Principal Analytics Prep

I am a student in PAP of the August-November 2017 Cohort.  I have a liberal arts background and some law school under my belt, with experience working in a number of capacities in the legal, healthcare, logistics, and nonprofit spaces.  I heard of PAP through a comment posted by Kaiser in one of the switchup discussion boards.

Principal Analytics Prep (PAP) is a 12 week intensive bootcamp geared for those with either technical and non-technical backgrounds with a nuanced focus on the business side.  As someone with a non-technical background, I jumped at the opportunity to break into the analytics industry in Kaiser Fung's program.

Bootcamps are understandably a major investment of time and money, and so I wanted to do enough research and soul-searching to make sure PAP was where I wanted to go.  Ultimately, 3 things sold me on the PAP brand: 1) its program focus, 2) its faculty pedigree, and 3) the tightknit class size coupled with a 4:1 teacher:student ratio.

1) Program focus.  PAP sets itself apart from other similar programs by envisioning data science / data analytics as the intersection of business, statistics, and computer science.  This focus is manifested in the classes I have taken / am taking: Statistics, NoSQL, Web Tech, Data Quality, Business Strategy, Python, AB Testing, Data Quality, Machine Learning, SQL, R, Excel, Mobile Tech, Statistical Models, Text Mining, SAS, Data Visualization, Optimization, Communication, Finance.  These sessions are broken up into 3-4 2.5 hour sessions.  Included in the schedule is a 2-3 hour session each week focused on career development where a dedicated careers person works individually and through group collaboration with the cohort to prepare for the employment journey from end to end.  This career assistance is further buttressed by a fluid interactions with Kaiser, Michele and other faculty to aid in the career journey.

Many data analytics / data science MOOCS offer either a business centered analyst program or a coding centered data science program.  Kaiser's program is holistic in that it touches business, statistics and computer science.  A look through job postings confirms just why he built his program to be multi-faceted.  This was one major aspect that differentiated his program from the others out there, in addition to accepting someone like me with a non-technical background.

I asked him why he decided to not be coding-intensive like the other programs out there.  Kaiser's approach to his program makes a lot of sense to me.  He said: 1) his program is built to provide a basis for those getting into data analytics roles not roles for software programmers; 2) roles that are heavy in programming are going to be naturally more of a fit for those with computer science / technical-heavy backgrounds, so implicitly, someone with that experience will certainly have a leg up on someone whose only experience in the technical side of things is a 12 week MOOC. Analyst roles on the other hand are much more broad in scope.  Some analyst roles fall more on a particular side over another, but the role utilizes aspects of computer science, statistics, and business.  An eye on breadth with the program with the implicit approach to depth to individually fit the goals of the individual applicant, is one way to look at it.

2) Faculty pedigree.  This was a major pull factor for me.  Kaiser, Michele, and their hand picked faculty are a vast pool of knowledge in the given concepts they teach in the program, but are well-seasoned in supervisory, managerial roles as well, including in the realm of hiring.  So I have come to respect their insights, input, and constructive critiques at leveraging our individual skillsets, including the skills we learned in PAP, to our future employers.  In addition to writing two statistics-themed books and starting the data analytics program at Columbia, Kaiser held lead roles with his past employers.  I pick his brain all the time with strategies on interviewing, resume prepping, and general knowledge.  The faculty are all well-informed, seasoned with years on years on years of experience.  It's a diverse group, and so the wealth of information we are able to pick out of our instructors is super available to us. 

3.) Amazing teacher to student ratio.  I listed about 20 courses, with 20 different people.  That's not including the guest speakers who came for a 2-3 hour session.  20+ instructors. 5 students = lots of questions answered / lots of networking possibilities / lost of learning done.  At a cohort of just 5 people, the amount of time the teachers spent on each of us, and us as a group can't even be calculated.  Prior to entering the program, I wondered what the negatives would be with a small class.  I still have yet to figure that one out coz really there aren't any.  We're able to still learn how to work as a team, and enjoy skillbuilding collaborating with each other on various projects.  But that major bonus is being able to address individualized concerns without the fear of monopolizing the time at the expense of 30+ other students.

With 3 weeks left, I feel like I have grown so much.  I am so glad I left law school for this.  I went from asking "will I get a job" to "where will I get a job."  I am ultra-confident that with my PAP family's support system, there's no where to go but up for me.

If data analytics is going to be your thing, give PAP the green light.  Hope to connect with you. 

I was in Principal Analytics Prep, during the Summer of 2019. Overall from Kaiser's program, it gives you the background of not only the world of data analytics, but also the "street smarts" of being in the corporate world. Most of the instructors are extremely knowledgable who have had first hand experience and are willing to share that knowledge with you and teach you their course. There are a wide array of courses from learning about Statistics, to Data Visualization to Finance, Project Management, and much more. These courses will give the background knowledge in order to launch a career in data analytics. What also made this program special was the knowledge you received about applying for jobs, resumes, what interviewers are looking for, and what to say in order to get the job. Kaiser & Susan did a wondeful job in helping us with our career skills. In addition, while in this program and after this program, you can choose what skills/courses you want to focus on and dive deeper on, since you already have the background. That flexibility to me was special. Furthermore, it does not matter if you just graduated college, have a few years of work experience, or are in the midst of changing careers, this program will cater to you. If you have an interest in the world of data, I recommend you give this program a chance.

This program allowed me to change careers and enter an industry that I had been trying to transition into for some time. I would definitely recommend especially for anyone that is not working in the data & analytics industry currently and looking to get their foot in the door. You get a comprehensive overview of the industry, get to meet a lot of accomplished instructors that are currently working in the field and get the benefit of an amazing network filled with contacts ready and willing to help you. This program is best for people that are new to the industry and looking to learn everything there is to know about the world of data & analytics - it is a great starting point. From a technical standpoint you will learn the basics of a lot of different languages, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and get lots of tools and resources that allow you to continue to develop your skills past the program. It's definitely intensive so you want to be able to dedicate yourself full time because you are absorbing a lot of information but it is definitely worth it. 

I was a student in Principal Analytics Prep and DO NOT ATTEND unless you want a detrimental overview of disjoint topics in statistics and computing.

The course is very, very shady. Strategy focuses on the instructor's client. noSQL is a no show. A/B testing is f'ed up. If you are considering paying even $1 for this crap, at least do this: reach out to CourseReport who can send me your question.

This bootcamp is actually a rebranding of another one called rSQUAREedge. Look it up. The reviews here may be from students "conditionally" receiving scholarships and/or job search assistance.

I would have been better off using my time and resources learning from some textbooks. If you really need the support of this bootcamp contact me, there are better options. "To ask this student a question, send CourseReport your question."

I can't believe my time at Principal Analytics Prep is already ending! My experience at PAP has been life changing; I've been out of work for a few months and PAP not only taught me valuable tech and reasoning skills, but it showed me my potential and how I can go beyond that. For example, I've dabbled a little in programming before coming here but now I can do data visualization or even machine learning projects, which I can show at my next job interview. I just wish that it was a little bit longer.

But don't think that this is a run-of-the-mill coding bootcamp where you're locked up in a room and doing coding exercises for 16 hours--it is so much more than that. PAP is also business/statistics heavy with courses on topics such as statistical modeling and web marketing. But the real key is the people. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to study with--they are all just passionate and supportive willing to help anyone out. If you are thinking about applying, be aware that you're going to need to a laptop with a lot of memory to run some of the programs (I recommend any with a Windows 64 bit OS). Other than that, come with an open mind and be prepared to work hard. If you are going to slack off, you're only cheating yourself.