About Data Science & NextGen's Summer Programs
Data is everywhere in the modern world. Every single electronic device we use collects massive amounts of data. Every item we buy at a store is noted. Even where we use a GPS to take us is recorded. More than that, data has been used for a long time to make predictions (like the weather) and conduct research (like the census).
Where’s all this data going? What’s it doing? Data scientists are using data to recommend products and tv shows, predict the stock market, analyze which cells might be causing cancer, and much more. They’re important for business insights, formal research, and creating automation.
Data science is a broad term that covers data analysis, machine learning and automation, and the use of algorithms. Data scientists of different types can be found in many industries including finance, healthcare, government, business, sales and marketing, and tech.
Why learn Data Science in high school?
When you learn data science in high school, you’ll be acquiring useful, lucrative skills alongside math and science concepts that will go hand in hand. Learning data science in high school will make your regular math and science classes much more fun because it will show you why you’re learning those concepts in the first place.
High school is also the perfect time to learn because it will set you up for a fantastic career or college program. Most college programs expect you to have some knowledge before you enter in at least one programming language. This will provide exactly that! Plus, you can automate those job application follow-up emails to save you some serious time.
What can you do with Data Science?
With data science, you can analyze data, automate functions, and store data. You can make predictions, summarize useful insights, and work on high-performance computing. These are some pretty high-level abstract concepts. So let’s talk about what the real-world is actually using data for.
Spotify, Netflix, and Pandora are all using data science to recommend your next favorite song or movie. Industrial Light and Magic, the visual effect company founded by George Lucas, uses data science to store massive special effects files.
Amazon uses data to increase sales and revenue with automated product recommendations and analysis. FedEx uses data science to optimize its delivery routes. Southwest Airlines uses data science to reduce its carbon emissions. NASA uses data science to simulate climate changes and store data.
Everything from business insights to climate science, data science has a hand in some of the most important decisions being made today (and also some of the most trivial, like what song you’re listening to next). The point is, you can do some pretty powerful stuff with data science!
Why you should attend a Data Science summer camp
Learning data science over the summer frees up the brain to actually absorb and practice new concepts. Don’t worry, you won’t lose your whole summer or even weekends. Our weekday summer camps are the perfect balance of exciting learning and time off.
Before you commit to a full, four-year data science or computer science, it’s a good idea to get your feet wet and make sure it’s the career path you want to follow. Luckily, data science has many different applications and you can easily pivot your career if you need to.
A data scientist can have an intense and in-depth job like creating a self-driving car. Data scientists can also have more casual job like creating business insight reports and recommendations. If you’re more interested in helping your community, you could use data science for research.
Data science opens up a wealth of lucrative opportunities in many different spheres. This makes it a great technical skill to learn. Plus, learning data science means learning to code. Learning code also opens up doors of its own. From web and mobile app development to software development coding is useful no matter what you choose to do.
Learn Data Science live online over the summer
You can learn data science over the summer on weekdays so that you can save your weekends all year. Learn the most powerful and versatile data science tool: Python in a live online course. Get an immersive, hands-on summer experience with the high school Python for data summer course online.
Live online courses give you the flexibility of learning from anywhere with the structure of a regular summer program. You’ll still have that same small group class and scheduled learning time, without having to be anywhere in person. Make friends with like-minded data science high schoolers while you learn!
Why Data Science is perfect to learn after school
In high school, you don’t have a choice about learning science and math. But not all science and math are created equal! Some types are more fun, useful, and lucrative to learn than others.
Data science goes hand in hand with what you’re already learning in school. Plus, it teaches you coding, which will take every science and math skill you have to the next level.
Here’s where after school data science comes in. You’ll be able to apply those hypothetical math and science concepts that you wonder why you’re even learning in the first place to actual real-world problems to create cool visualizations, programs, and automations.
After-school Data Science Programs and Private Tutoring
If you’re not ready to give up part of your summer, that’s okay. After school options exist too. They’re also only on weekdays so you can still have fun on the weekends. You can also set up one-on-one data science tutoring if you’re serious about learning data science after school.
The best way to nail the fundamentals of data science and Python after school is with the Python After School Program. It’s live online too with a dedicated instructor who has both real-world experience and training as a teacher.
Get a head start on Data Science
Maybe you’re trying to get into a research program someday, you’ve already tried learning Python but you want to really understand it, or you’re ready to throw yourself into entrepreneurship when you graduate from high school. Whatever your reasons, learning data science over the summer or after school will jumpstart your skills so you’ll be way ahead of your peers.
You’ll be the shining example application to a college computer science program with proof that you know your data science concepts and are proficient in Python. You can create a cool portfolio with the libraries and frameworks you’ll learn. Even better, you can automate stock trading to pay for part of your college tuition.
Getting ahead with data science will create a bright future for yourself whether you decide to go to college right away or not. The demand for data scientists is higher than ever and it will only continue to grow. There’s virtually no risk when it comes to spending time learning data science.
Learn Data Science at NextGen
NextGen is one of the few places to learn data science for high school students from instructors with real-world experience. These aren’t college lecture hall courses with outdated materials. These are relevant, hands-on, and fun data science concepts that you can apply to actual problems.
Forget the coding bootcamps that require you to be 18 years or older. You can start right now. Because high school students should start learning valuable skills, fun skills that will help propel their careers forward before they have to worry about being on their own.
Data science offers tons of transferable technical skills. Even if you aren’t sure what you want to do for the rest of your life or if data science is right for you, this is a great way to find out. Learning in a small group setting with focused instructors will prepare you for anything your future brings.