NYC Data Science Academy

I graduated from the 12-week remote live program in December 2020 and I highly recommend it. The program is intensive but well worth the challenge. Prior to NYCDSA, I had just finished my undergrad and was looking to break into the data science field.... Read More At the time, I had a strong quantitative background and a decent foundation in programming but was missing tangible data science projects/experience. I found myself gravitating more towards this program than any other Bootcamp because the time frame worked perfectly for me, and after cross-referencing them and their alumni, they seemed legit. My overall experience throughout the Bootcamp was positive. The instructors knew what they were talking about and taught it well. Additionally, the optional homework they provide helps reinforce what they teach. One thing I want to highlight is their willingness to stick with struggling students. There were several instances where I didn’t understand a particular machine learning topic and I was able to schedule time with an instructor to hash it out. It was these talks that cemented the conceptual part and ultimately made implementing these concepts much easier. However, what most impressed me was their post-Bootcamp curriculum. They don’t just take their students’ money and leave, NYCDSA provides supplemental material that helps prepare newly graduated students for interviews. Additionally, Vivian scheduled weekly zoom meetings to advise us on our job hunt and keep us accountable. It was these accountability meetings where gems lie and what truly helped me with my search. Vivian went above and beyond to make my job search more efficient and successful, taking time out of her schedule to work 1 on 1 with me as a mentor. I’m truly grateful and highly recommend this program.

I remembered a year ago going from websites to websites, reading reviews after reviews, looking for the best school for Data Science Bootcamp. I finally stopped at NYC Data Science Academy and one of the main reasons I decided to go with NYC was because... Read More I was going to have the ability to learn R and python. After completing the actual bootcamp, I will say that the above reason ended up being the last if I were to make the decision again. Here are my best reason why NYC is a great school: 1- Class organization: The entire program is well-organized so students have a full idea of what to expect from day one. The bootcamp preparation material helps students get up to speed with general statistics, algebra, and programming before the beginning of the program. Once the program starts, these topics will be reinforced before moving to Hardcore machine learning. 2- Instructors: Most of the instructors I had the chance to work with are PhD holders or professionals with several years of industry experience. So when they dispense their classes, they have both theoretical and practical understanding of the material. On top of this, they are extremely patient with students and will go above and beyond to make sure students do not fall behind. One instructor,Thomas Laesch, designed a matrix multiplication game every Saturday for one month just to help us build the reflex of solving matrix multiplication(this is very important in understanding most ML models). 3- Job search and interview preparation: This is actually my favorite part. The support I received for job search and interview preparation was immense. As I am writing this review, one year after my class, NYC faculties are still helping me with career counseling and responding to background questionnaires from my employer. 4- Last but not least I did learn Python and R. Moreover, the knowledge I acquired from this institution has helped me so much in my Data Scientist Career. Even today, I still use my class material as reference for many issues I encounter on the job. In short, choosing this program was one of the best decisions I made for my education and career. I will strongly recommend this program to anyone looking for a Data Science/Data Engineering bootcamp, if anyone would like to know more about my experience feel free to search me on LinkedIn and I will be happy to answer any questions that I can.

I wanted to make a successful pivot to a data science career. I began my journey by doing some self-learning through many online resources. Finally, to give structure to my learning, I enrolled in the Fall session of 2020 at NYC Data Science Academy.... Read More It was a Remote-Live Instruction session. I had researched a few data science Bootcamps before joining NYC Data Science Academy. I would say that I made the right decision. Keep in mind, the program is an intensive, fast-paced learning experience. In order to do well in this Bootcamp, one thing I would like to emphasize is that before the class, preview your text and the homework assignments. This will prepare your brain to absorb the materials. Review the material and the notes after the class to fill in any gaps you didn’t catch in class. The program was led by instructors who are experts in their fields and were patient and helpful. The TAs were extremely supportive and willing to help you. I gave career support 3.0 stars as they lack the assistance for students living in cities other than New York or the Bay area or students who are pivoting their career. The program gives you access to mentors. Since I took this course during the pandemic, there were no interactions with like-minded people. The curriculum was designed to enhance their student’s skills and stay competitive in the job market. It taught the core proficiencies using Python and R with a focus on real-world applications. The curriculum also introduced SQL, which is the most important job skill employers look for in candidates for employment. By the end of the program, I had gained enough confidence in my abilities to start my career in the field of data.

