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Finding the right platform or course is never easy when you are looking to learn something new. It consists of a lot of trial and error, and the worst thing is when you pay for them. You feel like you’ve been going around in circles trying to find the best course to elevate your career but then you end up back at square one - and you’ve hurt your pockets (sometimes a bit, sometimes a lot)

That’s why I have decided to put this article together, so you can learn from my mistakes and gain all the data science knowledge - on a budget!

Understanding Data Science

Link: Understanding Data Science

Let’s start with DataCamp - an online learning platform that provides a range of different courses. Their ‘Understanding Data Science’ course is catered to beginners who want to get their feet wet in the data science world. And you also don’t have to worry about having coding experience - because it is not needed! 

It is a 2-hour course and consists of 15 learning videos and 48 exercises! Broken up into 4 sections, the 1st section Introduction to Data Science is free, and the 3 remaining sections will require you to get a membership. The membership prices are reasonable and with it you will have access to DataCamps full content library, making it useful when you want to take on additional courses. 

Data Science from Scratch

Link: Data Science from Scratch 

This is for the book worms who prefer this as their learning method. In the ‘Data Science from Scratch’ book you will learn about the discipline of data science, such as the libraries, frameworks, modules, and toolkits. As well as how the algorithms work and how you can implement them from scratch. 

If you’re looking for a crash-course in Python and want to learn the basics of data science, dive into the fundamentals of machine learning, and dive deeper - this book is for you. 

Introduction to Probability

Link: Introduction to Probability

A 10 week long course that is FREE from Harvard! With a lot of online bootcamp courses, probability is sometimes forgotten about. However, it is essential for your understanding of the foundations of data science. Learning probability can take you from being a ‘good’ data scientist to an ‘expert’ data scientist. 

In this course you will learn about uncertainty and randomness, making good predictions, common probability distributions, and more. The course is free but you can add a verified certificate for $209.

Python in a Nutshell

Link: Python in a Nutshell

Python has been ranked as one of the most popular programming languages for a while now - and there’s a reason why. It's simple syntax has made it easy for people to transition into the world of data science with ease. There is a demand for data professionals, and the Python language has definitely paved the way. 

This 4th edition ‘Python in a Nutshell’ book consists of 26 chapters which take you from a complete beginner in Python to an absolute expert! From representing data in Python to debugging - this book has it all!

Data Analysis with Python

Link: Data Analysis with Python

Freecodecamp.org started out as an organization that wanted to make learning accessible to everyone - hence the name. If you are looking for a course that takes you through everything, then this Data Analysis with Python course is highly recommended. A lot has changed in the data science world, especially Python, SQL, and more. 

In this course you will learn the absolute fundamentals in order to become a data scientist, from reading your own data to using libraries to analyze it and create data visualizations. 

Wrapping it up

With these 5 courses/platforms you will be able to take yourself from someone who did not have any experience about data science to fixing up your resume to apply for your first data science role. Data science continues to be a very popular role, and there's no better time to start than now!
 
 

Nisha Arya is a data scientist, freelance technical writer, and an editor and community manager for KDnuggets. She is particularly interested in providing data science career advice or tutorials and theory-based knowledge around data science. Nisha covers a wide range of topics and wishes to explore the different ways artificial intelligence can benefit the longevity of human life. A keen learner, Nisha seeks to broaden her tech knowledge and writing skills, while helping guide others.