Career Track
Data Science
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:
- Narrow down your options – you can rule out some bootcamps based on location, cost, and time commitment.
- 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).
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
More articles about Data Science
Alumni Spotlight
From NASA to Metis
How this aerospace engineer made a career change into data science
Article
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI encompasses CS, machine learning, and data science, but what does it all really mean?
Article
How To Get Into Coding Bootcamp in 2022
Follow these 8 steps to get into the bootcamp of your choice!
Featured Schools
The 275 Best Data Science Bootcamps
Online6 Courses
RevoU is an online academy offering a 14-week, part-time Full-Stack Digital Marketing and Business Development bootcamp for motivated individuals who want to launch and accelerate their career in the tech industry. RevoU students learn and receive mentorship from...
Read our Full Review of RevoUOnline1 Course
Science to Data Science is a 5-week, online data science course for PhDs and MScs. S2DS teaches the skills needed to transition from a scientific background to become a successful data scientist, such as Python, R, Hadoop, SQL, and machine learning. Fellows accepted...
Read our Full Review of Science to Data ScienceSt. Louis, Chattanooga, Kansas City, and 1 more...3 Courses
Savvy Coders is an online coding boot camp offering the following classes: Full Stack Development, Data Analytics + Python, and Cyber Security. Classes are held Monday through Thursday evenings (for Full Stack and Data Analytics) so students won’t have to give up their...
Read our Full Review of Savvy CodersNew York City9 Courses
Columbia Engineering Boot Camps offer 12-week, full-time and 24-week, part-time courses in web development, and 24-week, part-time data analytics, cybersecurity, financial technology (FinTech), and UX/UI courses, and 18-week, part-time digital marketing, technology...
Read our Full Review of Columbia Engineering Boot CampsToronto7 Courses
Bitmaker General Assembly offers full-time immersive courses in web development and UX & product design, along with 10-week part-time offerings in front-end web development, user experience design, digital marketing, product management, and data analytics. Startup...
Read our Full Review of Bitmaker General Assembly
TECH.I.S offers 12-week, immersive, online Web Development and Data Science bootcamps. These full-time programs require students to attend daily standup meetings and put in at least 20 hours of work per week. Web Development bootcamp students learn HTML, CSS, Python,...
Read our Full Review of TECH I.S.
CodingNomads offers 10-week, full-time Java and Python bootcamps in travel destinations like Bali, as well as online self-paced coding bootcamps. CodingNomads helps students learn critical tech skills like Java, Python, Spring, SQL, Django, AWS, data science, and more....
Read our Full Review of CodingNomadsHo Chi Minh City, Hanoi4 Courses
CoderSchool is a full stack and machine learning coding bootcamp in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. CoderSchool aims to offer everyone fair access to education through hands-on, project-based courses. CoderSchool offers both full-time (12 weeks) and part-time (6 months)...
Read our Full Review of CoderSchool
Nashville Software School (NSS) is a nonprofit vocational school in Nashville that prepares adults for careers in technical fields like software development, software engineering, UI & UX design, data analytics and data science. Nashville Software School is a place...
Read our Full Review of Nashville Software SchoolOnline9 Courses
TechProEducation offers online bootcamps in Data Science (26 weeks), Full Stack Automation Engineer (21 weeks), Cyber Security (16 weeks), AWS & DevOps Engineering (21 weeks), Full Stack Mobile Developer (24 weeks), Full Stack Java Developer (24 weeks), Back End...
Read our Full Review of TechProEducation