Before joining the Bootcamp program, I worked in finance as a Risk Analyst and had little experience with Python and SQL. NYCDSA prepared me to polish my programming skills in Python, SQL and R and to developing Data Science skills fundamentals that made... Read More me feel ready to face the job search journey in this area. The curriculum is very complete and intense. There are a lot of materials that are covered separated by different topics. Each lecture was about 3 hours long and they all were followed by practice problems that required more time to be completed. The school gives the option to book a session with tutors whom you can ask questions on any topic. I made use of these sessions many times with different tutors and they were all very helpful. Instructors also make themselves available during tutoring hours where students ask questions on assignments or projects. After the student finishes the program, the school has a career/job search support program to help the student with mock interviews, code, and project reviews which is very helpful for those looking for a job. The program is very intense but very rewarding. Soon after the program, I landed a job as a Data Scientist at a major investment bank and am confident with all the skills NYCDSA helped me develop.

I took the online part-time bootcamp because I was working full-time as a software product manager, yet wanted to improve my coding and statistics knowledge. I had some background in Python but had a lot of gaps in my knowledge of theory and no exposure... Read More to topics like deep learning and data engineering. NYC Data Science Academy was a great place for me to get a deep-enough overview of a wide range of topics; I appreciated the emphasis on R and Python used in the context of real-world projects. I also discovered an affinity for NLP and text analytics, as well as a first-time appreciation for R as a tool for data exploration and machine learning. The theory was presented clearly without getting too academic, and the instructors were clear, patient and helpful. Highly recommended.

After 18 years of specialist experience, I was starting to develop a FOMO with Data Science. After some research and recommendation from a friend who completed this program I decided to enroll. No doubt, this will change my life. It was liberating and... Read More the 6-month investment was well worth the tuition fees. The instructors were experienced, the curriculum was cutting edge and the program 'forced' me to keep pace with my learning and successfully complete it. It was hard, because I have a demanding job on an xVA trading desk at an investment bank but this was a necessary investment in the skills for the future. There is no limit to the applications of Data Science and I encourage more executive-level candidates with strong business experience and some STEM experience to challenge themselves. The alumni network and collaboration with NYC Data Science Academy is strong and look forward to a mutually beneficial networking opportunities. You will not regret this and I suspect that it will open up many doors for your future endeavours.

I did the Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) program in 2020, so keep in mind that my experience was strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am a career switcher from the health services industry - this bootcamp got me into the tech industry... Read More 2.5 months after completion of the program and taught me fundamental coding and machine learning skills as well as advanced statistics skills. That said, for the IDL course, because it is relatively self-paced, you get out exactly what you put it. I am highly ambitious and set myself up for success really well. Not everyone does. The content, instruction, mentorship, and community engagement are excellent and only getting better - these people are absolutely well-versed in their fields, care extraordinarily deeply about the success of their students, and are constantly iterating. I gave the program 4 stars because I did feel like there was an institutional bias toward the Remote Live Instruction students - when I was there, those students got access to internships and other resources that IDL students did not even though we pay the same tuition. Perhaps it has changed, but if you want the best chance of being noticed, the Remote Live course is the better choice, while if you need flexibility and are okay with a little less support, IDL is still a fantastic choice. Their career and alumni services are also top-notch, but again, only if you take advantage of all the resources.

Before joining the program, I was a student majoring in Business Analytics. I had a hard time finding a data analyst position and therefore I was thinking maybe I was not qualified for a data-related job yet. My friend recommended this Bootcamp to me... Read More and when I check out the course curriculum I knew this is exactly what I was looking for. The courses are very comprehensive, covering topics including web scraping, data analysis & visualization, machine learning, and big data. I felt so lucky that I got enrolled in this program and I would never regret this choice. Although the content of the courses is challenging, all the instructors are there to help you. I did improve my coding skills a lot through projects and I also added new skills to my profile through courses. I would recommend this Bootcamp to anyone who wants to get into the data science field.

