12 Best Data Science Courses from Harvard, IBM, Udemy, and Coursera in 2024
Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Artificial intelligence are really hot at this moment and offering a lucrative career to programmers with high pay and exciting work.
It’s a great opportunity for programmers who are willing to learn these new skills and upgrade themselves.
It’s also important from the job perspective because Robots and Bots are getting smarter day by day, thanks to these technologies, and most likely will take over some of the jobs which many programmers do today.
Hence, it’s important for software engineers and developers to upgrade themselves with these skills. Programmers with these skills are also commanding significantly higher salaries as data science is revolutionizing the world around us.
You might already know that the Machine learning specialist is one of the top paid technical jobs in the world. However, most developers and IT professionals are yet to learn this valuable set of skills.
For those, who don’t know what is a Data Science, Machine learning, or deep learning, they are very related terms with all pointing towards machine doing jobs which is only possible for humans to date and analyzing the huge set of data collected by the modern-day application.
Data Science, in particular, is a combination of concepts such as machine learning, visualization, data mining, programming, data mugging, etc.
If you have some programming experience then you can learn Python or R to make your career as a Data Scientist.
There are a lot of popular scientific Python libraries such as Numpy, Scipy, Scikit-learn, Pandas, which is used by Data Scientist for analyzing data.
To be honest with you, I am also quite new to Data Science and Machine learning world but I have been spending some time from last year to understand this field and have done some research in terms of the best resources to learn Machine learning, Data science, etc.
I am sharing all those resources in a series of blog posts like this. Earlier, I have shared some courses to learn TensorFlow, one of the most popular machine learning library and today I’ll share some more to learn these technologies.
These are a combination of both free and paid resource which will help you to understand key data science concepts and become a Data Scientist.
12 Best Data Science Courses for Beginners to Learn in 2024
Here is my list of some of the best courses to learn Data Science, Machine learning, and deep learning. As I said, Data Science and machine learning work very close together, hence some of these courses also cover machine learning.
Both Python and R are a great language for Data Analysis and have good APIs and library, hence I have included courses in both Python and R, you can choose the one you like.
I personally like Python because of its versatile usage, it’s the next best in my list of language after Java. I am already using it for writing scripts and other web stuff, so it was an easy choice for me. It has also got some excellent libraries like Sci-kit Learn and TensorFlow.
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Data Science is also a combination of many skills e.g. visualization, data cleaning, data mining, etc and these courses provide a good overview of all these concepts and also present a lot of useful tools that can help you in the real world.
1. Harvard Data Science Course
The course is a combination of various data science concepts such as machine learning, visualization, data mining, programming, data mugging, etc.
You will be using popular scientific Python libraries such as Numpy, Scipy, Scikit-learn, Pandas throughout the course.
I suggest you complete the machine learning course on course before taking this course, as machine learning concepts such as PCA (dimensionality reduction), k-means and logistic regression are not covered in depth.
But remember, you have to invest a lot of time to complete this course, especially the homework exercises are very challenging
In short, if you are looking for an online course in data science(using Python), there is no better course than Harvard’s CS 109. You need some background in programming and knowledge of statistics to complete this course.
2. Machine Learning A-Z: Hands-On Python and R — In Data Science
This is probably the best hands-on course on Data Science and machine learning online. In this course, you will learn to create Machine Learning Algorithms in Python and R from two Data Science experts.
This is a great course for students and programmers who want to make a career in Data Science and also Data Analysts who want to level up in machine learning.
It’s also good for any intermediate-level programmers who know the basics of machine learning, including the classical algorithms like linear regression or logistic regression, but who want to learn more about it and explore all the different fields of Machine Learning.
3. Intro To Data Science Course by IBM
This is one of the best Coursera courses to learn Data Science. It provides a broad introduction to various concepts of data science. The first programming exercise “Twitter Sentiment Analysis in Python” is both fun and challenging, where you analyze tons of twitter messages to find out the sentiments like a negative, positive, etc.
The course assumes that you know statistics, Python, and SQL.
Btw, It’s not so good for beginners, especially if you don’t know Python and SQL but if you do and have a basic understanding of Data Science then this is a great course.
And, if you find Coursera courses useful, which they are because they are created by reputed companies like Google, IBM, Amazon, and best universities around the world, I suggest you join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera
This single subscription gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. It cost around $399/year but its complete worth of your money as you get unlimited certificates.
4. Data Science with R by Pluralsight
Data science is the practice of transforming data into knowledge, and R is one of the most popular programming language used by data scientists.
In this course, you’ll learn first learn about the practice of data science, the R programming language, and how they can be used to transform data into actionable insight.
Next, you’ll learn how to transform and clean your data, create and interpret descriptive statistics, data visualizations, and statistical models.
Finally, you’ll learn how to handle Big Data, make predictions using machine learning algorithms, and deploy R to production.
Btw, you would need a Pluralsight membership to get access to this course, which costs around $29 per month or $299 annually (14% discount).
If you don’t have Pluralsight membership, I encourage you to get one because it allows you to access their 5000+ online courses on all the latest topics like front-end and back-end development, Machine learning, etc.
It also includes interactive quizzes, exercises, and the latest certification material.
It’s more like Netflix for Software Developers and Since learning is an important part of our job, Pluralsight membership is a great way to stay ahead of your competition.
They also provide a 10-day free trial without any commitment, which is a great way to not just access this course for free but also to check the quality of courses before joining Pluralsight.
