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As companies amass more data than ever, skills in data analysis and data science are among the top ones employees are being hired for in 2021, according to LinkedIn and the US Bureau of Labor.
Data scientists also rank as one of the best US jobs in 2021, based on a report from Glassdoor.
Thankfully, there are plenty of online learning opportunities to help you prepare for a career in data science, whether it’s an online course that teaches you a specific skill or an intensive program that helps you transition into the field.
Many online classes are offered by top schools such as Harvard and MIT, while many programs were specifically designed by major companies like IBM and Google to educate a future workforce. Some of them even offer students the opportunity to join their talent network after completing a specific course level.
Below are a few of the most popular data science options online, including professional certificate programss and individual courses.
Online courses
Online certificate programs
Available on LinkedIn Learning
Length: 3 hours and 41 minutes
Cost: Free with 30-day trial; $19.99 or $29.99 per month after trial ends
Great for anyone considering a career in data science, this relatively short course provides an overview of the most common skills used in the field, such as programming with Python and SQL, mathematics, data visualization, and applied statistics.
Available on edX
Length: 5 weeks (2-5 hours per week)
Cost: Free to audit; $99 for certificate
IBM’s course is an introduction to using Python for data science. It aims to take students from the beginning to programming in Python within a week and includes lab exercises for practice. Upon completion, students will be able to write their own Python scripts and perform basic hands-on data analysis using a Jupyter-based lab environment.
Available on Udemy
Length: 28 hours and 54 minutes
Cost: $15.99
With a special focus on machine learning, this popular Udemy course (which comes with a certificate of completion) teaches in-demand data science skills such as statistical analysis, Python programming, advanced statistical analysis, Tableau, machine Learning, and deep learning with TensorFlow.
Available on Coursera
Length: 14 hours
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $49 per month to continue after trial ends
This Google Cloud course is designed as an introduction to machine learning for non-technical business professionals. By the end, students will have learned how to formulate machine learning solutions to real-world problems, identify whether the data they have is sufficient for machine learning, carry a project through various machine learning phases, and perform AI responsibly without reinforcing existing bias.
Available on Coursera
Length: 8 hours
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $49 per month to continue after trial ends
Amazon Web Services’ Machine Learning course teaches students the basics of AWS Machine Learning, including key problems that machine learning can address, creating intelligent applications using Amazon AI services, and how to build, train, and deploy a model using Amazon SageMaker with built-in algorithms and Jupyter Notebook instance.
Available on Coursera
Length: 16 hours
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $49 per month to continue after trial ends
LearnQuest is an Apple Authorized Global Training Provider, and this course introduces the concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning to students who already have a general knowledge of Azure.
Students will go through an introduction to AI; Standardized AI Processes and Azure Resources; Azure Cognitive APIs, and Azure Machine Learning Service: Model Training.
Available on Codecademy
Length: 35 weeks
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $19.99 or $39.99 per month after trial ends
Taught through Codecademy, a platform dedicated to online programming courses, this career path certificate program is beginner-friendly and designed for anyone aspiring to become a data scientist or analyst. It teaches students the basics of analyzing data, communicating findings, and using machine learning to make predictions with the data.
Available on edX
Length: 1 year and 5 months
Cost: $792.80 for certificate; Individual courses can be audited for free
Harvard’s professional certificate in data science includes eight courses and a final project. Students learn fundamental R programming skills, statistical concepts, and gain experience with the tidyverse, including data visualization with ggplot2 and data wrangling with dplyr.
Available on LinkedIn Learning
Length: 15 hours and 37 minutes
Cost: Free with 30-day trial; $19.99 or $29.99 per month after trial ends
This eight-part certificate program covers everything from an overview on possible data science careers to courses on statistics, data governance, data mining, Excel, and data visualization to tell stories.
Available on Coursera
Length: 6 months
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $49 per month to continue after trial ends
As one of Google’s professional certificate options, the data analytics program teaches students the responsibilities of a junior or associate data analyst, including organizing data through various programming languages, data cleaning, and data visualization.
Available on Coursera
Length: 11 months (5 hours per week)
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $39 per month to continue after trial ends
IBM’s professional certificate includes nine courses that will give beginners job-ready skills and techniques.
The program covers a range of data science topics, including open source tools and libraries, methodologies, Python, databases, SQL, data visualization; data analysis, and machine learning. Students practice in the IBM Cloud using real data science tools and data sets.
By the end, you’ll have a portfolio of projects and several completed hands-on assignments. In addition to a professional certificate from Coursera that you can add to your resume and LinkedIn, you’ll also receive a digital badge from IBM recognizing proficiency in data science.
Available on FutureLearn
Length: 18 weeks
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $39 per month after trial ends
Created by CloudSwyft, this Microsoft-accredited certificate program teaches students the fundamentals of data science, data modeling, mathematics for programming, Microsoft Azure, Transact-SQL, Azure for AI, and cloud computing.
Available on edX
Length: 10 months (9-11 hours per week)
Cost: $1,260 for certificate; Individual courses can be audited for free
UC SanDiego’s edX MicroMasters Program in Data Science integrates the mathematical and applied aspects of data science learning. It’s designed to lend a well-rounded foundation of the mathematical and computational tools that form the basis of data science, and how to use them to make data-driven business recommendations. It includes four graduate-level courses.
Available on Udacity
Length: 4 months
Cost: $399 per month as you go or $1,356 for a 4-month access pass
One of Udacity’s Nanodegrees, this program teaches students how to solve data science problems as well as skills like software and data engineering and experiment design. By the end, students will complete an open-ended data science project to show what they learned.
Available on edX
Length: 1 year and 2 months
Cost: $1,350 for certificate; Individual courses can be audited for free
MIT’s edX MicroMasters focuses on the foundations of data science, statistics, and machine learning in four graduate-level courses and a virtually proctored exam.
The course is built to prepare its students for job titles like Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst, Systems Analyst, and Data Engineer.
Available on Coursera
Length: 8 months (5 hours per week)
Cost: Free with 7-day trial; $49 per month to continue after trial ends
Google’s IT Automation with Python is a beginner-level program that includes six courses designed to build on IT foundations and provide IT professionals with in-demand skills like Python, Git, and IT automation.
Upon completion, you can share your information with potential employers, like Walmart, Sprint, Hulu , Bank of America, Google, and more.
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