For the better part of the past decade, I worked as a medical researcher both in an academic setting and professionally for a company. While I had a strong foundation in mathematics and statistics, I lacked the rigorous coding, experience with relational... Read More databases, and machine learning knowledge to pivot towards a career in Data Science and business analytics. Before the Bootcamp, I tried teaching myself R through an impersonal, distant online course with limited success. While the experience convinced me that I wanted to make the career leap, the online course did not allow me to ask questions to further my understanding. In Dec 2019, I quit my job, moved to NYC, and enrolled in the NYC Data Science Academy (NYC-DSA). My reason for choosing NYC-DSA was rather easy. While some boot camps offer the option to study data science among other UX, software, or cybersecurity career routes, it was important for me to know that my entire tuition would fund my data science education - that the resources would only support the recruiting of college professors and Ph.D. lecturers, career development professions, and teaching assistants. Secondly, NYC-DSA was one of the only boot camps to provide analytics on previous student cohorts, emphasizing the program's accountability to find the best jobs, not just take my money. Additionally, NYC-DSA had a rigorous but fair selection process to ensure that the cohort had a capable background in mathematics, coding, statistics, and a wide array of professional and educational experiences. The cohort's diversity made the experience particularly valuable as each person could provide insight into how data science is applied in their respective field. Lastly, I chose NYC-DSA because they were the only boot camp that taught both Python and R, in addition to SQL. The ability to learn both languages ensures that students are not limited to certain industries because they only know one language - in fact, my current job frequently requires that I code in both languages. After the 1st day at NYC-DSA, I was not disappointed in my decision to attend NYC-DSA. The instructors were beyond impressive, many with PhDs in Mathematics, Physics, or Statistics, and with professional backgrounds in Biology, Finance, and Marketing. Unlike my previous engineering or college courses, the professors were engaging, frequently made jokes to lighten the mood, and were immediately relatable. The boot camp made an effort on Fridays to provide food and drinks at the end of the day and emphasizes socializing with other students and the instructors themselves (come to find out, they are also people, haha). I decided to attend a coding boot camp because I wanted to educate myself and ultimately change careers. Finishing the boot camp in April 2020, at the beginning of COVID-19, when NYC and the economy shut down, was not easy. In fact, it wasn't easy - NYC-DSA would send out monthly job reports of NYC/SF/etc., showing 50-70% fewer job postings from the year before. Despite that, the career development team at NYC-DSA could not have been more helpful in ensuring that I had the best possible resume, cover letter, and application package for each job listing. For nearly a year, I would meet 1-2x a month with someone at the boot camp to go over my applications and how I could better utilize LinkedIn to network and reach out to recruiters. Several of my job interviews resulted from the lecturers recommending me for a job they heard about. If the boot camp knew I had an interview at a company coming up, they would get me in touch with a current or former employee to better prepare myself for the interview process. After nearly a year and hundreds of job applications, I landed two job offers on the same day for nearly $40k/yr more than my previous salary - largely through the networking I did through the boot camp. The boot camp was hard; it was an excruciating three months of getting to the camp at 9 am, frequently staying until midnight, coming on the weekends, etc. Yet, at the end of the boot camp, I could confidently say that I could not only excel at jobs involving R, Python, SQL, Git, AWS, Shiny, statistics, and machine learning - but that I possess the framework to teach myself other software or techniques. All of it was worth it, thanks to the dedication of the faculty, CEO, and students at the New York City Data Science Academy.

I recently graduated from the NYC Data Science Academy online part time bootcamp program and can attest to a very positive experience with Vivian and team. In case helpful for future students considering this bootcamp program, here is a breakdown of different... Read More considerations concerning my experience at NYCDSA: 1. Why I picked NYCDSA NYCDSA appeared to be the only bootcamp program that taught both Python and R at the time I was considering enrolling in a data science bootcamp program, which I expected would provide the best optionality in terms of choosing a data science framework both best fit for me and best fit for the industry I would want to integrate both graduation, as the public sector / academia generally lean towards R while private sector and tech industry broadly generally lean towards Python. The NYCDSA curriculum further appeared well structured and paced for someone in my position just learning how to code and getting a first exposure to data science concepts. 2. Overall Experience Vivian & team create an incredible learning environment with in-depth & concise lectures providing detailed overviews of multiple essential data science frameworks such as Python, R, SQL, Docker, AWS, Hadoop and Spark. The team further goes above and beyond for students during the job placement process, such as for instance making themselves available to answer student questions on personal projects and case studies, promoting student projects to recruiters and alumni on their LinkedIn page or providing students with opportunities to present projects to recruiters and alumni. The mentor meeting credit system connecting students to alumni in 1-on-1 30min or 1-hour sessions is especially well designed for students just getting started in data science and provides good opportunities to ask questions and review any material with an industry professional. Overall the lectures are well-taught and provide concise overviews of the analytical frameworks and knowledge necessary to perform in a professional data science environment, while the hands-on labs and projects do a great job of providing students the opportunity to practice learned coding skills. 3. Skills learned The bootcamp does a great job of providing ample opportunities to practice coding skills through projects and labs and I was able to develop strong proficiency in Python, SQL, R and Docker through these various projects, coming from a mostly non-coding undergraduate background, which I was able to apply directly after graduating working as an intern with a tech startup and finally in a full-time data scientist capacity at a large financial services firm. 4. Post-graduation plans I received a data scientist job offer at a large financial services company three months after graduating from the bootcamp after initially working as an intern at a data science startup and could not be happier with the outcome. Vivian and team are truly special and I could not be more thankful for an amazing experience over the course of the past few months.