My Thoughts on the Google Data Analytics Certificate
I decided to see what the hype was about and completed the Google Data Analytics Certificate. Here are some notes on the program:
I decided to see what the hype was about and completed the Google Data Analytics Certificate. Here are some notes on the program:
The course progresses as follows: Spreadsheets → SQL → Dashboarding → Programming in R.
In between these four pillars, the course creators mix in non-technical topics such as working with stakeholders or the ‘data analytics lifecycle’. A lot of it felt very basic; however, I think it’s useful to re-visit the fundamentals from time to time.
I think the most impactful non-technical topic for me was learning how different organizations manage their data from beginning to end (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, HBS, Strategic Finance, U.S. Geological Survey).
The spreadsheet section would probably seem basic to anyone who has had to use Excel/Google Sheets at all either professionally or academically but would be a great starting point for someone with no experience.
The SQL section is also fairly basic but it does a great job at giving a few hands-on problems for the students to solve.
The SQL section introduces BigQuery (Google’s cloud SQL explorer) and features some to-be-expected bias towards the tool such as graded questions asking you how the platform will add value to your career.
The dashboarding section revolves around Tableau and has students build out dashboards on Tableau public, which I think is awesome.
I really enjoyed the R portion of the course. It covers basic data manipulation, piping, ggplot2, and R Markdown. While I use these tools fairly extensively, the course helped me to recognize and correct a couple of bad habits I had.
The program does a really good job at helping students get set up and begin engaging on Kaggle.
Overall, it’s a basic program but I think it’s a great jumping off point for someone trying to get started in Data Analytics or even someone with more experience who wants to get a refresher on some core topics.