, JavaScri... Read More

    Daniela Cardona Alzate

    5Student - Medellín

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Purspose & Tech Aligning

     I've been able to experience alignment with my purpose thanks to all the team work of World Tech Makers. I've seen an integral project that goes forward with t ... Read More
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    AllWomen offers full-time and part-time online bootcamps in web development, data science, data analytics, UX/UI design, content design & UX writing, and... Read More

    Ana Frutos

    5Graduate

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: COOL Data Science Inmersive Course

    I took the bootcamp in May-July 2021.At the beginning, I honestly had doubts, I didn't know how to face the course, everything online, a totally new field for m ... Read More
  14. 24
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    3
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    Vanderbilt University Boot Camps offer 12-week, full-time, and 24-week, part-time courses in web development; 24-week, part-time courses in data analytics an... Read More

    Courtez Cannady

    5Student

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Full Stack/Web Development

    I decided to pursue this career path because I wanted to make a career change and knew where I wanted to go but did not have the skills. I hold a Computer Scien ... Read More
  15. 23
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    2
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    Turing College offers a 24-48 week, online Data Science bootcamp. While this is a supervised and peer-to-peer program, the bootcamp is flexible and can be co... Read More

    Emilija B.

    5Student - Course: Data Science - Online

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Couldn't be happier!

    I'm delighted that I joined the Turing College Data Science course! Over the past year, I've learned so much, and I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to st ... Read More
  16. 23
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    The Dev Masters offers a 12-week, full-time course in data science in Irvine, California. Their data science bootcamp, Mastering Applied Data Science, is des... Read More

    Jieli Chen

    5Graduate - Course: Mastering Applied Data Science - Los Angeles

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: software engineer

    I am attending 12-week data science lab program. It is very good. It is not  only just a course for learning but a program helping me solving problem and findin ... Read More
  17. 23
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    University of Birmingham Boot Camps offer 24-week, part-time web development and data analytics courses in Birmingham. The full stack curriculum includes HTM... Read More

    Mihai Florea

    5Graduate - Course: Data Analytics - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Birmingha University

    Over all good school, learn new exciting things, very good instructoes, good assistance from the boot camp helpful ready to deal with any problem. Recommended i ... Read More
  18. codeop-logo

    CodeOp

    4.95
    22
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    4
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    CodeOp is an international tech school headquartered in Barcelona that offers full-time and part-time tech bootcamps for women, trans and gender non-conformi... Read More

    Antonia V.

    5Graduate - Course: Full Stack Development (Full-time) - Online

    Verified Via GitHub

    Says: Intense but so worth it

    I completed the 11 weeks full stack web development bootcamp at CodeOp, I attended it remotely. I expected the course to feel quite long, but the weeks flew by ... Read More
  19. 21
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    Divergence Academy is a technical training provider based in Addison, Texas that offers courses in data science, cybersecurity, and cloud engineering. The fu... Read More

    Edward McGee

    5Graduate - Course: Cybersecurity Professional Penetration Tester - Dallas

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: A great experience

    I found the curriculum easy to follow, backed by industry professional instructors. With great administrative support. ... Read More
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    Growth Tribe offers online bootcamps in Growth Hacking, UX Design, Data Analytics, and Business Leadership. Growth Marketing Immersive is a 6-week bootcamp w... Read More

    Juan Carlos Zuloaga

    5Graduate - Course: Growth Marketing Diploma (12 weeks) - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Your future is now! It´s never too late to learn!

    Your future is now! It´s never too late to learn! Growth tribe changed the way how We get the job done. Google, SEO, and Digital Marketing were never as fun for ... Read More
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    CodingInvaders by MentorsPro offers online Data Analyst (32 week), QA Automation (32 week), and Full Stack Python Developer (48 week) bootcamps based in Pune... Read More

    Charmi Sabharwal

    5Applicant - Course: Data Analyst - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Brilliant course for every data analytics aspirant

    Doing the Data Analyst course from CodingInvaders by MentorsPro is the best decision I have taken in recent times. This is a super insightful course that's maki ... Read More
  22. 21
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    Dataquest is a data science bootcamp that offers career path courses (which can be completed in about 45 weeks), skill paths courses, and free introductory c... Read More

    Aaron Montgomery

    5Student - Course: Data Scientist - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Wonderfully delivered curriculum

    Dataquest is precisely what I was looking for; the perfect mix of challenging and supporting. Their courses are laid out by folks clearly familiar with best pra ... Read More
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    Bethel Tech offers 33-week part-time, full stack web development and data science bootcamps online. Bethel Tech is powered by Woz U and web development stude... Read More

    Ranika

    5Graduate - Course: UI/UX - Online

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Bethel Tech is AMAZING!

    I graduated from Bethel Tech in 2022 in the UI/UX design program. If you are considering attending Bethel Tech, I would say, "Yes! Go for it!" At first, I was h ... Read More
  24. 21
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    Data Science Retreat is a 3-month, full-time, immersive program for advanced data science and machine learning based in Berlin, Germany. DSR's rigorous bootc... Read More

    Alex

    5Graduate - Course: Data Science - Berlin

    Verified Via LinkedIn

    Says: Long-term perspective of a graduate after almost six years

    I attended (and graduated) from the very first batch of Data Science Retreat (DSR) which took place in Berlin from the beginning of May to end of July 2014 .Sin ... Read More
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    Board Infinity offers live online bootcamps in Digital Marketing (17 weeks), Sales and Marketing (18 weeks), Artificial Intelligence with Machine Learning (1... Read More

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    Says: Feedback of Board Infinity

    Excellent learning platform  ... Read More

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