5. Want to be a Data Scientist? (FREE)
This is a great introductory course on what Data scientists do and how you can become a data science professional. It’s also free and you can get it on Udemy.
If you have just heard about Data Science and excited about it but don’t know what it really means then this is the course you should attend first.
It’s a small course but packed with big punches. You will understand what Data Science is? Appreciate the work Data Scientists do on a daily basis and differentiate the various roles in Data Science and the skills needed to perform them.
You will also learn about the challenges Data Scientists face. In short, this course will give you all the knowledge to make a decision on whether Data Science is the right path for you or not.
6. Intro to Data Science by Udacity
This is another good introductory course on Data science which is available for free on Udacity, another popular online course website.
In this course, you will learn about essential Data science concepts like Data Manipulation, Data Analysis with Statistics and Machine Learning, Data Communication with Information Visualization, and Data at Scale while working with Big Data.
This is a free course and it’s also the first step towards a new career with the Data Analyst Nanodegree Program offered by Udacity.
7. Data Science Certification Training — R Programming
This is another good course to learn Data Science with R. In this course, you will not only learn R programming language but also get some hands-on experience with statistical modeling techniques.
The course has real-world examples of how analytics have been used to significantly improve a business or industry.
If you are interested in learning some practical analytic methods that don’t require a ton of maths background to understand, this is the course for you.
8. Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp
There is no doubt that Python is probably the best language, apart from R for Data Analysis and that’s why it’s hugely popular among Data Scientists.
This course will teach you how to use all important Python scientific and machine learning libraries TensorFlow, NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib, Plotly, Scikit-Learn, Machine Learning, and many more libraries which I have explained earlier in my list of useful machine learning libraries.
It’s a very comprehensive course and you will how to use the power of Python to analyze data, create beautiful visualizations, and use powerful machine learning algorithms!
9. Data Science A-Z: Real-Life Data Science Exercises Included
This is another great hands-on course on Data Science from Udemy. It promises to teach you Data Science step by step through real Analytics examples. Data Mining, Modeling, Tableau Visualization and more.
This course will give you so many practical exercises that the real world will seem like a piece of cake when you complete this course.
The homework exercises are also very thought-provoking and challenging. In short, If you love doing stuff then this is a course for you.
10. Data Science, Deep Learning and Machine Learning with Python
If you’ve got some programming or scripting experience, this course will teach you the techniques used by real data scientists and machine learning practitioners in the tech industry — and help you to become a data scientist.
The topics in this course come from an analysis of real requirements in data scientist job listings from the biggest tech employers, which makes it even more special and useful.
11. Grokking The Data Science
This is an excellent course to learn Data Science by Samia Khalid on The Educative. I am a big fan of Exudative's highly interactive and well-structured courses like Grokking the System Design Interview and Grokking the Coding Interview, and this course is in a similar league.
Taught by Samia Khalid, an AI expert from Microsoft this course will teach you everything you need to become a Data Scientist in 2024.
This course is your comprehensive guide to getting your start as a data scientist. It’s very easy to follow, hands-on, and fun explanations of all the essential topics in one place so you can quickly and efficiently learn what you need to thrive as a data scientist.
Thx to The Educative Team and Fahim ul Haq for creating an awesome platform and this course.
Here is the link to join this course — Grokking The Data Science
By the way, you can either join this course individually or you can take an educative subscription (recommended) to get access to their 250+ high quality, text-based, interactive courses to learn key skills for coding interviews, software development, and technology.
12. Data Visualization in Python
If you love books more than online courses and looking for some serious book to learn Data Visualization in Python then this is the best book for you.
Created by Daniel Nelson, this book is suitable for both beginner and intermediate Python developers and teach you key visualization skills through simple data manipulation with Pandas, cover core plotting libraries like Matplotlib and Seaborn, and show you how to take advantage of declarative and experimental libraries like Altair.
Here are the key skills you will learn in this book:
We’ll be covering:
- Matplotlib-based libraries
- JavaScript libraries
- JSON libraries
- WebGL libraries
The book has 11 chapters and throughout it covers all essential machine learning python libraries like Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Bokeh, Altair, Plotly, GGPlot, GeoPandas, and VisPy.
Here is the link to buy this book — Data Visualization in Python
That’s all about some of the popular courses to learn about Data Science. As I said, there is a lot of demand for good Data Analytics and there are not many developers out there to fulfill that demand.
It’s a great chance for the programmer, especially those who have good knowledge of maths and statistics to make a career in machine learning and data science. You will be awarded exciting work and incredible pay.
Other useful Data Science and Machine Learning resources
Top 8 Python Machine Learning Libraries
5 Free courses to learn R Programming for Machine learning
5 Free courses to learn Python in 2024
Top 5 Data Science and Machine Learning courses
Top 5 TensorFlow and Machine Learning Courses
10 Technologies Programmers Can Learn in 2024
Top 5 Courses to Learn Python Better
Top 10 Free Python Tutorials for Beginners
How a Japanese cucumber farmer is using deep learning and TensorFlow
Top 5 Books to Learn Python for Data Science
11 Best Websites to Learn Data Science in 2024
Closing Notes
Thanks, You made it to the end of the article … Good luck with your Data Science and Machine Learning journey! It’s certainly not going to be easy, but by following these courses, you are one step closer to becoming the Machine Learning Specialists you always wanted to be.
If you like this article, then please share it with your friends and colleagues, and don’t forget to follow javinpaul on Twitter!
P. S. — If you need some FREE resources to start with, you can check out this free course Learn Machine Learning algorithms, software, deep learning to start your preparation.