K2 Data Science

I left my role in financial services to do a data science bootcamp. At the time, I had only conceptual knowledge of computer science topics, little programming experience, and no knowledge of advanced statistical / data analysis / prediction methods.... Read More K2 Data Science provided the tools I needed to change my profile from that of "generic financial analyst" to manager-level quantitative professional. The curriculum is all original content developed in-house, the online platform is great, TA's and mentors are readily available and provide great feedback, and the work teaches exactly the tools one would need to be a data scientist.

You'll work with Python and learn to use machine learning to predict a variety of outcomes in machine vision, forecasting, clustering, and classification. You'll work with the sklearn package as well as build your own algorithm class from scratch, and electives within the course will get you started on niche topics like language processing, big data engineering, and neural nets / deep learning.

For some perspective: I took ~4 months to finish the curriculum and found a new role with a substantial increase in compensation after just 22 days of searching. This is a great option for any student or professional with the motivation to do great work.

I went through the K2 Data Science program in spurts and I loved it.

Who was I going in:

Had a degree in Econ and had taken a handful of computer science courses in college.
- I had the baseline for applied statistics, calc, linear algebra, and basic coding... Read More

I had just started building a startup.
- My time availability was sporadic and limited. I needed incredible flexibility not provided by in-person programs or grad school programs. I also needed the program to be modular so I didn’t have to start over whenever I had to divert my attention from the course.
- My funds were largely allocated to paying my bills and pushing the startup forward. I needed a reasonably priced option.

I knew that I wanted to understand Machine Learning and apply it to business in the future.
- I wanted a course that took deep enough dives and provided practical applications for me to really understand the 5W’s of the real world application of the techniques.


Who I was coming out:

I had paying gigs as a Data Strategy Consultant while still in the program. I then started my own consulting firm working with Enterprise & Startup clients to demonstrate how to leverage ML in different verticals. That’s now my full-time job and passion.

Not bad for a bootcamp...

More Info:

If you’re interested in learning Data Science with project-based learning and excellent mentorship, but need flexibility, K2 is for you.

If you’re not sure where to start, go to their free foundations program and reach out to the course managers.
Foundations: https://github.com/k2datascience/ds-foundations
Course Manager: ty@k2datascience.com

If you want to reach out and ask me questions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikenemke/