My Google Data Analytics Certification Experience
When my master’s dissertation was finally over and submitted, I began to second guess myself. Had this been the best way to reskill myself for re-entering the workforce, or had I complicated things for myself a bit? So, I began to look into other ways in which I might enhance my skills for the data analytics field. Certification was one recommendation that kept showing up. Just as well life-long learning is one of my core values.
When I looked into certification, and 3 caught my eye:
i. Microsoft Data Analyst Associate
ii. IBM Data Analyst
iii. Google Data Analytics.
What swayed me in favor of Google Data Analytics?
Mainly the job preparedness and career tips. I felt I was fairly familiar with the content of all the courses, but my main thing at this point is getting a job. Reading on the Google course description, I hoped it meant the possibility of being recognized and getting an offer from Google. While that is not the case, I am very satisfied with what I did get.
1. Variety of learning tools
It wasn’t just videos of someone’s screen showing you how to do something. There are pop quizzes, end of module quizzes, weekly challenges, practical activities, and lots of reading materials and links to external resources.
2. Engaging instructors
The videos were well presented, the instructors appeared competent in their field. I am a fan of playback controls and I was not disappointed, so I could listen at different speeds for different speech patterns. The videos also included other people with relevant insights and experiences to share. I enjoyed not just hearing the course material, but some of the personal stories behind their competence. Of course, it also made me yearn to work at Google even more.
3. Practical Examples with accessible data sources.
The instructors not only worked on possibly real-life data, but I got the chance to do so as well. Links to data sources were provided for all demonstrations. In the practical exercises I could work with real data, mostly open source. Some of the end of chapter exercises were even designed in such a way that unless I worked through the process and accessed the relevant data, I could not proceed. I can confidently say there is nothing that was covered that I did not get the chance to try out. This was also possible because of the next point.
4. Accessible tools and technology.
There is nothing as frustrating as being unable to install the particular software for the module you are studying. While the option existed in this course to use the tools on my PC, the example mainly showed online tools like Google Sheets, R Studio Online and Tableau. My personal favorite was Big Query which I hadn’t explored before.
5. Very relevant, very practical capstone project
After all that goodness the challenge was to combine it all in a capstone project. Its one thing to answer a quiz. It’s another to have to produce something from nothing. It was surprisingly challenging, calling into play the whole portfolio of skills. I went with one of the sample datasets. You can take a look at it here. I do think I will continue with the other options just to keep practicing the skills.
6. Job search tools and tricks.
What a rich resource this proved to be! There was practical advice, templates, guides and links to fully equip the earnest job seeker. One of the most beneficial things for me was the tools for creating a portfolio, which I have started to implement here. There were no offers or promises of anything, but the learning process allowed me to evaluate my approach to job hunting and make adjustments. For a nice touch, there’s access to Big Interview at the end of the course.
What a superb online learning experience. In the discussion forum I noted that some learners were not having a great experience. There seemed to be issues with failure to access certain features because of updates to the online tools, but I found it all easily operable. Perhaps there is a leaning more towards the US audience in the course approach. Notably, only those with US work permits could access the job center. I felt this to be a bit unfair. If you welcome learners from across the globe, there should have been mechanisms to support the job search across the globe as well. But that is just me.
Overall, I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it for everyone. It was helpful in enhancing my skills, not to mention getting a certificate and badge I can flash around. In addition, I found I was better able to explore and hone in on what exactly I want my career to be about, what my competencies are, and what areas I need to work on. I would say now more than ever I am confident I am on the right path and love #Dataanalytics.
