A Year Of DataCamp Taught Me NOTHING | DataCamp Disaster: How I Wasted a Year of My Life

You've broken me down. 😔

As an aspiring IT professional that wants to get into data, this is refreshing to hear from another person about their struggles in self-learning. I have feelings of regret for using online resources such as data camp to learn data as a way to teach myself only to end up hitting a dead end the moment I had to start creating my own projects.

I spent nearly 5 months on this and it definitely feels like I wasted my time since I am planning to get into a more generalized IT role such as help desk instead of getting into data right away just to get my foot in the door in IT. I wish I did this right after graduating from college if I had known the competition for entering data science is tough.

If youi want to write a novel, you can't spend all your time reading grammar books. But that's how many online courses are constituted. The courses should be made up ONLY of projects, progressing from simple to complex (you can learn the rules and syntax as you go), so you get a better understanding of how to code in the real world.

Have you ever considered that you might be just stupid?

😂 yep bit rabish, Datacamp is Pro, great army of mentors and i do agree it will be usefull more for peps who know what computer, package or code is, datacamp is for data lovers, that data tracks are great.

love this video!

I think data camp is for me, I have a strong understanding in python and sql, just need to data engineering on it, and practice practice, as a student its only £11 a month as well

As per what you said, I don't think it was DataCamp's problem, you were just a bit... not smart, if you know what I mean 😉

Im using data camp.for python , SQL n projects pertaining to it that's all DCamp - it's more technical than theoretical ...

DataCamp has been absolute great for me. The reason is because I am more familiar with 90% of the theory for things they teach. In 2023 I spent an entire year coding with Python only and working with Numpy,Pandas and Matplotlib. Moreover in 2023(my final year) statistics I did Sampling Theory,Linear Regression , Time Series and Statistical Analysis for Experiments as individual modules at Varsity. I did Stats for 3 years,hence I enjoy it more than anything because I also do projects after learning. And to be fair,I agree with you,it's not that good for someone who doesn't know fundamentals and statistics

DataCamp does have fundamental and theory courses but you don’t have to review them to obtain the certification unfortunately.

If you’re coming from a non-technical background and just think “All I need to do is learn how to code good” then yeah it’s a tough realization that fundamentals and theory is equally important.

I am a Java Developer in my day job, but the company I work at employs data scientists. I may need Data Science skills in the future. Is going the Data Camp route ideal for my situation? I dont have the money or the time to pursue a degree, at least not an in-person degree.

thanks for making this video! great and valid points made

The projects guys. The projects address this problem of chunking a task. Otherwise good review. I am not new to coding so I am finding DC very effective to practise.

You’re so right it’s not for starters

I dont agree with this video , data science is great and explains what each role does, maybe it has changed recently since I can't say I have experienced the issues you mentioned

I love datacamp's style. The points he talked about are true about the shortcomings of the courses offered because it focuses on the technical skill. I realized if I also started on Datacamp without prior Knowledge I would have had a very shaky foundational understanding. But luckily I finished Coursera Google Data Analytics first before Datacamp. Coursera courses lack the same amount of application like Datacamp, and Datacamp courses lacks the same amount of theoretical knowledge, concepts explanation and giving real work scenarios as Coursera. In the end I think one source won't really be enough.

datacamp wont change anything for you cause you want to show a flashy paper and disgrace your self in the process.

You also sound like the kind that will say you know exactly how much persons are alive right now in the world. Give giving yourself a bad rep... it will catch up with you.

You still dont know the difference between analysis, analytics, hindsight, insight, and foresight! Thank your God you are not a Nigerian. I have seen girls less than 20 years in London, without degrees, masters nor PhD become Data Scientist and Quant Analyst. You lack insight... and you definitely lack uncommon sense - you cant even pronounce profound statistics technical terms without stuttering.

So here’s my situation.
I am currently an IT Service Desk analyst. I have been coding for a couple years as a web dev on the side, but I am planning to get my masters in Business Analytics - which has a ton of data curriculum. I am considering getting a sub to Data Camp so I can focus on that content. I also like that they give you discounts on Microsoft Azure certs, which the start up business I work for values and pushes for us to get.

Well, if I want to learn systematically some data science or data engineering principles and some coding for that, then where else could I go? Seems to me datacamp has a good structure, but I am really not too far with it at this point, so I could use some advice about where else to learn well (with certifications and hands on examples and good explanations)

Totally agree. Everywhere is pushing short bootcamps and these online courses and I am being told that my MSc in Data Science is pretty useless in comparison. This is rubbish as I learned so much during my degree, mostly from my own research and working and struggling on individual projects and testing myself. I had a base level of knowledge of basically zero having no coding background. The bootcamps and short courses are so shallow in comparison to this experience.

So I’m currently using DataCamp for Data Science. I think a good thing they improved on everything you mentioned is that they’ve introduced a track for “Associate Data Scientist”. Which explains Python coding topics + Data Scientists topics

Great video. You don’t know what you don’t know. This very useful for people starting.

