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 202 Best Data Science Bootcamps
Dallas5 Courses
Southern Methodist University (SMU) boot camps offer 12-week, full-time and 24-week, part-time web development courses, and 24-week, part-time data science, financial technology (FinTech), and cybersecurity courses. The full stack curriculum includes HTML, CSS,...
Read our Full Review of SMU Boot CampsMoscow, Saint Petersburg, Online2 Courses
Elbrus Coding Bootcamp is a full-time 3-month course in Moscow, Russia. Students will learn JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Node, React, and Express and will participate in pair programming, projects and interactive lectures. The course is broken into two parts: first students...
Read our Full Review of Elbrus Coding BootcampSacramento4 Courses
UC Davis Boot Camps are 24-week, part-time web development, data analytics, and cybersecurity courses, and an 18-week digital marketing course. The full stack curriculum includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, Node.js, databases, MongoDB, MySQL,...
Read our Full Review of UC Davis Boot CampsDallas5 Courses
Divergence Academy is a 12-week full-time data science bootcamp in Addison, Texas. The program has a focus on Python, and also covers statistical modeling, the UNIX/LINUX command line, machine learning, web scraping, databases, collaborative coding, working in the...
Read our Full Review of Divergence AcademyBerlin1 Course
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 bootcamp is taught in English and covers data science, business analysis, software engineering, communication, and...
Read our Full Review of Data Science RetreatBuenos Aires, Santiago2 Courses
MindHub offers two, full-time coding bootcamps remotely or on-campus in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Full Stack Java Web Development (740 hours) and Data Analyst & Big Data (720 hours). MindHub bootcamps use a learning methodology called Story Centered Curriculum....
Read our Full Review of MindhubCleveland3 Courses
Case Western Reserve University Boot Camps are 24-week, part-time courses in full stack web development, data analytics and cybersecurity. The web development curriculum includes HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, React.js, Java, Node.js, Database...
Read our Full Review of Case Western Reserve University Boot CampsSan Francisco, Online1 Course
Make School is a college in San Francisco where students earn a Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science in 2.5 years, complete with a liberal arts education that prepares graduates to work with the world’s leading tech companies. Make School's project-based...
Read our Full Review of Make SchoolTel Aviv1 Course
Israel Tech Challenge offers a range of programs in data science, software development, full-stack web development, hardware engineering and cybersecurity based in Tel Aviv, Israel. ITC aims to open the door for talented professionals to develop their careers in...
Read our Full Review of Israel Tech ChallengeSan Diego6 Courses
SoftStack Factory is a non-profit, part-time coding bootcamp based in San Diego, CA. SoftStack Factory is focused on teaching teamwork, problem-solving, product building, and corporate etiquette through working on real-life projects with experienced mentors. SoftStack...
Read our Full Review of SoftStack Factory
