Data Science For All / Empowerment

I was a part of the inaugural US cohort, and I must say that this program was a great experience for me. I came in without any experience in Data Analytics and Data Science, but now I have gained confidence in my skills and understood the key aspects of the field. The program was helpful in creating a learning space for people from every background, and that is something that I really liked, a space for everyone to be comfortable and learn together.

I participated in CorrelarionOne Data Science for All. It is a 13 week program on full stack data science fluency in Python.While the classes are challenging, early and pretty long, they’re engaging, very applicable and fun. The program can be completed while working full time, it is self-contained meaning you don’t need any outside resources, and unlike other bootcamps, it has a great career development component. The best part of this program? Definitely the people, form the instructors to the students. DS4A is very competitive—while you don’t need to have data science knowledge to get in, you do need a strong track record of success. This results in a cohort full of highly successful, strong driven students. As you build your skills, you’re also building your data science network with not just your peers but also the rotating instructors, guest speakers, and TAs. That said, given the rigor of the program and its focus on job readiness, I wouldn’t recommend it for a recent grad; to fully take advantage of the network and skills, I’d say it’s much better suited for someone with at least a couple of years of full time experience.  

The Program is just amazing. Thanks to this program I have found a career for myself, and a purpose, it is just incredible. They also have career fairs with the sponsoring companies, some of them even wave the apply part you just tell them you are correlation one graduate and you go into interview, not all but many. Also the diversity and inclusion part is great, the conversation is open and direct and they get called out about things and they immediately improved and corrected, they do what they say. It it is very well structured and expectations are clear from day one. The project could be focused on an area of interest if you want to dedicate it towards that. You decide what the project is about with your team.I really think this program makes a difference it is not just the technical skills, the empowerment is awesome, and I was able to help someone that needed some help with some data, made me feel like I can make a difference. I am now volunteering with a non profit called rare strides to create some dashboards for rare diseases it is amazing :)I have to say if you have no experience in coding and python, be prepared to invest about 20 hours a week besides the Saturday classes, if you are familiar then maybe 10, the 3 assignments are intense and large and challenging, they don’t make it easy. I have taken graduate classes online and this compares, I would say sometimes even harder, because you have to come up with a project on your own, I mean with your team, find the data, clean it and know the code and make decisions, believe me you DON’T want to  miss the speakers, they are incredible, inspiring and are just so overwhelmingly amazing. You have to want it for sure. I had to balance a full time job and being a mom, I stopped other activities because it really is no time. Oh! but is worth it, a thousand times worth it.

Like many others, I did not have experience in Python before this program. I’m so happy to see that now, when given a business problem, I can come up with end-to-end data insights, visualizations, and stats in a matter of hours.This is a program that offers a foundation in future team members, how to handle interviews, job opportunities, and more. There’s always more to learn, but DS4A offers what you can run with and apply immediately after graduating.If you can manage the schedule alongside other priorities, this isn’t a program you’ll regret. Be ready to learn, meet new people with your camera on, and do something cool!

This is a fantastic experience, I really enjoy the vibes and the course material is well established. I have to say before attending this program I am worried about my python skills, but after the training I am comfortable for the concepts that will be used in the DS field and it really opens up my possibility for future careers. Besides they hold tons of career fairs to help fellows making connection to the company.

DS4A/Empowerment was such an invaluable experience. The professors and TAs genuinely care about your learning and aimed to help us learn as much as we could. They took our feedback very seriously and incorporated it where feasible. The program says it is designed for all level and that proves to be true. I thought about giving up at one point but the supportive community helped me stick it out. In addition, the job opportunities were plentiful. They made sure we were well positioned for opportunities with program sponsors. 

I didn’t know what to expect coming into DS4A. I honestly signed up on a whim as a way to stave off being underwhelmed in the midst of a pandemic. What I found was a community unlike anything else I’d experienced. A place where I was free to learn and be myself. It was an incredible 13 weeks of pure data fun that I now leverage in my PhD program at Vanderbilt. The course provides more than enough material for you to learn the data science process and it's really up to you in terms of how much you want to learn. DS4A's network is also incredible, and their corporate partners really want the students to succeed. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Personally I didn't expect for them to email me individually with relevant job opportunities but they did and I was very thankful. I really cannot speak highly enough about this program and its organizers.

Correlation One's DS4A Empowerment Fellowship was an awesome learning experience that allowed Fellows such as myself to work on real world cases. Correlation One provided a great learning environment that promoted open conversations and fantastic opportunities to grow in data analytics. I loved my overall experience and I can say the coding and data analytics skills gained adds tremendous value to my current position.

