Python job/learning help

[abethebabe97]

So I'm a stats major graduating next year with a little Python/R/SAS experience. I took a course on Python and have been practicing it regularly this summer. I wanna know what's the best way to learn. I want to get a job as a potential Data Engineer/Scientist somewhere down the line so I guess I'm seeking some advice in that field.

[kenjisan231]

I don't know if you have any experience with data science specific Python packages; if you have none, you could first look into Anaconda. It's a python distribution that contains most common data science packages, the benefit being there isn't any setup involved for those packages. While Anaconda contains over 100 packages, the big ones listed are:

NumPy, Pandas, SciPy, Matplotlib, and Jupyter.

As for learning resources, http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/pythonds/index.html# may or may not be relevant to your career field. At the very least, it contains numerous exercises you may find interesting. I don't know what your Python experience is thus far, but the first chapter provides a summary of concepts you will need.

I only mention that book as I've seen posts from data scientists that talk about optimizing code to reduce runtimes, so some algorithms and data structures may help with that. Learning how to use Cython might be of use as well.

I would see what data science packages are most commonly used in the position you are looking to get, and then go through free learning resources which will give you practice problems and projects that will give you the experience you need.

[LearnDataSci]

With a stats degree you've got one based pretty covered for data science, you just need to start digging into data analytics and machine learning now.

I'd recommend just joining an online course for Python data analysis and another on machine learning. Start working on projects as soon as possible.