Rutuja Mowade wrote this answer to a Quora question “Is it worth going for PG Diploma program in Data Science offered by IIIT-B and upGrad?”
I can completely understand your mindset right now, as I was in a similar dilemma a few months back. Being a newbie to this data science world one of my greatest concern was about my plan of action. So making a plan using course material available on the internet and following it strictly with your own estimated deadlines along with a job, trust me, it’s not everyone’s cup of coffee! After going through syllabus provided by various platforms including colleges, finally, I opted for IIIT-B & upGrad PGDDS program.
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Now coming back to your question if it’s worth going for PG program, my answer is YES. The reason being the course is designed in such a way that all the concepts are taught from scratch. It helps in making your conceptual base stronger via assignments and group case studies. This helps in understanding the practical implementation of concepts. These concepts helped me a lot because of which I was able to make a career transition to data analytics field within 4 months of this course.
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The plan of action is designed keeping in mind the understanding of students irrespective of their age. It’s best for people having some experience in data analytics, freshers as well as for those people who are looking for career transition. It doesn’t matter what your previous working background is, as everything is taught from the basic. In case you don’t have access to your laptops then you can use their app for accessing study material.
You always get a student mentor who is your go-to person for all the queries related to course or career. Mentor makes sure that you cope up with the course well.
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In case you opt for career support then you get to interact with an industry expert in order to shape your career. These industry experts are from different industry domains. upGrad provides a flexibility of choosing your own expert guide. Experts help you with resume preparation and mock interviews, thereby providing you with the best guidelines. upGrad keeps you posted for the new openings.
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I won’t emphasise on the topics covered in the course as it has been already done in some of the answers here.
During last semester, you get to select a domain for the expertise of your choice (Banking, Healthcare, E-commerce) for an internship.
The brand name surely adds weight to your resume. They help you in providing the best learning experience as a team player. If you take advantage of every learning opportunity they provide then surely you will get best benefits.
Another thing which I liked about this course is the flexibility of timelines. They not only share knowledge but also make sure that students are performing well with proper grasp. This makes you feel much confident.
The program fee is around 2.25 lacs, is it worth? Considering all the above points, I found their learning platform to be quite standard. You get to learn from various industry experts, professors from IIIT-Bangalore. The projects or assignments are similar to live projects. They also help you by introducing to other important forums that you should know as a data science enthusiast.
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So, if you really want to invest in yourself for getting quality knowledge then you should surely go for PG program in Data Science by IIIT-B and upGrad.
Is data science a promising career path?
The answer is an unequivocal YES! Data Scientists are in high demand all across the world, and the absence of qualified talent makes data science an extremely rewarding career path. There are three economic factors influencing on job rankings and making Data Science a rising career in 2021
1. Demand : The key reason for the increasing demand for Data Science is that if your competitors employ data-driven decision making while you don’t, they will overtake you and grab your market share. The demand for Data Scientists is crazy and shows no signs of slowing down, which is why they are in the top three job rankings.
2. Supply : Data Scientists are in short supply, and this is due to the fact that the subject of data science is still relatively young in 2021.
3. Evolving field : Data Science is evolving rapidly because of increasing demand of data across the world. New and exciting domains are emerging within this field including Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), along with some newer technologies such as Blockchain, Edge Computing, Serverless Computing, and others that leverage various practices and techniques from the Data Science industry.
How do I get started in data science without any prior experience?
To get started in Data Science without any prior experience follow the below mentioned steps
1. Master your math skills : Math skills include Statistical methods, Probability distribution, Multivariable calculus, Linear Algebra, Hypothesis testing, Statistical Modeling, Data summaries, Descriptive Analytics, Regression analysis, etc
2. Learn some Programming Languages : After you've mastered arithmetic, you can start learning SQL, R, Python, and SAS, which are among the most important programming languages for data scientists.
3. Apply your skillsets in the real world by taking on side projects or internship : You can look for part-time jobs or internships on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, as well as on social media and job boards.
4. Start as a Data Analyst : Data scientists and data analysts aren't the same thing, although they're both growing in popularity. As a starting employment, data analyst positions can be easier to come by and can serve as an excellent springboard for a data science career.
What are the educational requirements to become a Data Scientist?
For many businesses, data science has proven to be a need. Finance, marketing, retail, information technology, and banking are just a few of the businesses that are making the most of their data. Data Scientists are in high demand, and everyone is on the lookout for them. A career as a Data Scientist is open to people from all walks of life.
The basic requirement to learn Data Science is to have a
1. Bachelor’s degree in Computer science, Math, Physics, Statistics, Social Science, Applied math and Economics
2. Master’s degree such as M. Tech in Data Science and Engineering, PG Diploma in Data Science, M.Sc. in Data Science, M.Sc. in Big Data Analytics.