Updated in 2023
- What does NYC Data Science Academy do?
- Who is NYC Data Science Academy for?
- What does NYC Data Science Academy cost?
- Ratings and reviews of NYC Data Science Academy
- Alternatives to NYC Data Science Academy
- How does NYC Data Science Academy compare to Pathrise?
What does NYC Data Science Academy do?
NYC Data Science Academy (NYCDSA) teaches data science through an immersive on-campus or online bootcamp, short courses, and online training.
The immersive on-campus or online bootcamp lasts 12 weeks. It teaches Python and R with machine learning, data analytics, and data visualization. Students also participate in 4 company-sponsored projects and receive career services.
Students can also choose to participate in the self-paced online bootcamp. They recommend committing 20-30 hours per week to successfully finish the part-time bootcamp in 24 weeks. Alternatively, students can commit 30-40 hours per week and finish the course in 16 weeks. In this program students will learn beginner and intermediate levels of data science. Then, they get the option to specialize in big data technologies or deep learning. Students will also learn to build statistical models, linear regression, data classification and visualization using Python, R, Hadoop, Spark, AWS and more. Before the bootcamps start, there are 40 hours of pre-work. This includes an introduction to Python, Python for data analytics, and R for data analytics.
Students can also choose to take courses, rather than the full bootcamps. There is a bootcamp prep course, introductory courses, and mastery courses for data science in R and Python as well as analytics, machine learning, and more. These classes take between 3-4 weeks to complete. They also offer 6-week, part-time courses on-campus in New York City.
Who is NYC Data Science Academy for?
Current and aspiring data scientists can both benefit from the courses and programs offered by NYCDSA. The bootcamp is for people who are looking to start from the very beginning of their data science career. But, the mastery and intermediate classes can be helpful for data scientists looking to advance their skills.
What does NYC Data Science Academy cost? How much work is involved?
The courses at NYCDSA are not inexpensive. The bootcamp prep course, which combines 3 courses, costs $5,000. On their own, courses cost between $1,435 and $2,800. The bootcamps cost $17,600 and a $5,000 deposit is required upon acceptance.
The application process consists of two steps: an online written application and a virtual or in-person interview. The written application takes about 1.5 hours and asks about education and working experience. The application ends with short coding challenges.
The second step is a virtual or in-person interview. This goes over why they want to pursue a career in data science and how NYCDSA could be a good fit for their goals. Candidates might also participate in a second in-person interview to see if they are a good technical and cultural fit for the program.
Ratings and reviews
NYCDSA is very highly rated online, where it is on a few top 10 bootcamp lists. Similarly, on CourseReport, they are reviewed well by students. Most felt like the curriculum was well done and the instructors were experienced. As is the case with most bootcamps, a lot of learning needs to be done behind-the-scenes by the student, including previewing and rewatching lectures in order to fully understand the topics.
When asked about whether or not the program can replace formal education, most people say that having some background in data science is important to success in the program. On their website, NYCDSA explains that if you have no background at all, you should apply at least 6 weeks before so that you have time to learn the basics needed.
Alternatives to New York City Data Science Academy
For aspiring data scientists and those who are looking to continue their education on the subject, there are a fair number of alternatives.
- Metis has part-time introduction courses as well as onsite and online bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- Current and aspiring data scientists can also consider DataCamp, Dataquest, Promotable, and Data Science Dojo. They offer individual courses, as well as in-depth tracks.
- Aspiring data scientists with graduate degrees in data-centric fields can check out The Data Incubator and Insight.
- If you are starting from scratch, you can consider the self-paced course at Data Science Dream Job. Or, try the part-time or full-time data courses offered by Divergence Academy and K2 Data Science.
- Likewise, 365 Data Science is a low-cost and low commitment option to learn data fundamentals.
- Coding Temple and RMOTR are Python data science and web development bootcamps, focusing on the fundamentals. Similarly, QuickStart has courses in web dev and data.
- You can check out Udacity and Springboard. These are online educational platforms that students can use to brush up on the basics or advance their current tech skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
- edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
- Students can also check out Udemy and Coursera, which have 1000 data science resources and tracks.
More alternatives
- Free online resources, SoloLearn and the Mode tutorials have tracks in SQL, as well as other programming languages.
- Similarly, Codecademy is one of the most popular coding programs online. They provide free courses on many different programming languages. They also offer membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for more course options and greater support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
- For people looking to find a community of data scientists and projects to work on, Kaggle is a good alternative. They have 19,000 public datasets and 200,000 public notebooks for people who are looking to get started or contribute to data science projects in order to advance their skills or build up their portfolios.
- One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- The Tech Academy and Zip Code Wilmington are online and onsite bootcamps that help people learn the technical skills necessary to land a job as a (junior) software developer or data scientist.
- People with experience who are looking to do machine learning projects as they look for jobs can consider SharpestMinds. In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
- If you prefer in-person classes, check out Magnimind or Principal Analytics Prep, which have full-time and part-time data science courses.
- Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
- The Menon Labs fellowship helps people learn the skills to get a job in web dev, data, and product management.
For more information on data science resources including costs and reviews, check out our article.
How does New York City Data Science Academy compare to Pathrise?
NYCDSA offers courses for people who are interested in learning how to become a data scientist, mainly from scratch. At Pathrise, job-seekers should already have a background in the field they are interested in so that they can participate in and fully benefit from our technical workshops, where we provide a more specific curriculum based on what they will see in their interviews.
All of our sessions at Pathrise are live, as well as recorded. That way, fellows in our program can review them afterwards and continue learning. Our program is flexible, with only 2-4 hours of group sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions as needed. In addition, the personalized curriculum helps people where they need it.
Specifically, Pathrise focuses on technical and behavioral interviewing as well as resume and LinkedIn optimization, portfolio building and strengthening, cold email and reverse recruiting lessons, and negotiation templates and guidance. Job-seekers in Pathrise find a job, on average, within 3-5 months of joining the program.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you want to work with any of our mentors to get help with your technical and behavioral interviews or with any other aspect of the job search, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
