DATA SCIENCE COURSEWORK

Things have changed slightly since my first journal entry about the betterment of Barry.

I finished algebra I. Yay I’m done with 8th grade math (United States public school grade level) and now I’m in high school with geometry! I know, it’s pretty impressive I can grasp all of these complicated concepts.

In all honestly, I feel a little silly taking relatively simple math classes that I took so many years ago, but it is necessary. There are a lot of concepts and formulas I had forgotten and I would be completely lost if I decided to begin where I left off in college.

Right now I’m actually kind of loving it because it isn’t all that complicated. Believe it or not, I actually used to be pretty good at math. Before I lost it all. But it’s coming back!

Khan Academy is fantastic, specifically Sal Khan’s math lectures. They offer a ton of MOOCs (massively open online courses) in a wide range of topics and levels, all completely free! I’m not sponsored in any way by them, but I would love to work there one day because I believe in what they’re doing and I think it’s a fantastic way to provide education to the world.

Anyway, besides completing algebra I, I do have some actually exciting news.

I have begun the Data Science Specialization through Johns Hopkins University on Coursera. It’s a basic introduction to the field of Data Science taught through a series of 9 courses covering R programming, statistical inference, data collection and analysis, etc.

I’m especially excited because I didn’t think I would be able to take any programming courses without having a knowledge of linear algebra, but this specialization only requires basic algebraic knowledge, which I just so happen to have now.

I feel that taking these courses along with my math track will advance me a lot faster than I previously imagined. Presuming I get through the courses, I will still need quite a bit more advanced training, but I think it’s a great step forward.

I spend approximately two hours a day on math lectures and quizzes, in addition to the data science courses that I began on June 13th. Tonight I completed week three of my first course. Before you go into shock, the first course is an introduction explaining what I will be learning and there aren’t that many lectures for each “week”. That is why it’s progressing so quickly. As soon as I get into R, that streak is going to come to a screeching halt.

The specialization costs $422 if you want a certificate of completion at the end, in addition to weekly quizzes and monthly capstone projects graded by the professors. Unfortunately, I am not made of money. Thankfully Coursera does provide a free version of the classes where you still have full access to the video lectures, notes, and forums. I would like to be able to do the capstones and get a certificate, but that won’t be happening right now.

That’s my thrilling news! I’ll be in the thick of it by next week, so I look forward to telling you how it’s going at that point.

Thanks for following along with me. For the first time since college, I actually feel that I’m working toward something meaningful in my life and bettering myself as a person.