Summary: DataCamp is a great platform, but is just not for everyone. Your learning skills are more relevant than the individual platforms you are learning from.
Practice, think about what you've learned, ask yourself how this applies to real world problems, iterate, etc

Too much talking 😂. Do some projects.

..it is beginner level, they are doing well

Datacamp made me get more comfortable with python. This is what i did. I'm a knowledge scavenger.. So anything i learn from Datacamp, i source for more knowledge from online and textbooks

TLDR: it's because he's black

Friendly note that nothing can make learn coding except you, yourself.

I have just finished the Associate Data Scientist pathway and I agree with a lot of this, the "learning" is very shallow, concepts are brushed over as quick as possible and you will complete a module thinking you've learnt something but actually you know absolutely bugger all. It's the equivalent of learning to draw by only doing a paint by numbers and where most of it is filled in already. It's very geared around giving the learner a dopamine hit of being "successful" rather than actually educating you thoroughly.

Those critiscisms aside, you generally cannot expect to be spoon fed all of this and really understand it. The best way to learn is to use DataCamp as a sort of whistle stop tour of things you need to understand, and then go away and do some independent study of those topics to gain a proper understanding of it.

For context, I have done a lot of programming in several languages in the past and I am already familiar with fundamental statistics and data science technniques so even coming to the course with prior knowledge I felt like I had to do a lot of additional study to keep up.

For me though, this was great, a concise whistle stop tour of key concepts with real examples was exactly what I wanted so I would recommend DataCamp to others but you should go into it knowing what to expect.

Been 2 years to this video, has a lot changed in there? What are your views now.

it sounded like you were treating data camp as a Pandoras box . all what's good for is to prep you for entry level its not super advanced . some universities even use it . if its style not for you do not take it all the infos are accessed online mostly for free anyway .

Hello , I just recently started my Associate of DS with Python track and I can say that it was explained what packages are and how to import them. I’m still figuring out how the platform works but it looks pretty good to me. U have some examples and exercises and I think there are some practical case studies. If you want to learn Data Science in an academic fashion just go to university. I’m studying mathematics and statistics so Data camp is pretty good for me for now.

So asking others, which resource can one supplement DATACAMP with for reinforcing and/or projects? (Preferably free)

What you are saying is correct. Most of the comments state that they had prior knowledge of the concepts before using datacamp. But datacamp market themselves as beginner friendly and no prior knowledge required, which is false. I regret getting their annual subscription because after the 4 minutes video from datacamp, I'm learning the same concepts from Google for hours. It's clearly not for someone who is starting in tech. And datacamp should be upfront about it.

In the beginning, I found that by filling the blank I will not learn as much I want. For that, I reproduce all the dev environment in my local laptop and do all the set up from software installation to importing the used data set. Then, I resolve the problem with my own, then compare it to the suggested one with the blanks.

I've tried several platforms, and in my experience, DataCamp stands out as one of the best for beginners. Their interactive learning style makes complex topics approachable, and the bite-sized lessons are perfect for building foundational knowledge at your own pace. The hands-on exercises help reinforce what you've learned, and the wide range of courses means there's always something new to dive into. If you're just starting out in data analysis or any data-related field, I highly recommend DataCamp as a great starting point!

That said, if someone has spent a year on DataCamp without progressing much, it’s likely because they haven’t put in the necessary depth or real-world application of what they’ve learned. DataCamp excels at teaching concepts, but without actively working on projects or challenging yourself outside of the platform, it’s easy to stay in a cycle of passive learning. It’s important to apply what you’ve learned in practical situations to truly master the skills.

wtf u r explaining..u r so cofuse shot..i wasted my 5 mins...

DataCamp now has OpenAI integrated in each exercises, so whenever you find error or code doesn't work you can ask AI and you'll get a complete explanation right away

Don't expect much if you just fill the blanks. Obviously, for better gains, you'd practice on the side (e.g. experiment in your own IDE with different values and functions) and ask all of the additional info online/google/gpt. Feels indeed like a wasted year and money but it is far from being Datacamp's design fault, especially if your knowledge of lists was still shaky by then lol

Personally i am not a big fan of data camp it is really canned learning, pretty much what he is saying. I have found Kaggle to be much more helpful

Found this video just as I was about subscribing to DC. If you were to learn data science all over again, What platform would you use?

As someone aspiring to become a data analyst and currently subscribed to DataCamp, what approach would you take to strengthen your understanding of the theory behind data tools, ensuring you're truly learning the material and building a solid foundation?

Datacamp is not beginner friendly at all!

I’m 2months into DataCamp and while I think they do a good job introducing a concept, it’s not great past that. The Python OOP course is horrible. You’re much better off doing a Udemy course that makes you use a real IDE to wrote code instead of the poorly put together slides and fill-in-the-blank exercises