Why Choose General Assembly’s Part-Time Data Courses?

The importance of data science and data analytics continues to grow in today’s fast-changing world. According to Statista, the amount of data created last year was at an all-time high of 64.2 zettabytes. The experts predict this figure will get even larger, with the global data creation projected to reach 180 zettabytes by 2025.

With so much data available, many companies and organizations now recognize the need to leverage data in making business decisions. Because of this, individuals who possess hard skills in data science and data analytics are valuable and marketable, no matter the industry.

General Assembly offers a part-time data analytics course for professionals who want to develop their data analysis skills. For professionals who have previous experience in programming and data analytics and want to learn more complex analysis tools, General Assembly advances its part-time data science course.

If you’re looking for part-time data courses that you can take while continuing to work full-time, General Assembly’s courses might fit your needs.

What to Expect from General Assembly’s Data Analytics Course

General Assembly’s part-time Data Analytics Course is an instructor-led program that teaches beginners how to perform data analysis using Excel, SQL, and Tableau and tell compelling data-driven stories. 

This course does not have prerequisites, and students have access to three hours of self-paced pre-work during their admissions assessment and before beginning the program.

General Assembly students will:

• Use Excel and SQL to collect, clean, and analyze large data sets 
• Use Tableau to create dashboards, visualize data, and tell data-driven stories
• Access coursework co-created with GA’s expert Data Analytics Product Advisory Board, including lesson decks, lab materials, and more
• Receive instruction from industry experts
• Create a capstone project by applying rigorous data analysis techniques to solve a real-world problem and develop a portfolio-ready presentation.
• Receive an industry-recognized certificate upon completing the course; and 
• Join a vast network of GA alumni from around the world.

There are two ways to complete General Assembly’s Data Analytics Course. You can either commit a total of 40 hours of study over 10 weeks or take a one-week accelerated course. Classes are delivered online and on-campus, although the latter has been temporarily moved online in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit their blog for the latest updates on campus reopening. 

Tuition fee: $3,950

Is General Assembly’s Data Analytics Course Worth It?

David Kanevsky was already working with data, or “small data” as he likes to call it, even before he took General Assembly’s Part-Time Data Analytics Course. He was working for a political committee and was involved with surveys and research.

Yet in David’s words: “I wanted to learn more. I saw the industry was changing, and I saw what some colleagues were doing with SQL.” So, he took General Assembly’s course. 

“Knowing myself, I learn better with in-person instruction. It’s more helpful, as opposed to, ‘I read something and if I don’t get it, who can I talk to?’ If I get stuck, it’s not just a computer program. There’s a real person I can talk to. That was the main differentiator for me. Also, the flexibility because it was part-time.”

The skills he gained from the course have proven valuable from the time he graduated until today. “What I enjoyed from the course was that when I learned something, I [was] able to apply it immediately at work…I also really enjoyed the instructors. In terms of technical skills, I don’t feel like I’ve mastered SQL because there’s always more to learn. But I think I’ve probably got 90 percent of it,” David said.

“​​…It also taught me how to problem-solve. For example, I don’t think I’m a Tableau expert. But I’ve been able to go back and look at my final class project and review it. The course taught me enough that I can figure out the rest when I need to. This program has paid for itself, multiple, multiple times. No questions about it,” he continued.

Today, David owns his own business, where he continues to work with polling and data analytics and puts into practice what he learned in the course.

General Assembly’s part-time data analytics course gives you versatile skills in data analysis that you can apply to any role in any industry. If you’re interested in exploring data analytics, sign up for General Assembly’s free Intro to Data Analytics class.

What to Expect from General Assembly’s Data Science Course

General Assembly’s part-time Data Science Course is an instructor-led program that teaches data professionals how to apply Python programming and statistical techniques to solve real-world machine learning problems involving vast data sets.

This part-time course is fast-paced so prospective students must be comfortable with programming fundamentals, Python syntax, and statistics. Students are required to complete an onboarding task before enrolling. An admissions rep from the school may advise students during their application process to take an introductory Python workshop and up to 25 hours of online pre-work.

During this course, students will:

• Perform exploratory data analysis with Python
• Build robust predictive models using machine learning and Python programming
• Communicate data-driven insights to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Explore the capabilities of machine learning to tackle complex problems
• Access coursework such as lesson decks and lab materials co-created with General Assembly’s expert Data Science Product Advisory Board
• Receive world-class instruction from data science industry experts
• Create a polished, portfolio-ready capstone project addressing a data-related problem. Students will apply machine learning techniques to solve this real-world problem by developing a model, documentation, and a presentation
• Receive an industry-recognized General Assembly certificate upon course completion

General Assembly’s Part-Time Data Science course can be completed with 60 hours of study over 10 weeks. Classes can be taken online and on-campus, although the latter has been temporarily moved online in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit their blog for the latest updates on campus reopening. 

Tuition fee: $3,950

Is General Assembly’s Data Science Course Worth It?

Armed with a computer science engineering degree, Deepa Goyal has built her career in tech in data or related industries. She is currently a Product Manager at Twilio but has worked in data engineering, data analytics, and data science. In 2016, while working in a data analytics role, she decided to take the General Assembly Part-Time Data Science course.

“As a product manager, I use data a lot. It’s a pretty good chunk of my day-to-day work… When I did the General Assembly course, it helped me make that transition from pure analytics to data science, and then eventually build more data science-oriented products,” Deepa said.

“They [General Assembly] have done a very good job of structuring the course in a way that’s absolutely focused on getting a job and doing a job. It doesn’t teach theory; we’re not going to be statisticians after doing this course,” she said. Instead, the course focuses on actual work.

“I think there’s a lot that I learned in the course that has been useful. Even if they’re not directly related to product management, being able to interpret and analyze data models helps me evaluate the outcome of a model. As a product manager, it’s the evaluation piece that I spend a lot of time on and making decisions,” she said.

“When I worked at Prosper, I helped build the forecasting business revenue models and wrote them myself based on what I learned in the course… So it’s definitely been useful even here at Twilio. There [are] aspects of the course that I have used at different points in my career,” Deepa added.

Deepa also gained access to a professional network she still keeps in touch with today. “I actually got a few referrals from some of my classmates…There were a lot of relevant inputs in terms of, ‘Oh, this is how we’re doing it in my current company, or that’s something we can actually use.’”

Like many other General Assembly reviews, Deepa’s journey is a clear General Assembly success story. With the help of the part-time data science course, she has been able to leverage her data skills into a career as a successful product manager. If you’re interested in learning more about data science, sign up for General Assembly’s free introductory class to Data Science.

Grow Your Data Skills with General Assembly

The demand for people with data skills is not slowing down. General Assembly’s part-time courses in data analytics and data science are an opportunity for working professionals to gain robust and marketable skills that are valuable to any industry and any role.

To learn more about the bootcamp’s part-time data analytics and data science courses, visit General Assembly’s site.