Participating in DS4A has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I came into the program as someone not previously exposed to Data Science and left with a strong skill set for a career in Data. The brilliant network of professionals I was connected to and the hands-on experience I gained from developing my capstone project are incredibly valuable to me as well. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is curious about Data Science and has the drive to be challenged and learn new things!

Data Science for All was an amazing experience that I was fortunate enough to participate in. Considering that it was the first cohort to enter the program, the fact that there were only a few problems with the program is a testament to the dedication and forethought that the program leaders have for this endeavor. NOTE:Since we were the first cohort, we were the guinea pigs, and we tried different things during the program. Certain aspects might have and will change (for example, they now have a python self-paced mini boot camp before the actual program, as opposed to during the first few weeks of the program), so please refer to the program website and leaders to find the most up-to-date information. MY BACKGROUND:I graduated with a math degree in 2017, and I took two intro-to-computer-science and a data structures course. However, I forgot most of what I was taught, and spend most of 2020 trying to relearn everything, with an emphasis in python. It was during this time that I learned about DS4A.APPLICATION PROCESSI don't remember the application process that well but what I can say the following:
The initial application didn't take too long. They're interested in why you want to join the program, and what prior experience/education you have. They also want to know more about your experience as an underrepresented individual.
The assessment involves a lot of statistical terms that I wasn't used to. However, in context you can understand what the question is asking you and what the different responses mean. A review of statistical terms isn't necessary, but it wouldn't hurt. 
The interview was a lot shorter than I thought it would be. They go over some of the questions that you answered in the initial application and they let you elaborate more. They check to see if you pass some minor technical requirements you might have (more on this later). They also ask about you're current employment status, and whether you'd be available to consider certain job opportunities that come through the program (note: You don't need to be unemployed or looking for a new job to enter the program. I knew multiple people who had no intention of leaving their job, but rather wanted to upgrade their skillset)
I heard roughly 2-3 weeks later that I had been accepted into the program.TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTSThe only real technical requirement that we had for the program was that our computer have at least 8gb of ram. This is so they can use a program called Docker, which to put simply, sets up a mini computer within your current computer. You'll be running the software for the program through Docker.Even if you didn't have 8gb of ram, people were still able to participate, but it just makes troubleshooting a bit hard in the long run.THE INSTRUCTORS/ADMINISTRATORS (will talk about TA's and Mentors later)The main instructor for the program is Professor Natesh Pillai, professor of Statistics at Harvard University. However, you'll know him better as DJ Tesh. Natesh is an absolutely wonderful and amazing individuals, and within seconds of hearing him speak, I was able to relax and I knew I was in good hands. Not only is he passionate about data science, but he's also passionate about the mission of DS4A and teaching. He brought a lot of energy and kept everyone engaged and focused. Sometimes other individual's would come in to teach certain parts of the program, and I felt really bad for them since they were always compared to the powerhouse that is Natesh. However, they were also great teachers, and tried their best to make sure that they explained everything as clear as possible. The rest of of Correlation One crew was also amazing. One thing that surprised me was not only the speed of their response, but also the sincerity they had. They worked with participants to make the program better and were very willing to admit and change mistakes they might have made.SATURDAY CLASSES AND CASE STUDIESClasses started at 7am PST, and usually had case studies from 7:10-ish to about 12 pst. Almost everything you'll learn will be through the case studies, which has real world situations. A majority of the case studies do a great job of teaching the concept at hand, and I would refer to them multiple times during the program. During the case study, if you had questions you could ask the presenter directly through the Slack channel or ask your TA's who were on standby to answer questions. Some of the concepts or tools we learned were
Python
Pandas
SQL
Data Cleaning
Data visualization
Hypothesis testing
and much more!
One thing about the classes, though, was that the pacing was never perfect, and that because the skill level of all the participants varied widely. Some individuals had prior experience with coding, like myself, and so we could follow along well enough. Other with no coding experience struggled a bit during the first couple of cases. However, they are making changes to fix this, such as having a python bootcamp before the actual program. and experimenting with recording the lessons and having TA's go over the recording within their groups. Another Issue was the timing of some concepts. For example, I personally would have liked learning more about the statistical aspects of data science much sooner, since it would have helped with our project. However, I think this is a minor issues that can be easily fixed for future cohorts. The rest of the day was usually filled with a mixture of another case study, some community event, an invited speaker sharing their experiences, TA meetings, or free time to work on your projects. One thing I'll say was that the speakers they had were amazing, and I think it's safe to say that everyone looked forward to hearing these individuals.TAS AND MENTORSRoughly 50 participants will be assigned to a pair of TA's and they're one of the first individuals you'll contact when you have questions or problems regarding the material or your project. They answer questions during the lectures and have office hours on Saturday and during the week to help you out with your studies. From what I heard from friends in different TA groups was that most if not all of the TA's were very helpful and friendly. I can say that my TA's were great, and one TA in particular went above and beyond when our group was having major problems with our project.The Mentors are individuals who you'll contact roughly once every 2 weeks. They'll mentor you with regards to your project and your future career goals. From my personal experience our mentorship didn't go smoothly, but that more of an error on our part and due to circumstances outside of our control. I heard most mentorships were really great and that people were able to learn a lot from them.ASSIGNMENTS AND THE PROJECT We had 3 assignments we had to turn in for my cohort. You'll get credit and receive you certificate if you at least make an effort to finish it, but in order to receive a certificate with distinction, you'll need to a score of 90(?) or more on at least 2 of the assignments.These assignments were not easy, and I would highly advise against starting them the night before. However, they're not impossible to do. You might need to do a little extra research in order to answer certain questions or to use certain tools, but it wasn't anything impossible. You're also allowed to work with others (so long as you didn't copy their work word for word), so these assignments usually lead to creating friendships with people who were struggling along with you. The project was the most important part of the program, and in my opinion the hardest. You'll be working on it starting the first week or two, and roughly every other week you'll be turning in a certain part of the project. You'll be working with 4 other individuals, and the idea is that the 5 of you together will have all the skills and knowledge necessary to finish this project. The projects aren't graded, per say, but rather they want to see that you applied what you've learned and made an honest attempt to answer a question. JOB ASSISTANCEDuring and after the program ends, there will be career fairs where a good amount of companies will present a bit about who they are, what they do, and how they're using data science in their organization. They'll share what positions they have available and would be open to questions. One issue multiple people had was that a lot of the organizations at first were looking for either people with a lot of experience or people with masters/PhDs. However, this is more of a problem with the companies that presented and less of a problem with Correlation One. They told us they were actively working to make companies lower or drop their educational requirements where possible and to give DS4A participants a chance, and there has been a notable difference from those first presentations to now. I'm hoping that as knowledge of who DS4A is and what their mission is, that even more opportunities will come.They also have a platform called C1-connect, where you can share your portfolio and your job preferences, and during certain times of the year they would match companies with you to go through the application process. However, I haven't gone through the whole process yet, so I can't say much about it for now.SUMMARYThis program is an amazing opportunity to learn about data science and enter the field, despite the few problems it has an especially considering that its free. It isn't easy and requires dedication, but by doing so you'll be better prepared for life after the program. It doesn't teach you everything about the data science field, but I feel that it gave me the head start as well as the tools to continue further in this path. I'm glad I applied, and I'm sure you will too.

