Are you looking for the best data science courses online?
Data science is a very huge and diverse field. It covers a wide range of disciplines from artificial intelligence and machine learning to neural networks and big data, and each one sounds pretty technical enough. So you might even be wondering if it’s possible to become a data scientist without even a college degree.
If you’re looking for a way to become a self-taught data scientist then the best way to launch a career in data science is through data science courses and certifications online.
Through these online data science training, you’ll be able to learn key data science tools and technologies like TensorFlow, R programming, the Python Langauge, and data analytics, among others.
By the time you finish these courses, you’ll have the skills you need to become a data scientist and get your first entry-level data science job.
In this guide, I’ll be taking you through the best data science courses & certifications online to take in 2022, so you can effectively choose the right ones.
Let’s get started.
How do you get into data science without a college degree?
Since Python is the primary language used in data science is the starting point for launching a self-taught data science career. If you have some experience in Python programming, this is one of the best data science courses on Udemy for data science.
In this data science training online you’ll learn linear regression, and how to use the concept for accurate sales forecasting for your clients.
Along the way, you’ll also be introduced to popular data science libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and Seaborn, among others, therefore allowing you to work with a large diversity of datasets and also bolster your resume.
But most importantly, you’ll get real-world data set exercises, complete with full solution walkthroughs, thereby enabling you to put your theory into practice for more effective learning. In fact, the best way to become a data scientist without a college degree is to learn by doing.
The course is a little more demanding than it seems on the surface, as it digs quite comprehensively into methods and libraries. However, the upside is that the detailed lesson structure leaves out very few key concepts so you also get incredible value for the program.
What are the steps to becoming a data scientist?
If you’re newly motivated to try out data science but don’t know the first thing about it, this class offers a way to quickly gain expertise in data science and land your first data science job.
By taking this online course, you’ll learn how to use the TensorFlow framework to leverage the power of big data for real-life business cases.
The instructor will also teach you powerful statistical analysis using Tableau and Python coding for more accurate results to visualize and fuel intelligent business decisions for your clients.
Finally, you’ll gloss through hyperparameters, n-fold cross-validation, and comprehensive training to ensure you learn how to create high-performing machine learning algorithms. The approach to machine learning through mathematical breakdown offers an intuitive way to grasp concepts as you go along.
The programming section tends to breeze through the introduction to Python, which can be hard to follow without a little programming background and knowledge.
However, for those with some grasp on Python basics, you’ll find this the best data science course on Udemy as it proceeds at an excellent pace given the range of topics it covers.
Are you tired of R courses with steep learning curves?
You’ll find what you’re looking for in one of the best online data science courses as far as R programming is concerned. It builds on a unique step-by-step learning process, applying each new concept at every stage.
Some course highlights include:
- An interactive teaching methodology where you get to code as you go along, making for a fun and quick way to learn R coding.
- Learning how to use R matrices, which will come in handy for statistical sports analysis like basketball free throws.
- Using GGPlot2 for immersive data visualization, enabling you to better explain your data to a non-technical audience.
If you are already well on your way to learning R programming, you may find this course focuses on a lot of fundamental principles. Nonetheless, it is still the best data science course on Udemy for R programming refreshers.
If you’re looking to level up your data science experience, this is the data science tutorial for you.
The content includes:
- In addition to revealing advanced data mining techniques in tableau, it’s particularly impressive how the course tears into communication skills for data science presentations as well, offering excellent tips for impressing stakeholders. Something even some of the best data science courses on Udemy rarely do.
- Robust teaching on the theory of modeling from the ground up, enabling you to better learn how to build a robust customer segmentation model for better market analytics.
- Practicing on state-of-the-art Microsoft business intelligence tools to hone your skills in data mining, cleaning, and presentation.
This course offers an extremely comprehensive take on the field but may not be among the best data science courses online for introductory lessons. Conversely, if career progression is your priority, look no further.
Is machine learning your field of interest?
Then this is one of the best data science courses on Coursera to learn about how you can make machines act without explicit programming.
Course content includes:
- Learning about linear regression while incorporating several variables. This makes it an excellent machine learning class as it doesn’t focus on an ideal scenario of limited variables like most others.
- Programming assignments in both MATLAB and Octave, which increases your data science programming language versatility.
- An intuitive approach to understanding algorithms from statistical and mathematical perspectives, made possible by an experienced Stanford professor.
On the flipside, practical examples for this course are few so it may not offer the best data science training online if you’re looking for something really hands-on. Nonetheless, the machine learning theories it tackles are vital connectors between ideas and their implementation.
If deep learning is your preferred niche, then this is an excellent course for you to take.
You’ll get to learn about:
- Building neural networks via back and forward propagation, enabling you to solve machine learning problems and speed up your models.
- The mathematical concepts behind deep learning, which are reinforced by helpful coding exercises that easily make it one of the best data science courses on Coursera.
- Practical applications of deep learning. This is well supported by good teaching quality and a nice depth of complementary materials for the course.
This course builds on the instructor’s previous course titled machine learning so you may miss a few ideas if you jump into it straight away. However, even if you didn’t take the class leading up to this one, you can still sufficiently follow through as a stand-alone course.
Would you like to take your Python skills to the next level?
For advanced Python learning, this class offers excellent techniques and toolsets and is the best data science course on Coursera for leveling up.
Course highlights include:
- Uncovering data structures in the latest version of Python i.e. Python 3, which has more powerful libraries and is easier to learn compared to earlier versions.
- The auto-grader assignments are very helpful as these tasks make it easy to verify your working knowledge.
- The course delivery is engaging and friendly, and the materials are well laid out in a structure that’s easy to keep up with.
