Introduction
Have I enjoyed myself at the Dataschool? YES. These 4 months of training will give you the best education you can get. I’ve learnt so much and come a long way from where I began.
Some of the topics that we have covered include:
–Tableau
–Tableau Prep
–Alteryx
–Power BI
–SQL
–Visual Best Practice
— Presentation Skills
–Data Modelling
Within each of these, there were many areas we also covered, for example in Alteryx we went through macros, analytical apps, and predictive analytics.
Section 1 – Feelings at the start
When we began I think we all felt the “Imposter Syndrome” – whereby we felt like we didn’t belong and that we would be exposed as a fraud. As time went by, we grew in confidence and ability, and now feel ready and prepared to go into the real world and begin our journey into the outside world. You could the start of our journey as a “baptism of fire” the first two weeks are incredibly intense, but you start to get the hang of things very quickly, especially when you have others going through the same issues (and with the amazingly talented coaches David and Craig helping out). Within a few weeks, we were able to complete our Alteryx certification, and towards the end, we earnt our Certified Professional Tableau qualification.
Section 2 – Friendships and the aim of the Dataschool
I think the main purpose of the Dataschool is that we are not independent consultants, and we should take pride in that. We have a wealth of knowledge as an organisation, and as a result, will be quicker and better equipped to tackle data issues. I can’t emphasise enough the friendships that are made while in the Dataschool, as someone who arrived in Australia knowing nobody, it was really useful to be social with people.
Section 3 – Achievements and Highlights
I would say that an achievement of mine would be getting my blog and Visualisation on keyboard shortcuts recognised by Tableau on Linkedin. In terms of highlights, every Friday after a client project, kicking back and relaxing with the whole team from sales to upper management. Over the client projects, we had a lot of exposure to many areas that helped us in our learning e.g. data modelling, date function in Tableau, cost-benefit analysis, and spatial analysis. After each client project, we had a retrospective where we could learn what went well and how we could improve for next time.
Section 4 – Hopes
Going forward I’ll be trying to do as many “Makeover Mondays” and “Alteryx Weekly Challenges” as possible. Perhaps I might make Viz of the day at some point. I’m sure I will learn lots over my client placements, obviously, I won’t be able to speak about who I’ll be working for, but the experience will be invaluable
Section 5 – Tips
To all those who are applying to the Dataschool or reading this hoping to get ideas and experience, definitely hit me up on Linkedin or Convo. I would be happy to go into anything in further detail.
- If I can impart some wisdom about blog writing, I would say write them every weekend and keep on top of them, they begin to pile up very quickly as a backlog.
- Selecting all text and pressing shift+alt+J will align the text to “Justify Align”. I see so many blogs that look a little messy, with “justify aligned” text it looks neater.
- Another thing I would say is ask for help if you need it. Get things wrong in training, not in the real world.
- Timebox tasks, try not to stay late or become a workaholic, quality is key not quantity
- Before you begin any project, client or otherwise, draw out a list of requirements and then assign roles – here potential problems can be discussed and better use of resource allocation.
