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If you work in tech or are hoping to break into the field, you must keep your technical skills sharp to be competitive in the job market. But not everyone has the time or money to return to school for a degree. Fortunately, online learning platforms for coding are becoming more popular.

DataCamp is one such platform that helps you enhance your coding skills or deepen your knowledge of subjects like data science and machine learning. In this article, youll learn about DataCamp and how it differs from its competitors.

DataCamp is an online learning platform that teaches students new technical skills or helps them brush up on their current skill set. DataCamp is a self-paced, non-proctored approach to learning, similar to competing providers like Codecademy and CodeCamp. DataCamp teaches data science, machine learning and skills like business intelligence and SQL tools.

When you sign up with DataCamp, youll experience a hands-on approach to learning that includes regular skill assessments to track your progress. Courses include challenges and projects featuring real-world elements to help you figure out how to apply your new skills in the workplace.

Through a series of courses or career paths, DataCamp can help you learn coding languages like Python, R, SQL and Scala, along with products like Tableau, Power BI, Oracle SQL and Excel.

DataCamp has a few different paid tiers and one free offering. The free service level is relatively limited but allows you to complete six courses and provides unlimited access to DataCamps job board. Youll also get to create and maintain a professional profile on DataCamps site.

Paid membership levels are as follows:

DataCamp offers a full suite of courses and career paths to explore. Below, weve included details on several of the more popular courses offered.

Time to Completion: 4 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data scientist

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: This course introduces students to the Python programming language and discusses how the language is used in the field of data science. Students learn to work with data in lists and how to use functions and packages. The course culminates with exposure to NumPy, which is Pythons package used for scientific and numerical computing.

Time to Completion: 4 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data scientist

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: One of the main responsibilities of a data scientist is to convert raw data into meaningful information. This SQL course teaches data extraction and manipulation using SQL, MySQL, Oracle and PostgreSQL. The course breaks down into four chapters.

Time to Completion: 4 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data analyst

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: This course introduces students to the open-source language R. Students learn about key concepts like vectors, factors, lists and data frames. The R course aims to help students develop the skills theyll need to do their own data analysis in R.

Time to Completion: 3 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data Analyst

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: Power BI is a widely used business intelligence platform that allows users to create impactful data models. DataCamps Power BI course teaches students to use the drag-and-drop functionality and other methods to load and transform data using Power Query.

More in-depth and time-intensive than individual courses, DataCamps skill tracks give a more well-rounded look at popular IT areas. These tracks include programming in Python and R and data visualization. Below, we provide some details on DataCamps most popular skill tracks.

Time to Completion: 22 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data scientist, data analyst

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: This track offers an in-depth look at programming in R and other coding languages used by data scientists. Students undergo a series of exercises to learn about common R elements, including vectors, matrices and data frames. More advanced courses in this skill track introduce concepts like conditional statements, loops and vectorized functions.

Time to Completion: 88 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Researcher, data scientist

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: This course teaches students how to use Python like a data scientist. Students learn to work with data: importing, cleaning, manipulating andmost importantlyvisualizing. A series of interactive exercises introduces learners to some of the most popular Python libraries, like pandas, NumPy and Matplotlib.

Time to Completion: 73 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Data engineer

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: In addition to Python, this in-depth skill track comprises 19 courses that introduce students to languages like Shell, SQL and Scala. Learners also gain exposure to big data tools like AWS Boto, PySpark, Spark SQL and MongoDB. Through six self-paced projects, students create their own databases and data engineering pipelines.

Time to Completion: 61 hours

Course Format: Self-paced

Can Courses Be Completed Fully Online? Yes

Careers this Course Prepares Learners for: Machine learning scientist, machine learning engineer

Overview of What to Expect in this Course: This skill track focuses on models. Comprising 15 courses, this course teaches students about creating, training and visualizing models, one of the most important tools for a machine learning engineer. Students are also introduced to Bayesian statistics, natural language processing and Spark.

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Yes, reviews indicate that DataCamp is suitable for beginners. Even the providers more in-depth course offerings are very basic in nature, presenting material in simple, easy-to-understand formats.

When it comes to employers, a certificate from DataCamp does not carry the same weight as a degree. Still, a DataCamp certificate indicates that you have invested time and energy into learning a career-related skill set.

Possibly, though a DataCamp course on its own may not be enough for you to land a job. You should also gain hands-on experience and network with professionals in your desired field.

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DataCamp Courses, Skill Tracks and Pricing Forbes Advisor - Forbes