How DataCamp Empowered Mohammed's Journey from Theory to Application As a Risk Analyst in Finance

Discovering DataCamp

Grant Thornton has a vibrant learning culture, and Mohammed found DataCamp among the available learning providers. DataCamp stood out to Mohammed for its structured courses, interactive learning experience, expert instructors, and flexibility to learn at his own pace. The mobile application was a significant bonus, and Mohammed loved completing practice exercises to sharpen his knowledge on the go.

After completing the Finance fundamentals in Python track, Mohammed was able to do a Time series modeling project for an insurance client and was really motivated to continue learning.

Bridging the Application Gap in Data Science

The next challenge for Mohammed was getting hands-on experience in creating machine learning models. Although he had previously learned about machine learning from other learning providers, the application gap remained. To bridge this gap, he enrolled in DataCamp's Data Scientist in Python Career Track. Comprising 23 courses and six projects and taking almost 90 hours to complete, this track is one of the most comprehensive career tracks on DataCamp.

DataCamp's philosophy is "learn by doing," so Mohammed loved the emphasis on implementing what he's learning right in the browser. He was able to sharpen his machine learning skills with interactive course exercises, notebook-based projects specifically designed on real-world datasets, and by practicing in the mobile app. Later on, he was able to present similar projects in customer-facing scenarios as well.

Mohammed never stops learning. Having completed over 250 courses and projects on DataCamp, he believes that to be a high-value professional, he must continuously sharpen his skills. He is currently learning Power BI, Tableau, Excel, and SQL, besides Python-focused courses.

Now Mohammed does a combination of Data Science and Data Analytics, including creating dashboards, statistical testing, and building machine learning models for customers.

Mohammed also appreciates the competitive DataCamp leaderboard within his firm, which helped showcase his training progress during performance reviews.

Getting Certified as A Data Scientist

At Grant Thornton, DataCamp certifications are compulsory–but since Mohammed has completed a lot of learning on DataCamp, getting certified was straightforward. Mohammed completed timed assessments and seamlessly accessed the final practical case study via DataCamp Workspace. So far, he has gained Data Analyst Accociate and Data Scientist Accociate certifications and is now looking to level up to the Professional certifications this year.

Mohammed aspires to become a Data Scientist in the future, and he finds that DataCamp certifications will serve as a valuable credential to make that transition a reality.

Advice for Aspiring Data Scientists

Mohammed recommends allocating a specific time each day, even if it's just 30 minutes, to training for those looking to juggle a busy work schedule and continuous learning. He also emphasizes the importance of balancing training with practice and ensuring you gain hands-on experience that you can apply directly to your work.

Conclusion

Mohammed's journey to mastering Python and SQL on financial risk applications showcases the transformative power of continuous learning with DataCamp. As a Risk Analyst at Grant Thornton, he initially struggled to apply his data science skills in customer-facing scenarios confidently. However, by completing over 250 DataCamp courses and projects, Mohammed bridged the application gap and excelled in his client-facing work. He gained expertise in Python, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, and SQL and got certified as Data Analyst and Data Scientist. Mohammed aspires to become a data scientist, believing that learning on DataCamp will be instrumental in his future career.