If you ask a data scientist how to start or advance your data career, one of the first things they might tell you is to read. Not the answer you’d expect? You’d be surprised! The rapidly evolving nature of data science calls for professionals to keep a close eye on what’s new in the industry.
If you’re just getting started in the field, understanding current industry trends can set you apart in the job interview process and make it clear that you’re someone who is engaged and knowledgeable about the data science space. If an interviewer asks you about which data science publications you read regularly, you should have a good answer!
Already working in the field? Staying on top of the latest news is a big part of how you grow your own expertise and remain both valuable and competitive in the job market.
Plenty of data science blogs and publications exist today, and together they provide tremendous amounts of information. It’s easy to get lost, and it’s hard to know where to go for the best journals. To help aspiring data scientists navigate this area, I’ve compiled my top five recommendations for data science blogs, journals and newsletters. I suggest you pick at least two off this list, and commit to reading them on a regular basis. Before you know it, you’ll become well versed in all things data science!
The Analytics Dispatch is a weekly email about data, data science and analytics, curated by the team at Mode Analytics – a leading enterprise analytics company (and a Udacity partner!). This one makes the list because of its clear organization and focus on practical analytics advice for data analysts and data scientists.
Curated by ex-NASA data scientist Lon Riesberg, Data Elixir is a weekly newsletter of curated data science news and resources from around the web. Similar to the Analytics Dispatch, Data Elixir makes the list because of the practicality of its posts, and for how well the content is categorized and rendered easily searchable.
O’Reilly’s network of experts and innovators share their knowledge and expertise on a variety of topic areas related to technology. O’Reilly has a great blog, weekly newsletter and podcast that combine to offer valuable discussions around many topics of interest related to big data and data science. I like O’Reilly because it tackles more advanced topics, and because you get a good blend of analytics and artificial intelligence content in the mix.
Data Science Weekly, curated by Hannah Brooks and Sebastian Gutierrez, shares recent news, articles and jobs related to data science. You can sign up for the newsletter or enjoy archives that date back to 2013. This one makes the list because it supplements its content with featured jobs and useful training resources.
Analytics Vidhya is an online community, created by Kunal Jain, dedicated to the study of analytics. Its resources include training, tips and tricks, case studies and interviews with analytics leaders. One particularly useful aspect of Analytics Vidhya is that it breaks out the content under categories, like “Learn” or “Engage” so you can find content to better suit your needs.
The world of data is a fascinating one, full of innovators and amazing thinkers, and the deeper you dig, the more you’ll gain knowledge. Because of the media coverage around data science and the characterization of data scientists as “rock stars,” you may feel like it’s impossible for you to enter into this realm. If you’re the type of person who loves to solve puzzles and find patterns, however, then data science is an avenue well worth pursuing.
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