January Edition: Becoming Better Learners

Monthly Edition

It’s always a thrill to see so many people join our community at the beginning of the year, whether it’s for the first time or after a long hiatus. Welcome! (Or welcome back!)

Being part of your learning adventure is a great privilege for all of us on the TDS team. As we settle into the first few days of 2023, we wanted to help everyone—whether you’re a new year’s resolution kind of person or more of a slow-and-steady habit former—start this year’s journey on the right foot.

To do that, we’ve rounded up some excellent articles about learning and building new skills in and around Data Science. Quite a few of our picks are geared towards brand-new or prospective data professionals, but more seasoned pros will find many valuable insights and practical tips as well.

One final note before we leave you to your reading: If you’d like to support our authors’ work in 2023 and beyond, please consider becoming Medium members.

Happy new year – we look forward to exploring and learning together!

TDS Editors

TDS Editors Highlights

Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly Goal Tips to Guide a Self-Taught Data Scientist in 2023 (December 2022, 11 minutes) A good plan is key to reaching your learning goals, and Madison Hunter is here to help with a robust roadmap for building one that is both ambitious and sustainable.
How to Explore Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing as a High School Student (July 2022, 12 minutes) This helpful guide by Carolyn Wang might be framed around her own experience as a high school student, but it’s a helpful introduction to ML and NLP for aspiring practitioners of all ages.
The Simple Things a Data Science Beginner Needs to Know (December 2022, 11 minutes) Ken Jee‘s recent resource is an accessible, up-to-date primer for anyone taking their first steps in data science this year.
I’m a Self-Taught Data Scientist. Here Are My 3 Suggestions for Newcomers (April 2022, 5 minutes) For all the independent learners out there who choose not to follow an established curriculum, Soner Yıldırım offers a few key insights based on his own experience as a self-taught data professional.
A Brief Introduction to Neural Networks : A Regression Problem (December 2022, 12 minutes) How do you go about learning a complex technical topic from scratch? Chayma Zatout‘s recent article provides a powerful blueprint (it’s also a great starting point for anyone who’s new to neural networks).
How Can an Aspiring Data Scientist Find and Work on Real-World Projects? (December 2022, 7 minutes) After completing a few online courses and reading a few books (and TDS articles!) you may ask yourself: what’s next? Arunn Thevapalan has a few ideas on translating your theoretical knowledge into hands-on projects.
How to Start Your First Data Science Project When You’re a Beginner (June 2022, 6 minutes) Tackling a similar problem from a different direction, Rashi Desai proposes a five-step process to take you from novice to confident experimenter and tinkerer.
The Best Coding Tips for any Data Science Beginner without a CS Degree (May 2022, 7 minutes) People transition into data science careers from a wide range of backgrounds; if your past professional life didn’t include a solid computer science foundation, Hennie de Harder shares helpful tips to help you produce effective, clean code.
How I’d Learn Data Science If I Could Start Over (4 Years In) (November 2022, 7 minutes) The field of data science has evolved so much over the past few years, and so have the approaches to enter it. Terence Shin is by now a four-year veteran, and his thoughtful article reflects his latest thinking on the best ways to master the basics as a beginner.

Original Features

Our latest selection of Q&As and reading recommendations.

"To Make an Impact in Any Industry, Domain Knowledge Is Critical." Don’t miss our latest Author Spotlight: we chatted with Abiodun Olaoye, who discussed his career path at the intersection of data science and renewable energy.
‘Tis the Season to Explore our Best Deep Dives. For your reading pleasure, we rounded up some of our best longer articles from recent months.