How to Prepare for Your Data Science Certification?

How to Prepare for Your Data Science Certification?

Keywords: Data Science, Data Science Certifications, data science career Content concept: Talk about data science certification and its importance Talk about basics to what to do before a DS certification: like basic knowledge of Stats, Maths, analytics overview. Etc. (Please do a bit of research) Conclude Cited as one of the lucrative careers in the current times, the field of data science has grown leaps and bounds. Considering the fact there are just few universities offering degree programs in the field, with duration of programs ranging from two to four years, it is not surprising to see data science certifications gaining popularity amid the aspiring enthusiasts.

But why certifications?

Certifications earned from reputed credentialing bodies assures the employers that a candidate is –  Dedicated to the profession  Self-motivated for growth and development  Qualified enough to handle real time problems and offer solutions Notwithstanding the fact that certifications are generally third-party validation implying – that the separate credentialing body will measure your skill, knowledge, and expertise in the field.

What are Data Science Certifications?

In simple words, data science certifications cover the basic data science concepts to the most complex ones. While the market is flooded with numerous options for data science certifications, it is always better to understand the following things while seeking data science certifications.

1. The certification is platform-neutral 2. It is futuristic and relevant 3. It has a third-party validation of your skills, and knowledge of data science Note: Remember that the main aim of data science certification is to –  Give you competitive edge over other candidates  Offer you the practical knowledge that will help you in solving real time problems

 In addition to all the other multifarious skills that you learn during your certification program along with the validation of your skills that you have acquired while doing the data science program For your data science career, a data science certification will let the prospective employer show that you have all the required expertise to not only assess but also manage the data for the growth and prosperity of the business.

Now that you know the importance of data science certification for a successful data science career, let’s understand the prerequisites before you plunge into the certification. The prerequisites like technical and other soft skills that will make you the most desirable candidate. Some of the important technical skills you need to acquire to have a successful career in data science includes –  Computing  Statistical analytics  Mining and processing large sets of data In addition to extracting the valuable data from the data pile. Most of the data scientists are highly educated with either a PhD or Masters’ degree in Mathematics, engineering, statistics, or computer science.

Result: A data scientist with this level of educational background and armed with certification excels in necessary data science skills and can handle any problem with an ease of an expert.

Some of the other technical skills that you need to acquire before your data science certification – 1. Knowledge of analytical tools like Hadoop, Pig, Hive, SAS, R, and Spark, is a must for aspiring data scientist. While the basic knowledge of these will help you in gaining the entry into certification program and data science certifications will help you develop expertise in the field.

2. Programming skills like Perl, C or C++, SQL, Python, and even Java are some of the programing languages that you should know. Python is the most common programming language that is used by most of the data scientists.

3. Expertise in working with unstructured data is another technical skill a data scientist needs to acquire. Unstructured data comes from various sources like social media, other channels and sources.

While the technical skills are important for a successful data science career, there are some non-technical skills as well that you need to acquire before you opt for certification in data science.

Reason: With these soft skills an aspiring data scientist can reach high up in the career.

Some of the soft skills include – 1. Excellent communication skills 2. Robust business acumen 3. Expert data intuition skills These skills will help an aspiring data science professional succeed in one of the most demanding careers of all times.

Once you have acquired all the required skills both technical and non-technical, then turn your attention to various data science bootcamps, or internships. Reason: These will prepare you for the real time roles in bigger organizations. And as you will gain experience in the field, certification in data science will only increase your value as one of the potential candidates.

So, if you are seeking a high profile career in data science, now is the time to upskill yourself with a professional certification program in the field.