A few months back, I decided I wanted to learn data science. In order to do this, I skipped an entire semester of my data science major.

幾個月前，我決定要學習數據科學。 為此， 我跳過了數據科學專業的整個學期。

背景 (Background)

When selecting a major, I wanted to pick a subject that guaranteed a job after graduation.

在選擇專業時，我想選擇一個可以保證畢業后能工作的學科。

It was around this time that data science started to become a hype. Harvard Business Review had just dubbed it as the “sexiest job of the 21st century.”

大約在這個時候，數據科學開始大肆宣傳。 《哈佛商業評論》(Harvard Business Review)剛剛將其稱為“ 21世紀最性感的工作”。

There were only one or two universities in the country offering a major in data science at that time, and I enrolled in one of them.

當時該國只有一兩所大學提供數據科學專業，而我也參加了其中一所。

Just like everyone else pursuing the major, I was excited. I was going to learn the skills necessary to be at the forefront of a newly emerging technology!

就像其他人追求專業一樣，我感到很興奮。 我正要學習掌握最新技術所必需的技能！

Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly work out that way.

不幸的是，事情并沒有完全按照這種方式解決。

一團糟 (It was a mess)

Two years into the course, and I realized I wasn’t actually learning anything.

開學兩年后，我意識到我實際上沒有學到任何東西 。

Since we were the first batch of data science students, it seemed like the university’s data science faculty wasn’t properly set up yet.

由于我們是第一批數據科學專業的學生，??因此好像大學的數據科學系尚未正確建立。

The lecturers had little to no knowledge on the subject, assignments were copy pasted from textbooks, and classes were not properly structured.

講師對此主題知之甚少，甚至沒有什么知識，作業是從教科書中復制粘貼的，并且課堂結構不正確。

As a result, none of us had a solid foundation in any aspect of data science.

結果，我們在數據科學的任何方面都沒有扎實的基礎。

Even after I finished an entire semester of machine learning (and getting an A in the class), I had little to no grasp on the topics taught.

即使我完成了一整個學期的機器學習(并在課程中獲得A)，我對所教授的主題也幾乎一無所知。

An example of how poor our understanding of the subject was when my friend (also a straight A student) asked me what “supervised learning” meant after completing the entire semester.

一個例子是，當我的朋友(也是一個異性戀學生) 在完成整個學期后問我“監督學習”的含義時，我們對這個主題的理解卻很差。

After two years, I realized that I wasn’t going to have the skills I needed to add value to the job market, unless I did something. Fast.

兩年后，我意識到，除非我有所作為，否則我將不會擁有為就業市場增值所需的技能。 快速。

創造自己的學習道路 (Creating my own learning path)

I was going to university full time, and was involved in several club activities. I also tutored part time during the weekends.

我全職上大學，參與了一些俱樂部活動。 周末我還兼職輔導。

However, all this stopped a few months back when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown.

但是，幾個月前政府實行全國封鎖后，一切都停止了。

Suddenly, I had time on my hands. A lot of it.

突然間，我手上有了時間。 很多。

I decided to use this time to teach myself data science. I started out with little expectation, since I doubted my ability to pick up on the topics I needed to learn.

我決定利用這段時間自學數據科學。 一開始我的期望并不高，因為我懷疑自己是否有能力學習需要學習的主題。

I had little programming experience, and no understanding whatsoever of any data science topic.

我幾乎沒有編程經驗，并且對任何數據科學主題都不了解。

I had to start from scratch.

我必須從頭開始。

I started out with a course called “Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp,” which taught me the very basics of data science in Python. This course sparked my interest in data science. The lecturer’s enthusiasm rubbed off on me.

我從一門名為“ Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp ”的課程開始，該課程向我教會了Python數據科學的基礎知識。 這門課程激發了我對數據科學的興趣。 講師的熱情削弱了我。

For the first time in very long, I actually felt as though I was learning something.

很長時間以來，我第一次感到自己好像在學習一些東西。

I realized that it was possible for me to learn everything I had to know on my own, through the resources available online.

我意識到，通過在線資源，我可以自己學習所有必須了解的內容。

I spent around 7–8 hours watching online courses, reading, and doing projects. With trial and error, I created a learning path that worked for me.

我花了大約7-8個小時來觀看在線課程，閱讀和做項目。 經過反復試驗，我創造了一條對我有用的學習道路 。

在獲得學位課程的兩年時間里，我在一個月內學到了更多。 (I learnt more in one month that I did in two years of my degree program.)

