I share my experience of training in Yandex.Practicum, for those who would like to get either a completely new specialty or move from related fields. I would call it the first step in the profession, in my subjective opinion. It is difficult to know exactly what needs to be studied from scratch, because everyone has a certain amount of knowledge, and this course will teach a lot, and everyone will understand for himself in which areas he will need to gain additional knowledge - in almost all cases, free additional courses will be enough.
How did I come to the “thought” of analytics?
For several years she was engaged in the creation of online stores and their maintenance (marketing, advertising, Yandex.Direct, etc.). I wanted to narrow the scope of activities and deal only with what I like the most from this wide range. Moreover, I didn’t even know the name of the future profession, there were only approximate requirements for the work process. Independent mastering of programs and tools has never been an obstacle for me, so I decided to look for where I can apply my experience and learn new things.
At first, I thought about getting a second higher education or professional retraining, since the courses seemed to be something frivolous. When viewing various options, I accidentally stumbled upon Yandex.Practice. There were few professions, among them was a data analyst, the description was interesting.
I started to study what there is in information analytics in terms of obtaining a second higher education, but it turned out that the training period is quite long for a field where everything is changing very quickly, higher education institutions are unlikely to have time to respond to this. I decided to see what the market offers besides the Practicum. Most of the participants again proposed a very long 1-2 years, but I would like a parallel development: entry into the profession in the lower positions and further education.
What I wanted in the profession (I don’t consider the work process)
- I wanted learning to be a permanent process in my profession,
- I can cope with routine operations perfectly if I see an interesting goal, but I wanted to multitask so that the workflow does not consist of several mechanical actions,
- so that it is really necessary for business and not only (the market itself confirms this in rubles or dollars),
- there was an element of independence, responsibility, "full cycle",
- there was room to grow (at the moment I see it as machine learning and scientific activity).
So, the choice fell on Yandex.Practice because of:
- term of study (only six months),
- low threshold of entry - they promised that even with a secondary education you can master a profession,
- price,
- they will return the funds if you realize that this profession does not suit you (there are certain rules that are quite fair),
- practice and more practice - practical projects that will be included in the portfolio (considered this the most important),
- online format, support,
- a free introductory course on Python, also at this stage you understand if you need it,
- in addition, you need to consider what type of memory you have. The speed and success of training will depend on this. It is very important for me that the teaching materials are in the form of text, since I personally have the most developed visual memory. For example, Geekbrains has all educational materials in video format (according to information from the training course). For those who perceive information by ear, perhaps this format is more suitable.
Concerns:
- got into the very first stream and understood that, like any new product, there will definitely be technical flaws,
- understood that there was no question of any mandatory employment.
How is the learning process going?
To get started, you must take a free introductory Python course and complete all tasks, because without completing the previous one, the next one will not appear. So built and all subsequent tasks in the course. It also explains what the profession is and whether it is worth going to the course.
Help can be received on Facebook, Vkontakte, Telegram and the main communication in Slack.
The bulk of communication in Slack takes place with the teacher during the passage of the simulator and during the implementation of the project.
Briefly, about the main sections
We start learning by deepening in Python and start using Jupyter Notebook to prepare projects. Already at the first stage we carry out the first project. Also, there is an acquaintance with the profession and the requirements in it.
At the second stage, data processing is taught, in all its aspects, and we begin to study and analyze the data. Here, two more projects are added to the portfolio.
Then there is a course on statistical data analysis + project.
The first third is over, we are doing a large prefabricated project.
Further training in working with databases and working in the SQl language. Another project.
Now a deepening into analysis and marketing analytics and of course the project.
Next - experiments, hypotheses, A / B testing. Project.
Now visual representation of data, presentation, Seaborn library. Project.
The second third is passed - a large consolidated project.
Automation of data analysis processes. Flow analytical solutions. Dashboards. Monitoring. Project.
predictive analytics. Machine learning methods. Linear regression. Project.
GRADUATION PROJECT. As a result of which, we receive a certificate of additional education.
All ongoing projects are of an applied nature in various business areas: banks, real estate, online stores, information products, etc.
All projects are checked by Yandex.Practice mentors - working analysts. Communication with them also turned out to be extremely important, they motivate, but for me the most valuable thing is working out mistakes.
An important part of this is video conferences with mentors and video trainings with invited practitioners.
There are also holidays)) - one week between two thirds. If the process is on schedule, you rest, and if not, then finish the tails. There is also an academic leave, for those who, for some reason, have to postpone their studies.
A little about the simulator
The course is new, but apparently based on other courses, Yandex specialists know how hard it is sometimes when there is an overload and the information “does not enter”. Therefore, we decided to entertain the students as much as possible with funny drawings and comments, and I must say that it really helped in moments of despair when you were “fighting” over the task.
And despair sometimes came:
- you, graduated from the university a long time ago and, it would seem, you don’t remember anything anymore, and then you see the name of the topic “Normal approximation of the binomial distribution” and throw up your hands, and you think that you won’t understand it for sure, but subsequently both probability theory and statistics become for you more and more understandable and interesting,
- or you get this:
Advice to future students - 90% of errors are more from fatigue or overload with new information. Take a break for half an hour - an hour and try again, as a rule, during this time your brain will process and decide everything for you)). And 10% if you do not understand the topic - reread it again and everything will definitely work out!
During the training, a special program appeared to help with employment: writing resumes, cover letters, portfolio design, preparing for interviews, and so on, with specialists from the HR department. For me, this turned out to be extremely important, because I realized that I had not been at interviews for many years.
Already being, almost at the end of the training, I can advise what it is desirable to have:
- oddly enough, a penchant for analysis, the ability to build logical relationships, this type of thinking should prevail,
- the ability and desire to learn should not be lost (you will have to study a lot on your own), this is more, of course, for the category of people over 35,
- just as banal, but it’s better not to start if the motivation is limited only by the fact that “I want to earn a lot / more”.
Disadvantages and not quite justified expectations, where without them
- They promise that anyone with a secondary education can understand.
Not quite so, even secondary education is still different. I think, as a person who found ancient times)) when there was no wide distribution of the Internet, that there should be a sufficient conceptual apparatus. Although, high motivation wins everything.
- The intensity was quite high.
It will be difficult for those who work (especially in a field far from this), perhaps it would be worth redistributing time not equally between courses, but by the first third more, and so on in descending order.
- As expected, there were technical problems.
As a person involved in full-cycle projects, I understand that at least at first, it is impossible without technical problems. The guys tried very hard to fix everything as quickly as possible.
- The teacher in Slack does not always respond in time.
“On time” is a twofold concept, in this case, at the time you need, since working students allocate a period of time for study and the speed of answering questions is critical for them. More teachers are needed.
- External sources (articles, additional courses) are required.
Some articles recommend Yandex.Practice, but this is not enough. I can recommend that I supplement both parts with Anatoly Karpov, Introduction to Databases, Probability Theory (first 2 modules) with courses on Stepik - Big Data for managers (for general development), Python Programming, Fundamentals of Statistics.
Conclusion
Overall, the course is very well done and aims to both teach and motivate. It will take a lot more to master, but now it does not scare me, there is already a meaningful plan of action. The cost is very affordable - one salary of an analyst in the lowest position. Lots of practice. Help with everything from resumes to coffee supplies.
Source: habr.com