data-science-bootcamps

New trend sees higher ed bootcamps go 2.0


If coding bootcamps are step one, new 12-week data science bootcamps from accredited parties are step two.

It seems that coding bootcamps are so 2015. For students eager to get into a burgeoning field that pays well, data science bootcamps promise to be the new oases amidst hiring deserts.

Starting this summer and continuing throughout the fall, third-party hosts, such as Metis and NYC Data Science Academy (NYCDSA), are offering 12-week programs in data science for students that have some beginner’s knowledge of coding and/or statistics.

The impetus behind these trending data science bootcamps, say creators, is largely due to reports from career research websites, like Glassdoor, which say positions in data science fields not only aren’t getting filled—leading employers to offer high-paying salaries—but will only increase in number of positions available in the future, providing stability within the field.

Data Science is an increasingly interdisciplinary field about processes and systems to extract knowledge or insights from data in various forms, either structured or unstructured, which is a continuation of some of the data analysis fields such as statistics, data mining, and predictive analytics, similar to Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD). The field can also relate to data administration, or data resource management, as an organizational function working in the areas of information systems and computer science that plans, organizes, describes and controls data resources.

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According to Glassdoor, the average base salary of a data scientist is $105,395, with the number of current job openings exceeding 3,400. A database administrator’s average base salary is currently $97, 258, with the number of job openings over 9,000. [Read: “3 blossoming fields of study with massive potential.”]

As data science and data analytics is embraced around the globe, however, the supply of data scientists is lagging far behind burgeoning demand. According to McKinsey, the U.S. will experience a shortage of up to 190,000 skilled data scientists by 2018 due to the ongoing data deluge. The projected heavy shortage of data scientists has universities around the world scrambling to put together data science programs.

This is fine for those now entering the college system, but what about the thousands of students who have graduated with a degree in a similar field and want to prepare themselves for the data science boom?

That’s where data science bootcamps come into play.

(Next page: What do 2016’s data science bootcamps look like?)

NYCDSA’s Data Science Bootcamp

NYCDSA offers a 12-week data science bootcamp where students learn R, Python, Machine Learning, Hadoop, Spark and more. The program delivers a combination of lectures and real-world data challenges to its students. By the end of the program students have at least five completed projects to showcase to employers and will have multiple opportunities to present. This prepares students to meet the requirements for premium data science positions, says the Academy’s website.

The typical NYCDSA student has a technical background in engineering, finance, science, or business. Half the attendees have a Masters in one of those fields, a third have a PhD, and the remaining students have a bachelor’s degree.

Students are trained and prepared for the real world while receiving résumé-building help and interview preparation.

In addition, NYCDSA includes help in finding positions after graduation, and boasts that 85 percent of the program’s graduates are hired within three months and more than 95 percent of them are placed within six.

“We work in the data industry every day,” says Vivian Zhang, founder of NYC Data Science Academy in a statement. “So we know the skills you need to learn to be the Data Scientist companies want to hire and promote.”

The NYCDSA Summer Data Science Bootcamp begins in NYC this summer July 5 – September 23; August 15 – November 04, 2016; and the fall September 26 – December 23, 2016. All bootcamps run Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 6:00pm. All applications are processed on a rolling basis. The tuition is $16,000 for the full 12-week program. For more information visit https://nycdatascience.com

Metis’ Data Science Bootcamp

According to Metis’ website, bootcamp participants will learn data science in 12 weeks with 100 percent in-person instruction from “expert data scientists” (listed on the home page) through a combination of lectures and daily project work with instructors. Metis promises that participants will leave fully qualified and fully networked by graduation for an entry-level data scientist position. Career support is also available for all graduates of the program.

Applicants must have some previous experience programming (writing code) and studying or using statistics. Upon graduation, the bootcamp promises students will be comfortable designing, implementing and communicating the results of a data science project; including knowing the fundamentals of data visualization and having introductory exposure to modern big data tools and architecture such as the Hadoop stack.

Metis data science bootcamps are offered both in NYC and San Francisco. Though final applications for the summer bootcamps are finished, applications will be accepted for fall bootcamps. In both locations, the bootcamp is September 19-December 14.

Tuition is currently $14,000, but it will be increasing June 20th. Metis offers a $2,000 scholarship for women, underrepresented minority groups and veterans or members of the U.S. military. Third party financing is also available.

For more information, go here: http://www.thisismetis.com/data-science#

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