Learning how to learn Python, Maths and Statistics for Data Science

Data Science is not only for engineers. It doesn’t matter whether you are a developer, banking professional or a marketing hero. 

Opportunities for people well versed with data – Data Scientist is one of today’s hottest jobs and the demand is exploding in response to the large amounts of data being captured and analyzed by companies all over the world.

We consulted data scientists and few companies that employ Data Scientists to identify the core skills they need to be successful. These suggestions are derived from conversations with Data Scientists, Data Engineers, Researchers, and Educators, as well as my own experiences in both Data Science and industry roles.

I am a Data Science consultant with progressive experience in Marketing. I’ve put a tremendous amount of efforts trying to extract key bits of information from my colleagues to create a review-driven guide for beginners to learn various intricacies of data science.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

A Note on Focus Driven Learning

First off, only focused learning will help you productively spend your time building the skill-set integral to learning Data Science.

Learning Data Science is exceedingly challenging and if you are easily distracted or you just started getting tired from all the social media junk that surrounds the productivity articles, then you need to do something.

Being an avid observer, i think the most common reason among many learners who quit even before getting started is that they allow their emotions to push them in the directions that aren’t helpful and it can be very damaging.

If you allow emotions to override your common sense, then you’ll have a disputed cognition and even a high-school level maths will seem impossible to learn.

When we learn something new, especially if wide and complex, it is necessary to avoid confusion and never a bad idea to evaluate your mental hygiene.

Last year, I was highly distracted and struggling with learning advanced topics in python.

I took a course about learning to use powerful mental tools by Barbara Oakley and i can say that it has actually changed the way i think and approach learning. 

It helped me a lot and you may also like this course, it gives easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in music, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines.

I am not a productivity guru but as a learner, i can confidently say that if you learn to focus, then it will become easier with practice to grasp the advanced topics in Python, Maths and Statistics for Data Science.

So, Just do something that will work !!!  

Python for Data Science 

I love Python! Even those R Nerds and Java coffee lovers like Python 🙂

Python is easy to use and quick to learn. It is powerful and versatile, making a great choice for beginners and experts in Data Science.

Don’t waste time selecting the best Python IDEs (Development Environment) for data science that make data analysis and machine learning easier. 

You can download Idle or use python directly through your Terminal/ Command prompt for the start – coz time is precious and you should slay that perfectionist instinct.

— start with the basics 

Get an introduction to Python with focus on data science.

Learn how Jupyter Notebooks work, and understand all the basics of programming concepts including data structures, data operations, if else statements, for and while loops, and logical operations.

Spend a week or two learning the basics and make sure that you actually understand all the basic concepts before starting advanced topics.  

— double double Toil !!!

Learn Mathematics for Data Science 

Mathematics is important for Data Science and you will also need it for building Machine Learning Products or ML Research. 

It’s not entirely clear what level of mathematics is necessary to get started in machine learning, especially for those who don’t have a solid background in Mathematics.

In this section, my goal is to suggest the mathematical background necessary to build products or conduct academic research in Data Science.

I encourage you to embrace Mathematics as a way to solidify your Python learning. The truth is, people who are good at math have lots of practice doing math.

So, if you devote an hour or two to practice Maths, then it will become easier to learn and understand Mathematical Libraries in Python faster.

If you don’t have the knowledge of basic maths, then you will need to start with high-school level Mathematics. Most importantly, you have to learn how to think like mathematicians.

If you want to learn Mathematics on your own, i’ve got you covered with this article about Learning Math for Machine Learning and Data Science.

— Learn Python Mathematical Libraries 

Once you you have a basic understanding of maths, Start learning about using Mathematical libraries in Python that are useful for data manipulation and visualization like NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib.

These libraries will allow you to load and save data, manipulate data such as aggregating, filtering, detecting outliers, and visualizing.  

You can learn these advanced topics in Applied Data Science with Python Specialization by the University of Michigan on Coursera.

If you take this specialization, it will be hard to finish but not impossible. Some concepts will be foreign or straight up weird, just take it again and again. 

— Understand Linear Algebra

Basic understanding of linear algebra is necessary to learn the fundamental important topics like vectors, and vector manipulations, matrices and matrix manipulations, linear equations and solutions, eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Whether you like it or not, Algebra is actually needed in your everyday life. The numbers and equations are used in almost anywhere in the world and remain very integral to data science and machine learning.  

— Understand Calculus 

If you only have a basic knowledge of Maths, then this course; Mathematics for Machine Learning by Imperial College London is for you.

It is one of the highly recommended Course for Data Scientists and Machine Learning Engineers to master the vocabulary, notation, concepts, and algebra rules.”   

 

Get an introduction to probability and learn about random variables, mean, variance, probability mass and density functions, and cumulative distribution functions.

 

You have to start building the foundation you need to think statistically, to speak the language of your data, to understand what the Data is telling you. 

“With the power of Python-based tools, you will rapidly get up to speed and begin thinking statistically in the Statistical Thinking Courses offered by DataCamp but if you want to learn the basics of Statistics, i’ve got you covered in this blog post about Learning Probability and Statistics for Data Science.

 

With Statistics, you can gain deeper and more fine grained insights into how exactly our data is structured and based on that structure how we can optimally apply other data science techniques to get even more information. 

 

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Thanks for making it to the end 🙂

If you liked this article, I’ve got a practical reads for you. One about the Skills in Python for every Data Scientist and one about Data Science Courses/ Specialization.

I’ve also got this Data-Centric newsletter that you might be into. I send a tiny email once or twice every quarter with some useful resource I’ve found.

Don’t worry, I hate spam as much as you. Feel free to subscribe. ☟