My expectations for my time at the Data School

by Jamie Bassett

I will need to get used to blogging, which is something I have never done, one of the many things I will need to learn! I am part of the DS16 cohort, my name is Jamie and I have joined the Data School from university.

Andy has asked us to write about our expectations, as this will be useful at the end of our journey when we look back at what we wrote. Andy made an interesting point about how blogging is used not just to teach others, but to teach yourself, using it to write down things you have learnt which you can then go back and read.

One thing I do expect, although this might not be what Andy was meaning-is imposter syndrome, the feeling of not belonging at the Data School. It will be interesting looking back to see how I coped with this.
“Focus on how you have improved from the beginning of the Data School, not how good you are compared to others” was a great point made by Seffana from DS12 yesterday when she came to speak to us. I need to focus on becoming the best at getting better, not the other way around. There are bound to be others in the cohort who are better, perhaps far better, than me at certain parts in Tableau and Alteryx, that is only natural.

Otherwise, I expect the Data School to be exciting, challenging, and my time here will probably absolutely fly by. Of course the Data School will be intense if the goal is to become a competent data analyst ready for placements at blue-chip companies in 4 months, but I am ready to for the challenge and the opportunity that has been given to me.
By the end I would like to be able to confidently lead a team in a project and feel comfortable when presenting to clients and the public. I have chosen these two as my expectations as they are more of the ‘soft’ skills compared to the standard learning of Tableau and Alteryx, but are extremely important on placements and in my career after the Data School, which should not be overlooked.