I’m trying to learn as much programming related to data science as I can in a relatively short amount of time. I would like to apply for jobs during the summer since I’m a student (I’m currently taking information studies), but I can’t take any tech-related courses at the moment so I’m trying to develop these skills on my own through FCC. I’ve done the Responsive Web Development Certification and I’ve gotten through Basic Javascript already. What would be a good path to take? If I were to skip ahead and do Data Visualization, Relational Databases, and the python classes would I be totally confused without more of the earlier lessons? For the record, I totally intend on backtracking later, to gain those skills, I’m just trying to be efficient with my time.
The short answer is yes. The curriculum is designed to be done from the top down, as each certification builds on existing knowledge.
The long answer is that you could skip right to the python curriculum, but there is definitely some assumptions made there that you already have programming knowledge - if that’s your first programming language, you’ll be missing out on the core fundamentals that you would learn in the JavaScript section.
I was also considering finishing the Javascript certification and skipping straight to some of the certifications more relevant to data science. Would that be doable?
You definitely want to do a programming fundamentals. On freeCodeCamp, that’s the JavaScript section. If you want, you might be able to find a more introductory Python course elsewhere. (I do not have any current recommendations for good courses.)
Once you’ve done the JavaScript (including Data Structures and Algorithms), you should be fine skipping the web-specific stuff.
I agree with the others that it’s best to learn a programing language first, and HTML/CSS/JavaScript is a great foundation.
But since your focus is on data science, and you want to be efficient with your time, you might want to focus on Python, since it’s the main language for data science.
You could try freeCodeCamp’s Python for Data Science course on YouTube
But isn’t Python for Everybody supposed to be introductory? I’m kind of confused. Is it not considered introductory because it doesn’t cover Data Structures and Algorithms as much as the JS course? The book counter part https://www.py4e.com/html3/ seems pretty introductory but does seem to increase in difficulty significantly after the first few chapters.
Again. I don’t know anything about Python for Everybody in itself. I also don’t know how much of that material is used in freeCodeCamp. What I do know is that when freeCodeCamp built their Scientific Computing with Python course, they designed it for people who already knew programming fundamentals.
My bad.