Announcing PythonDAB: The course I’ve always wanted to teach

I spend each day teaching Python and data science to companies around the world. From “Python for non-programmers” to day-long advanced workshops, I earn my living by helping people to improve their skills — which is great for their own careers, and great for the organizations where they currently work.

However much I love teaching these classes, I often feel like I’m not able to teach the way that I want. I’d like to have more exercises. More collaboration. More time for the ideas to sink in. More time for people to ask questions, and understand the ideas behind the technologies that I’m teaching.

This is especially frustrating to me, someone with a background — a PhD, even! — in the field of education. I have strong ideas about how people can and should learn, and while I do my best to incorporate these ideas into my corporate training, the inherent nature of such classes is somewhat limiting.

That’s why I’m so excited to announce my biggest and most ambitious course ever: PythonDAB, my Python Data Analytics Bootcamp. This course combines everything I know about Python and data analytics, along with everything I know about learning, with input from industry leaders who told me what they are looking for in entry-level data analysts.

A few salient details about PythonDAB:

• You’ll learn Python from the ground up — not just the syntax, but also how the language works, and why it works the way it does. This includes such topics as comprehensions and object-oriented programming.
• You’ll learn Git, and how to collaborate on GitHub.
• There will be numerous exercises, and you’ll share them with the rest of the group. Moreover, you’ll provide feedback to other people on their code, and they’ll provide it on yours. Learning to review other people’s code, and to accept criticism, is an important part of becoming a Python developer.
• You’ll learn NumPy, and then Pandas, the two libraries used for data analytics in the Python world. We’ll talk about everything from loading data, to cleaning it, to optimizing the size of your data, to visualization, to producing output in a variety of formats.
• You’ll analyze real-world data sets, working with others in your cohort to answer questions about our everyday world.
• We’ll have a private forum, in which you can ask questions and generally share ideas and insights with others in the cohort.
• Finally, I’ll be an active part of this class, with 1-2 sessions of office hours each week — sometimes for Q&A, sometimes to give you a deeper understanding of a topic, and sometimes to explore new things that I’ve discovered myself, and want to share.

This isn’t like any other course you’ve ever seen — and it’s certainly not like any online course you’ve ever bought, in which the videos sit on your disk, waiting to (maybe, perhaps, some day) be viewed when you have a chance. This is an active class, with a live instructor, who wants to see you learn and improve.

PythonDAB starts on June 1st, and goes for 16 weeks, ending on September 15th, and is designed to take about 10 hours/week of your time.

• If you’re relatively new to Python, and want to get ahead in the world of data, then this course is for you.
• If you have some experience with data, and want to learn Python to get a better job, then this course is for you.
• If you’re looking to improve your current job, or switch to a new career in data analytics, then this course is for you.

But before you can sign up, you should really learn many more details. And that’s what I’ll be providing at a webinar this Wednesday, May 25th, at 10 a.m. Eastern. Sign up for the webinar at https://PythonDAB.com/, and I’ll not only present more details, but answer all of your questions.

I’ve waited a long time to be able to offer this kind of class. I hope that you’ll want to join me in leveling up your skills.