Your first day of school
Getting organized and starting your first course
Note: Not a Real Degree is learner-supported. Some of the resources I recommend may be affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.
So you’ve decided you want to learn data science with the Not a Real Degree community. Here are your next steps.
A note from the founder
Hey, it’s David. I wrote this article back in 2021. Since then, I’ve refined Not a Real Degree by niching down to Data Analysts and changing the branding. Do you want to become a data analyst without spending 4 years and $41,762 to go to university? Follow my 90-day curriculum below.
Okay, back to the article, which remains published for historical purposes.
Create your own copy of the curriculum
- Go to the curriculum’s Airtable base
- Click “Copy base” in the top right corner
- Sign up for an Airtable account
- Click the “Not a Real Data Science Degree” base
- Read the base description that pops up automatically.
- Bookmark your link.
Sign up for the community waitlist
The Not a Real Data Science Degree community platform (powered by Circle) will launch soon. Please provide your email here to sign up for the waitlist.
I will reach out with instructions on how to join when registration opens.
Follow the community on social media
The Circle community (when launched) will be our content hub, so make sure to sign up for the waitlist.
I’ll also post content (interviews, live streams, etc.) on these platforms:
#NotARealDegree 🎒
Sign up for DataCamp
Your first course and second courses are on DataCamp. They use subscription-based pricing with tiers for access to most/all of their content.
- The most cost-effective option for this curriculum is to sign up for their Standard plan. It is $25/month billed annually, or $29/month billed monthly.
Sign up for edX
Your next three courses are on edX. These courses are free (1 month access each, no graded assignments) with a Verified Track available (paid, unlimited access, graded assignments, certificate).
- To take the Verified Track, sign up for the entire series using the code EDXWELCOME (15% off) at checkout. The price is currently $456 with the coupon code.
- To take the free versions, enroll in the first course (Fundamentals and Procedural Programming) and click Audit This Course.
- If you’re unsure, try the audit version first. You can upgrade later.
Mark this post complete
- In your copy of the curriculum Airtable, change the status of Your first day of school from In progress to Complete.
Start Data Science for Everyone
You’re ready to start learning! Your first course has non-coding exercises only, so no need to be intimidated.
- Start Data Science for Everyone by Lis Sulmont, Sara Billen, and Hadrien Lacroix on DataCamp.
- In your copy of the curriculum, change the status of Data Science for Everyone from Not started to In progress.
You’re all set up. Have fun learning (and see you in the community).
