Print('Hello, Data Science!')
Tags: beginners, programming, career, computerscience
Published: 2021-10-31 04:20:45

I half expected my title to throw me an error. If that isn’t a sign for things to come I don't know what is. I have been sitting here for at least 25 minutes trying to figure out how to start my intro, leading me to laugh at the irony... I arrogantly assumed that I would be a quick study and pick up coding and Data Science faster than the average person, that notion was shut down very quickly. After being buried in a mountain of error messages, I have very recently started finding comfort in my mistakes. I’m currently at a point where if my code doesn't throw me an error, I get more concerned than when it does. 

Something about that one saying “the enemy you know over the enemy you don't” hits close to home...

While researching Data Science I read a lot of articles about starting the journey of a tech career. Almost all of them were very informative and preached good practices, like keeping your learning environment clean, what third party websites to use to self teach, and other tutorials. Like this [article](https://towardsdatascience.com/how-i-would-learn-data-science-if-i-had-to-start-over-f3bf0d27ca87) written by Ken Jee,  

I noticed a trend however, All of those pieces were written by people who were well into the field and established, or moved on from the field and were looking back. I wanted to write from the perspective of a beginner, and the advice I could give to those who want to start a career in tech; or those who are with me in facing the challenges that learning this career puts forward. 

##My Background

Hello, my name is Colin Pelzer, and I am incredibly new to the world of Data Science and coding. I worked a retail job for about a year when I concluded that I needed a change in my career.

Working in the midst of a pandemic and having ‘unpleasant’ customers tell me exactly what they think of my grocery bagging skills, either in the form of passive-aggressive insults or taking their mask off to spit at me, really helped put things in perspective for me. I was unhappy with my working life, I needed a change. Fortunately for me, I had a family friend reach out to me at about that time and tell me about his experiences at this ‘coding boot camp' he had just attended.

##The 'Transition'

To me at least, I thought coding was a very unattainable skill, something you had to be dead set on early on and go to specific colleges for their computer science programs, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
 
I started to do some research on the different fields in tech, and stumbled upon data science. I read an [article](https://thisisstatistics.org/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-data/) about the “first” Data Scientist, Florence Nightingale, and everything she did to change policies at a British hospital, and then the world. She highlighted issues with data and used applied statistics to create a difference in her environment, which saved possibly millions of lives throughout her time, and after. From then on I was immediately hooked on the field, and what I could do in a data career.

##Non-Technical Advice for a Technical Job

Is this your passion? I am young, and I am not unaware of my naivety. There is a lot I don’t know. but when I am studying anything pertaining to Data Science I feel a sense of joy that I am turning a hobby of mine into a career. Defining what you want out of a career is important, and should not be overlooked when looking at a potential career change.

**Self Teaching**

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/fi0kts1d1jwowpgx619h.gif)
 

There is an endless supply of online courses, websites, Youtube videos, and more out there to help you teach yourself the basics of coding, statistics, and Data Science. A few months before I enrolled in a coding boot camp I used a website called Codecademy, and took their online course on Python to become more familiar with the syntax I was going to be using in my career. Self-teaching has the ultimate benefit of, you get out what you put in. If you have a limited amount of time to commit to learning, you won’t be punished for falling behind, as opposed to a boot camp or college where if you fall behind it’ll cost a lot (financially and mentally) to catch back up. 

Even though self-teaching is cost-effective and mentally healthier, there are drawbacks as well. Motivation sometimes feels like that illusion of a lake far off in the desert, you work hard to get to that lake, and the next thing you know you are stuck in the middle of the desert. There are times where it's hard to choose to focus on your studies after you’ve worked so hard and yet to see the change that you wanted in the beginning.

**Coding Boot camps**
	Coding boot camps are a hidden gem in today's society. I am currently enrolled at Flatiron, in the Data Science Live course. I graduated high school and attended some community college, and I can confidently say after three weeks, this is the best education I have ever received. Going into tech, it is important to establish yourself in the field, and coding boot camps help you do just that. They focus not only on Technical skills like Python, statistics, SQL, etc. They also focus on the Non-Technical skills that are important in having a career in tech. They encourage you to build your “tech profile”, who are you? What are your skills? What can you do for a project/company?

**Dealing With Imposter Syndrome**
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/pc9mc7yycncdzlgj01fw.jpg)

The biggest struggle that I currently face, besides the technical issues, is Imposter Syndrome. It's so easy to feel like you don't belong. Especially if you are new in this incredibly intimidating field. So far what has helped me work through this is knowing that I am not the only one who is struggling like this. Reaching out to the community in whatever way is convenient to you is essential. For me, it's my cohorts taking the course with me that help me get over this. They are open and honest about the things they struggle with, which gives **much** comfort to me when I am having an off day.

This is not only true for my experience, there are places out there where people talk about their experiences and connect through them. Sites like Reddit have [subreddits](https://www.reddit.com/r/CodingHelp/) where people talk about the struggles they have/are having. [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/) is also good for more than just solving your code issues, but also highlighting that it's okay to have issues, especially on the technical side.
 
##Self Care

It's easy to turn on a Lo-fi channel on Youtube and just zone out and learn coding for a while, but make sure that you are still getting the recommended amount of sleep. There are [studies](https://aasm.org/poor-sleep-at-night-could-mean-decreased-work-productivity-in-the-morning/) that show a massive decrease in brain activity and production the less sleep you get. It's worth your time to get more sleep to get more **quality** studying in.

Also, get off the computer!! standing up, walking around, getting a breath of fresh air is essential. And before you question my authority on this I'll have you know it is a proven statement of fact that you can get stuck to your chair, I know this because my overly political uncle posted it on Facebook.![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/okhqz0k6guk1h44jqk7f.jpg)

##Choices choices...

At the end of the day the only person who knows if Data Science is right for you; is you! Every article in the world can highlight the good, and the bad of a career, but you won't know if its right for you until you take that step. And if all the aspects that come with the job aren't for you, don't force yourself just for a pay increase.  There is an entire community waiting to support you in your path towards your new career