SQL, SQL, SQL
They use Metabase for self-service analytics at work. I like the ability to explore on my own and create robust analyses and dashboards. I have started building a couple of reports on my own, but I need to get better at SQL before feeling comfortable using this tool.
I loved learning about Python and R and their excellent data science libraries. But the world still belongs to SQL.
According to my college in Mexico (Monterrey Tech), not all digital records are the same. They just informed me that because I graduated so long ago (1998), producing an official copy of my transcript will take six months!
Can you believe that? I can not understand why on earth it would take them so long. Do they have to go to the scrapyard and find the hard drive with my records? It is ridiculous.
The consequence of that delay is that I will not be able to apply to UT Austin’s data science master’s degree this year. It might not be such a bad thing.
I realized there is so much for me to learn, and maybe the rigid format of a master’s would be hard to do while working full time. I have decided to break it down into courses and go one at a time.
It is a more flexible arrangement. There is no penalty if I have a hard week at work and have to put off learning for a few days. Also, as I keep going down the list, I can more easily adjust my path.
Here is my updated learning path:
| Platform | Skill Track / Program |
|---|---|
| DataCamp | SQL for Business Analysts ST |
| Data Literacy Fundamentals ST | |
| Data Skills for Business ST | |
| Power BI Courses | |
| Tableau Fundamentals ST | |
| Python Programmer Career Track | |
| Importing & Cleaning Data with Python ST | |
| Data Manipulation with Python ST | |
| Time Series with Python ST | |
| Python Toolbox ST | |
| Deep Learning in Python ST | |
| Big Data with PySpark ST | |
| Data Engineer Carrer Track | |
| SQL Server Fundamentals ST | |
| NLP in Python ST | |
| Deep Learning for NLP ST | |
| A Cloud Guru | Python Development |
| Google Cloud IAM Deep Dive | |
| Google Cloud Certified Professional Data Engineer | |
| Google Cloud AI Services Deep Dive | |
| Google Cloud SQL Deep Dive | |
| Coursera | Google Cloud Certified Professional ML Engineer |
Finishing all these courses will take me at least a couple of years. Some people could feel overwhelmed or discouraged by such a long list of to-dos. Not me.