Confused by all the Data Science education offerings? Here is a guide to help you choose where to focus your time and energy

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There are many Data Science courses and certificates that promise to make you job ready. So, how to choose? What really gets you ready to take on a job as a data scientist? In this article, we position IBM’s Data Science programs available on Coursera so you can decide where to focus your energy and attention—depending on where you are in your Data Science learning journey.

Whether you are just beginning your journey and want to apply to entry level data science/data analytics positions or you are re-skilling and hopping on the data science wave from neighboring and related fields, IBM’s Data Science Professional Certificate is a good place to start. The program consists of 9 online courses that will provide you with the basic tools and skills, including: open source tools and libraries, Python, databases, SQL, data visualization, data analysis, statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and machine learning algorithms. You’ll learn data science through hands-on practice in the IBM Cloud using real data science tools and real-world data sets.

If you want to develop the necessary skills to become a proficient data scientist, the next step is to go deeper into Machine Learning, using the Machine Learning Professional Certificate. Here, you will learn the main types of Machine Learning: Unsupervised Learning, Supervised Learning, Deep Learning, and Reinforcement Learning. You will also learn to work with specialized techniques for time series and survival analysis. In addition to earning a Professional Certificate from Coursera, you will receive a digital badge from IBM recognizing your proficiency in Machine Learning.

If you are an experienced data scientist looking for ways to become more effective, we suggest you take Machine Learning Rapid Prototyping with IBM Watson Studio. This course will take you through the creation of an end-to-end automated pipeline built by Watson Studio’s AutoAI experiment tool.You will also get a view into the underlying work that powers AutoAI so you fully understand how the tool works to support model development acceleration efforts. 

Lastly, the IBM AI Enterprise Workflow is a six course specialization designed for experienced data scientists to advance skills needed in an enterprise setting. IBM AI Enterprise Workflow is a comprehensive, end-to-end learning experience that takes data scientists through the process of building AI solutions using a simulated real world scenario. It connects business priorities with technical implementations, expanding from machine learning to specialized AI use cases, such as visual recognition ad NLP, and taking AI into production.

All these programs leverage real world use cases and take a hands-on approach to ensure you are comfortable and proficient in the topics, and are familiar with the practice of data science in large, modern enterprises.

Once you have developed these skills, you can demonstrate your mastery getting an industry approved certification. If you are looking to work at a large enterprise, IBM offers the AI Enterprise Workflow V1 Data Science Specialist certification.  This certification offers recognition valued by hiring managers because it is tied to real- world experience within a job role or with a specific product/solution and it provides recognition for the development of deep skills within a solution or product area.

Unlike any other data science badges or certificates, which are obtained after going through an educational process, The AI Workflow Certification Is obtained after a third party Proctored assessment process.

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