Hi, I’m Olga! I have years of experience in data science, most recently at eBay and now I work as an industry mentor at Pathrise, helping data scientists land a great role through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of K2 Data Science.
- What does K2 Data Science do?
- Who is K2 Data Science for?
- What does K2 Data Science cost?
- Ratings and reviews of K2 Data Science
- Alternatives to K2 Data Science
- How does K2 Data Science compare to Pathrise?
What does K2 Data Science do?
K2 Data Science is a bootcamp that helps people learn the technical skills necessary to land a job as a data scientist or data engineer. They offer part-time, online courses. In addition, all courses are live.
Before starting the K2 data science course, students complete 100 hours of online pre-work. The curriculum includes computer science fundamentals, basic Python programming, SciPy stack, statistics, probability, and more. The data engineering course requires no pre-work. But, students should familiarize themselves with Python, SQL, and the Command Line.
Data science
Students can take the 700-hour data science course at their own pace, but it generally takes students 4-12 months to complete. The curriculum includes Python programming, data encoding, databases, web scraping, and APIs. In addition, students also learn regular expressions, regression models, time series analysis, data engineering, chatbots and much more. Finally, students graduate with polished data projects for their portfolios to help them impress employers and land a data science job.
The data science course includes career assistance. Students meet weekly with a mentor 1-on-1 to help them with the technical curriculum and the job search. The curriculum includes workshops on crafting resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and GitHub portfolios. Students also participate in mock behavioral and technical interviews.
Data engineering
The self-paced data engineering course includes 30 hours of video lessons, 200 hours of assignments, and 100 hours for the final project. Students learn to interpret and extract meaning from data using exploratory data analysis and machine learning. The curriculum includes big data systems, scaling, parallel processing, Hadoop, MapReduce, Parquet, HDFS, and lambda architecture. Moreover, students also learn data collection/ingestion, messaging, batch processing, stream processing, distributed index, and more. TA support and a community Slack are also available.
Students graduate with polished portfolio projects and have lifetime access to the course materials. A “mentorship plan” is available as a paid add-on, providing students with 6 mentoring Skype sessions to get feedback on their data project, address specific coding questions, or focus on a topic that is difficult for them.
Who is K2 Data Science for?
People with some experience in quantitative disciplines are the best fits for K2 Data Science courses. The program is especially helpful for people seeking a self-paced, part-time program.
What does K2 Data Science cost? How much work is involved?
Tuition for the data science bootcamp is $6,000. The data engineering program costs $3,000. Students can pay tuition upfront or pay in 3 payments over 6 months for 20% more. Students who cancel within the first 2 weeks receive a full refund. However, if students want to cancel later, they receive a prorated refund. A $1,000 scholarship is available for women, underrepresented minority groups, and US military personnel (members, veterans, and their spouses).
Students interested in the data science program should have more than 3 years of work experience in a technical role like data analyst, software engineer or applied scientist. Candidates should also have a MS degree or PhD in a quantitative topic like statistics, math, or computer science. Students should also be familiar with programming.
The admission process begins with an online application and phone interview. Then, select candidates are given a technical assessment consisting of two programming questions, one statistics question, and one probability question.
The data engineering program requires less of a technical background. Before applying, students should be familiar with Python, SQL, and the Command Line. Students can learn these subjects for free via online resources like Codecademy. While the data engineering course requires a behavioral interview, there is no technical challenge like the data science program.
Ratings and reviews
K2 Data Science has mostly positive reviews. They hold a 5 star review on Course Report and are rated 4.8/5 stars on Career Karma. Graduates praise the program for its practical curriculum and helpful mentorship, but some were disappointed in the provided job assistance.
The top review on Course Report praises the program’s curriculum and 1-on-1 support, raving that “the online platform is great, TA’s and mentors are readily available and provide great feedback, and the work teaches exactly the tools one would need to be a data scientist.” Another reviewer found “the material, instructors and mentor support to be top notch” and felt the 1-on-1 trainings prepared him for the job search. He describes the courses as a “flexible, yet comprehensive, data science education.”