This course builds on a basic understanding of Python, so if you’re a complete beginner, it may not be among the best data science courses online for you. On the other hand, if you’d just like to dive into the core of data structures and speed through some of the basics, it’s an excellent choice.
This is the best data science course on Coursera if you’re new to data science and Python, but would like to combine both.
You can expect the following from the course:
- Introductory coverage of the NumPy library, and fundamental techniques like lambdas which will get you quickly up to speed with Python mastery.
- Excellent Panda assignments which will enable you to execute high-performance data manipulation.
- An active discussion forum that provides help to solve complex assignments in time, and general course support when you need it.
On the downside, the takeaway assignments are a lot more difficult than the in-class examples. However, this makes it one of the best online data science courses as it urges you to think outside the box.
Good data analytics drive intelligent business decisions and this is one of the best data science tutorials to get you acquainted with the skills you need.
Lesson highlights encompass:
- An excellent approach to comprehensive data analytics, which accommodates students from both technical and non-technical backgrounds.
- If you’re pursuing an IT degree, you’ll find that this course offers good potential for career growth as it provides 4.4 continuing professional education credits (CPEs).
- Creating data directories and pivot charts in Excel, which enables good data visualization for a better understanding of raw data.
Having been released a while back, this may not be the best data science course on LinkedIn as it is a little outdated and lacking in support. Nonetheless, it is still recognized for CPEs by the NASBA board.
Are you interested in working in data science?
If you’d like to launch a career in data science, then this course offers excellent professional guidance to set you on the right path.
Here’s how it can kickstart your career:
- By exploring subfields in big data and their marketplaces, you can get a feel of what may be the right choice for you.
- With excellent instructor support which makes it one of the best data science courses on LinkedIn, you can get your biggest career concerns promptly answered.
- The overview of the various data science certifications such as CCP, EMCDSA, and MCSE Business intelligence, also helps you make informed decisions about your certification choices.
If you’re looking for a technically oriented tutorial, this course may not be right for you. Regardless, all levels of data science expertise can benefit from the insightful career tips on offer.
For a non-technical overview of data science, this course is an excellent option for you to try out.
Some course expectations include:
- An assessment of three programming languages for data science namely SQL, Python, and R, making it the best data science course on LinkedIn for versatile learning.
- 9 chapter quizzes and 2 hands-on projects on a variety of data science topics like machine learning and statistics, which is an excellent way to enhance learning.
- 9.6 continuing professional education credits, making this class perfect if you’re studying or working in IT.
Notably, there are a few typos to watch out for in some of the chapter quizzes but they aren’t too many to be distracting so it still offers some of the best data science training online. Moreover, these typos have been addressed in the Q&A to resolve any confusion.
This is an excellent tutorial for learning statistics, especially if you’re also keen on the application of statistics beyond the data science industry.
You’ll get to learn about:
- Mean, averages, and empirical probability from a whole new perspective that is beginner-friendly, making this one of the best data science courses on LinkedIn.
- Real-world scenarios of statistics in action from business to sports, enabling you to better understand data and prove theories.
- Binomial random variables in a learn-by-doing approach, which makes it easy to understand and manipulate all types of data sets.
The course skips a few steps in some calculations so you may get a little confused about how the instructor arrived at some final answers. That said, it remains one of the best science tutorials if you have a basic background in high school math.
If you’re looking for the best online data science courses with a focus on big data analytics for intermediate learners, this class is a great option.
Course highlights entail:
- A recently updated course outline so you’ll be learning about the latest versions of Amazon Web Services and other big data technologies.
- A market understanding of big data analytics, which easily makes it the best data science course on PluralSight. This is because you’ll learn about the technical side of big data as well as actionable business applications you can implement.
- A great course on SQL and NoSQL so you can learn to work with both relational and non-relational databases.
This course touches on a wide range of big data concepts and can therefore be overwhelming for new learners. Conversely, it offers immense value as it tackles all the most important aspects.
For tutorials on HiveQL, Hive, and Hadoop, this Hadoop online class has what you’re looking for.
Some course highlights include:
- Important distributed computing concepts that make it one of the best data science courses on PluralSight for solving big data problems.
- A huge assortment of querying techniques for Hive, which is a little easier to handle when dealing with complex data sets compared to other popular query languages.
- Creating tables and databases with HiveQL, giving you skills for better analyzing even unstructured data.
This course requires some working knowledge of query languages such as SQL. On the bright side, it’s among the best data science tutorials for learning Hadoop from the ground up so you won’t need any prior knowledge of this platform.
If you’re an advanced SQL and Oracle user, then you’ll find that this is one of the best data science courses online to learn advanced functionalities.
The course covers:
- Oracle and SQL Server database querying using SQL. As a result, you’ll be able to work with many types of relational databases across various work environments.
- Important relational operators like the Pivot and Unpivot, which enable you to manipulate tables of all sizes for a readable and simpler view of big data.
- A great value course on two separate databases that would have otherwise required two separate courses. It is for this reason that this is one of the best data science courses on PluralSight value-wise.
The course is a little outdated and consequently misses some recent additions to SQL. That being said, it does a great job of tacking SQL fundamentals so you get great insight into the basics of how SQL and Oracle work.
Conclusion
Data science is rapidly growing in 2021.
It can be challenging to choose a course with relevant skills and one that proceeds at a comfortable learning pace.
Hopefully, it’s now a little clearer how to identify the best data science courses & tutorials online to take in 2021 according to your needs.
If you’re open to suggestions, I recommend the course on Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp if you’re keen on implementing machine learning algorithms.
The above course requires some basic Python programming knowledge. If you’re completely new to Python, The Data Science Course 2021: Complete Data Science Bootcamp will comfortably take you from zero to advanced learning.
It’s an excellent choice if you’re just getting into programming and data science.