data analytics certificates?
 

hey guys,

I'm looking into data analytics certificates as a possible tool to pursue a career change and perhaps make more $$. currently working in oil/gas procurement. anyone in this field or is pursuing something similar? any recommended programs?

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

certificate seems like a waste of time to me - but exactly what certs are you getting?
FYI I am a software engineer and in our field (tech) we really don't care if you have a cert at all. Though for non-tech, it might help. Are you looking at like online master? udemy? coursea?

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Im currently in a web dev bootcamp ! Yeah we get a certification but I’m sure no one cares about that it’s all about the knowledge you gain from it

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Hah, no more accounting for you?? :D

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

I have a data analytics certificate but I already had a computer science degree and I was working in industry as a big data developer. I like to think it helped me out to understand the lay of the land and my employer paid the $5k tuition for me so it wasn’t a bad deal.

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

I work in the data science field and we tend to weigh practical experience more than a certificate unless it from a highly reputable place. I would recommend you start building your resume as you pursue your certificate. You want to have projects you can talk about and that show your competencies.

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Also, if current job allows you to change title and do something with data analytic, even if it's more like business analyst, it's a good experience to have.

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Hey yall
Thanks for the inputs. I currently have absolutely no background in data science or anything tech at all and wanted to explore this field as it seems to be a lucrative field. My background is in supply chain management . I think learning a technical skill such as this will open up more doors for me in the future. I also think taking a certificate approach might be more suitable for someone who’s still exploring their options? I notice many masters/mba’s programs have started to offer data analytics, although I think a Master program is a big investment for me at the moment.

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Google is coming out with some certificates and 1 of them is for data analytics. I believe they will be affordable. Their IT cert program is $49/month. https://grow.google/certificates/

Re: data analytics certificates?
 

Yeah I definitely think having the software analytic skill is an invaluable asset in this age.

Now we have to make one thing clear though. Data science and data analytics are often interchangeable in today's job market. However, there are these "data scientists" roles out there and they require a degree, and mostly because they want someone to build actual statistical models.

However, in the industry, 80% of the time anyone working with data, ultimately will use R/SQL/Python for most of their day-to-day task.

Once you have the introductory knowledge from your cert, I'd absolutely apply those skills at your job today (or to your daily life). If you know any business analyst at work talk to them and see what they do, often they write some simple SQL queries or publish Tableau / Splunk dashboards.

MBA is not for technical skills. It's just networking for the price. Master is good but I highly suggest you try it in real life before committing to a degree, meaning getting yourself doing analytic work before committing to any of the data science program out there (they are generally very expensive) because you might hate it.

As far as whether the cert is good, depends on the program, what they teach you and how they will support you during the certification. Are you going to be paired up? Is this a massive online learning cert where you get zero help but from the Internet?

I keep mentioning about your company is that if your boss is okay with you trying new thing, it will help you be even more motivated to learn and apply the new skills :)