Reviewers on Quora were similarly impressed by the course’s project-based learning, flexibility, and 1-on-1 support. One grad praises the “excellent mentorship” and “flexibility” the program gave him. Another graduate was excited about the practical learning. They felt that their mentor was “invaluable in shortening the learning cycles.”
On Career Karma, grads enjoyed the practical, flexible curriculum and 1-on-1 mentoring. One student spoke about the “helpful mentors” and felt like “everything was very well done. The curriculum and projects were very thoughtfully designed, and I’ve found the skills I’ve gained incredibly useful.” However, the program’s career services are only rated 80/100. Overall, reviewers were very satisfied with the course and the data skills they gained.
Alternatives to K2 Data Science
If you decide not to enroll in a K2 Data Science course, there are many alternative bootcamps and resources that can help you land a job as a data analyst or data engineer.
- The data science bootcamp Divergence Academy offers full-time and part-time courses in data science subjects. Like K2, Divergence Academy has self-paced options and opportunities for 1-on-1 mentorship.
- The popular bootcamp General Assembly has full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on data science, software engineering, UX design, digital marketing, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Another well-known tech bootcamp is Thinkful, which teaches courses in data science, as well as software engineering and UX/UI design.
- The online learning program Data Science Dream Job offers self-paced data science courses. Like K2 Data Science, these programs include portfolio building and career assistance. 1-on-1 mentoring is also available.
- The data science resource DataCamp offers over 300 courses on data science subjects. Courses last about 4 hours.
- Metis has introductory data science courses with both onsite & remote bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- For those looking for a data science community focused on project-learning learning, Kaggle can be a good choice. They host 19,000 public datasets and 200,000 public notebooks for people who are looking to get started or join a data science project to build up their skills and their portfolios.
- Similarly, the data science resource DataCamp offers over 300 courses on data science subjects. Like K2, they host an active community of data scientists.
- Likewise, 365 Data Science is a low-cost and low commitment option to learn data fundamentals. In the same vein, FourthBrain has part-time, online machine learning courses.
- If you prefer in-person classes, check out Magnimind or Principal Analytics Prep, which have full-time and part-time data science courses.
More alternatives
- Flatiron School teaches courses on data science, software engineering, and cybersecurity analytics. Students can choose part-time or full-time options, both remote or on-campus.
- The bootcamp Lambda School teaches 9-month courses in data science as well as web dev. Students can defer payment through an income share agreement (ISA). Similarly, QuickStart, One Month, Georgia Tech Bootcamp, and Zip Code Wilmington have courses in web dev, software engineering, and data science.
- Or, consider Kal Academy, which works with women and underrepresented groups on software engineering, web dev, and data.
- Coding Dojo is a good option for those looking to start a career in data science. They teach fundamental skills needed to land an entry level job as a data analyst.
- The bootcamp BrainStation offers programs in data science, UX/UI design, web development, and more. Like K2 Data Science, BrainStation emphasizes hands-on, practical learning.
- Similarly, Nashville Software School and Clarusway have courses in full stack web dev and data science.
- Students interested in flexible, self-paced learning can also check out Udemy, which offers thousands of affordable video courses on data science. Individual classes cost around $10 each.
- Similarly, Codecademy offers free self-paced courses on data science and many programming languages. They also have membership options ranging from $20 to $40 per month for greater course options and extra support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
- Those interested in online, self-paced learning can also check out Udacity and Springboard, which are platforms that students that host tech courses on subjects like data science. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
- Finally, edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
How does K2 Data Science compare to Pathrise?
While K2 Data Science has some job search assistance, the majority of the program is based around technical skill development so students can have the right background for a job as a data scientist or data engineer.
Alternatively, the Pathrise program assists people with all phases of the job search including resume and portfolio optimization, cold emailing and reverse recruiting, technical and behavioral interviewing, and negotiation so that they can be the best possible candidate and land a great job.
Our curriculum is tailored to our fellows, focusing on whatever skills they struggle with most. To do this, we allow our fellows to schedule 1-on-1 sessions whenever they help. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. We never require deposits or upfront payments.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentorship and personalized training. If you are interested in working with one of our mentors to land your dream job, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