The DS4A coursework is well thought out with real world examples and the mode and method of teaching is incomparable. It fosters an environment that encourages students to ask questions and removes the stigma from error, and helps them see mistakes as a growth experience. Beyond the coursework (Python, SQL, statistical analysis etc.) and the technical skills earned, the community that one gains is priceless. I came in with a very basic background in coding, but with high proficiency in data analytics, and I left with a well-expanded skillset. The course is built for beginners all the way to advanced folks, with its offerings of additional boot camps for beginners and advanced learners. And the crowning jewel of this program -- the diversity and inclusion efforts that cover a variety of aspects and provides a much needed platform to under-represented groups. Thanks to Correlation One for setting up this excellent program. 

Correlation One-Data Science For All (DS4A) mostly focuses on Python, SQL, statistical analysis, business perspective. You gain a solid understanding of how to approach business problems using data.  The lessons are taught by Prof. Natesh Pillai and the best lessons I ever attended. The community is 500-1000 people that are always helpful. Teaching Assistants help with the assignments and career development. Mentors from the industry help your real-life projects. They organize a 1-week career fair every month. This is a great networking and learning opportunity if you are from an underrepresented group. You need to pass a technical assessment and a behavioral interview to be accepted for this free course. The course is designed for working professionals. Lessons are 14 weeks, Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM EST. Project group work is from 3 PM to 7 PM. 

My experience with Data Science for All was overall very positive. Professor Natesh alone is a good reason to join the program because he always brings a unique blend of thoughtful, lively, and informative lectures.  The homework could be pretty challenging, but the TAs were always helpful. The group project was a fun and practical way to use the skills we learned from the lectures and the homework. I won't sugar coat how challenging it is to learn data science and python while working a full-time job, but what's nice is that DS4A understands this and is accommodating as long as you communicate with your TAs.

Would recommend the course to everyone who has been thinking of getting into the data field but doesn't know where to start. I had an awesome experience.