Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.
―
Hello audience! It has been a shamefully long time since my last post — so long, in fact, that logging into my WordPress blog I was met with a new post editor!
In my last post before I went off-grid, I suggested that I would be taking some time to re-brand my skill set to data science in general and R in particular. I hinted my overall mix of blog content would be shifting away from Excel and into other tools and “data philosophy” more generally.
So, did I meet these goals? Stay tuned to find out!
This commercial break is brought to you by my free e-course, “5 Things Excel Users Should Know About R.” Sign up today and learn how to get coding statistics as a spreadsheet user!
So… did I meet these goals? Rather than answering, let me just provide an update. You’ll see… it’s complicated.
Thankful analytics
Not too shortly after signing off, I was referred by a friend (I’m forever indebted to you, Ted!) to a job posting for the coding bootcamp Thinkful. Their instructional design team was building the curriculum for a new data analytics “bootcamp” and needed a subject matter expert to take the lead.
Impressed by my online corpus of writing (and specifically that written for a liberal arts graduate audience, as that is a common persona for many of their students), Thinkful brought me on to the contract.
Over 300 pages (and counting!) of created content later, and I can only say this has been a fantastic experience. As a content creator, you often wonder whether you’re writing to an empty room. Is anyone getting anything out of this? Am I?
Not so with my Thinkful curriculum — I know that it’s helping dozens of students get their first job as a data analyst. I can’t think of more meaningful work than that — it’s something my own blog has been devoted to with the “Hired with Excel” theme.
Take that idea, turbo-charge it as a multi-skill curriculum and staff it with a panel of giving, creative people and you get some idea of Thinkful’s data analytics bootcamp. Read about the program here. I would encourage any of my readers who are interested in learning to code, analyze and tell stories with data to check out the program. Not only will you gain a tight Excel proficiency, you’ll pick up skills in Tableau, Python and SQL (That’s really an impressive skill set!) with a focus on career-readiness and “thinking like an analyst.”
I am so thankful for what I have been able to build with Thinkful and look forward to continuing the relationship.
More content coming
So, that was the great bulk of my time. It wasn’t exactly self-studying data science concepts in R, but it definitely sharpened my data acumen and made me a more well-rounded analyst. I’m now comfortable writing about everything from SQL to case interviews to statistical inference now, and hope to bring that versatility to this blog… someday.
A positioned professional
I wanted to take the last few months away from writing and content creation to “re-brand” myself into a more skilled and versatile professional.
What I didn’t reckon with, however, was the idea that my content creation itself could help me become a more skilled and versatile professional. It’s been so exciting to get involved with the growing world of online data training on a professional level, outside the “home base” of my blog.
There’s so much to learn and pursue that I couldn’t imagine saying that I’m “bored” or “stuck.” Data analytics is really an exciting field to be in, especially for those of us keen to share what we know.
Thanks for being part of the adventure. Seriously, I consider my network more valuable even than my content or knowledge (Although as I’ve explained, the two are inextricably connected.). As my work at Thinkful confirms, I get joy from seeing other analysts thrive just as I do myself.
To close on a high note: We’re all in this together!
Leave a Reply