After a month, it was announced that we were to start online classes in university.

一個月后，宣布我們將在大學開始在線課程。

This took up a huge portion of my day, and I barely had time left to self-learn or do my own projects. Since the classes weren’t very helpful, I decided to skip them altogether.

這占了我一天的大部分時間，而我幾乎沒有時間去自學或做自己的項目。 由于課程的幫助不是很大，所以我決定完全跳過它們。

However, some of my lecturers are pretty strict about attendance.

但是，我的一些講師對出勤非常嚴格。

One of them reported me for missing two week’s worth of classes, for which I produced a medical certificate.

其中一個報告說我錯過了兩周的課程，為此我出示了醫療證明。

I still didn’t think attending classes was worth my time, so I installed the Microsoft Teams app on my phone and joined class every day while I self-studied my own material.

我仍然認為上課不值得花我的時間，因此我在手機上安裝了Microsoft Teams應用程序，每天都在自學材料的同時上課。

I would then stay up all night to complete my university assignments, mid-terms, and exams. Despite never going to class, I had no problem doing the coursework because I had already taught myself to do all those things.

然后，我會整夜熬夜以完成我的大學作業，期中考試和考試。 盡管從未上過課，但我毫無困難地完成課程工作，因為我已經教自己做所有這些事情。

I did this for a couple of months, and completed the entire semester without attending a single class.

我花了幾個月的時間，完成了整個學期，沒有上任何一堂課。

學習如何學習 (Learning how to learn)

When self-studying, there are no exams to test you, no competition, and nobody to learn with.

自學時，沒有考試可以考驗您，沒有競爭，也沒有人可以學習。

This can make it difficult to stick it through, especially for those of us who are used to school and college environments.

這可能使其難以堅持下去，特別是對于那些習慣了學校和大學環境的人來說。

Most of us learn to pass exams, get good grades, and come out top in class. We thrive under these circumstances, because there are deadlines approaching and there is a need to study.

我們大多數人學會通過考試，獲得良好的成績并在課堂上名列前茅。 在這種情況下，我們會蓬勃發展，因為臨近最后期限，需要學習。

自學教我如何學習。 (Self-studying taught me how to learn for the sake of learning.)

My learning was fuelled by curiosity, and nothing else.

好奇心推動了我的學習，僅此而已。

I’d spend hours staring in front of a computer screen trying to fix broken code. I would go to sleep at 9am in the morning after studying and completing college assignments.

我會花幾個小時盯著電腦屏幕嘗試修復損壞的代碼。 學習并完成大學作業后，我將在早上9點入睡。

The only reason I could stick it through was because I was curious and hungry to learn more. I loved working on new projects, and learning to use new tools.

我堅持下去的唯一原因是因為我好奇并且渴望了解更多信息。 我喜歡從事新項目，也喜歡學習使用新工具。

I was inspired by senior data scientists who self-learnt and created their own learning path, and wanted to follow in the same footsteps. This motivation kept me going.

我受到了高級數據科學家的啟發，他們自我學習并創建了自己的學習道路，并希望遵循同樣的腳步。 這種動力使我繼續前進。

結果 (The Results)

In just a few months of self-learning, I taught myself so much more than I ever imagined was possible.

在短短的幾個月的自學過程中，我自學了很多東西，超出了我的想象。

I created a variety of data analysis projects, made tutorials for beginner data scientists, built my own portfolio website from scratch, and got a data science internship.

我創建了各種數據分析項目 ， 為初級數據科學家制作了教程，從頭開始構建了自己的投資組合網站 ，并獲得了數據科學實習機會 。

These couple of months have opened up many new doors for me, and I finally feel like I am enjoying what I do.

這幾個月為我打開了許多新的大門，我終于覺得自己很享受自己的工作。

Of course, there is so much I still don’t know, and there is a long way ahead. I am eager to learn new things as I go along.

當然，還有很多我仍然不知道，還有很長的路要走。 我渴望學習新事物。

That’s all for this article!

這就是本文的全部！

If you are looking to transition to data science or “break into the field,” just know that it is never too late to do so! You just need to have the discipline, and put aside some time everyday to learn new things.

如果您想過渡到數據科學或“涉足這一領域”，那就知道這樣做永遠不會太晚！ 您只需要有紀律，每天就花些時間學習新事物。