FAQ about Data Science Masters
https://medium.com/@togzhansultan/faq-about-data-science-masters-343b6e0b17a1
So now, the questions that I get most asked about. I am going to put them in Q&A form so it’s easy for me.
Should I Do Masters or Can I Learn Everything Online?
Technically, you can learn how to be an astrophysicist online at this age. I mean…
If you are pretty disciplined and independent person, you can try to do it online, on your own and who knows you might end up being very good at it. It does require patience, discipline and ability to question everything from lectures to your own code. If you think you have what it takes go for it!
However, learning those fundamental concepts is much easier when you are in the actual physical classroom and there is a professor, who can answer your questions live. It is much easier when you put yourself into an environment where everyone is trying to understand what the heck is Dijkstra and how do I initialize weights. It is much easier when you can have live discussions with your classmates about homework and also double check your understanding of the material. It is much easier when you have TAs that you can bug and ask questions and ask to explain concepts again and again until you get it.
Another advantage of the degree is the easy access to like-minded people. networking, career opportunities, and libraries.
So, doing it online is harder and requires more work and if you think you can do it, then you should do it.
Can you suggest me a list of online resources?
Hmm…I don’t think so. I mean I just read almost everything I can find on the subject and watch related videos from 2 or 3 different places. I can suggest you books that I studied and you can find courses that teach those books, but I don’t have the list compiled
Books on machine learning that I studied:
the bible: https://web.stanford.edu/~hastie/Papers/ESLII.pdf
book that i like: http://ciml.info/
I will post online resources that are helpful some time later.
What Do I need to know before the masters?
A lot of master program do list requirements on their web pages and I think usually they are pretty accurate. If they want you to know linear algebra before coming to masters, that means you should know linear algebra before doing masters. You have to google couple of master programs that you are interested in and look up their requirements.
here is Columbia requirements:
https://datascience.columbia.edu/faq-admissions
Which classes did you take during masters?
If you google, almost every masters program lists their curriculum online.
here is the classes that I took at Columbia:
https://datascience.columbia.edu/course-inventory
How did you finance your education?
Can we skip this question pleaaaasee
How to apply to masters?
If you google, every masters degree describes their application processes, including what kind of language tests they accept.
here is Columbia process.
What scores/GPA should I have to be accepted?
There is no minimum requirement. Of course the more the better in this case, but there are no minimum requirements. I don’t know how the admissions committee operates, but I feel like they won’t toss you away if your GRE score is average, just because it’s average. They take a look at a candidate as a whole picture, not numbers and scores.
If you think you didn’t get admitted because your GRE score was low, I would say you probably wasn’t admitted because they didn’t think you can survive the curriculum/bring value to the program/successfully apply the knowledge that you have obtained after graduation.
What to write in my statement of purpose?
You should write why do you need this degree and what you are going to do with it if you have research interests specify them.
YOU SHOULD WRITE THE STATEMENT ON YOUR OWN. People ask me ideas or suggestions for the statement, but it’s your life and you know better why do you need this degree.
Tip: I read these series of blog posts by HKS
I linked the first one, but if you go down below you will see other links and they were very helpful in shaping my application. Even though they are not related to Data Science, but you get a general idea. Especially for international students like me, it is very helpful.
How did you got accepted?
I don’t knooow! I did my best, did all the required preparation, rewrote my statement million times, asked my friends to give me feedback. I researched the hell outta the program that I applied to and tailored my application to suit the program. Somehow it worked out and we synced and I got accepted! YaY!
Which master programs I should apply to?
You are going to spend from 12 to 24 month at that place, I would research the hell out of all the programs and see what features of the program that I like. In my case, I loved Columbia’s program because of its really nice career placement and location, NYC, the best city in the world!
Some people obsess over rankings and want to be in the number one program even if it doesn’t suit them, some programs are more technical than others and some are more academic. Figure out what works for you! GOOGLE!
Did you like your education at Columbia?
LOVED IT! I don’t regret doing masters, it was a great experience and I eventually got what I needed. It worked out! and we had the most amazing Rachel to help us with career placement, unfortunately, she left to be part of Lambda School.
Do you think I should apply to Columbia?
Does Columbia work for you though?
Can you review my application/help me write the application/tutor me?
I don’t think I will have time for that, I am sorry.
In general, I know that a lot of people do masters just for the sake of doing it. If you are doing it just to do it, then that is exactly why you end up unable to produce ideas for your statement and actually not getting admitted.
My advice first understand why do you need this degree, how this degree is going to help you to advance in life and then apply.
Because you are going to know what you want and why you are doing masters, you will be able to squeeze out more value from the degree, as you will be pursuing projects that interest you instead of taking whatever on your way and be more aggressive for your work search.
Good luck and hope this helped!