Hi everyone! My name is Joe and I am one of the latest cohort to join the data school. My background is in the Energy and Maritime sectors with a degree in Earth Sciences. After our first day yesterday, I would like to share my expectations for my time with the Data School and some of the challenges I think I will face…

Firstly, I am very excited to get started. Picking up Tableau through the application process and Makeover Mondays leaves me very excited to take my skills to the next level. From the introductory talks and content I have seen from other DS cohorts, I can tell I am going to learn a lot. Having got to know everyone else in my cohort (DS16), I know I will also be learning in a positive environment with like-minded and passionate people.

Regarding Alteryx, although at this point I have limited experience with the software, I am certain it will be a great tool. This is mainly because messy data sources have ended some personal project ideas quite early on for me. I just haven’t had the means to handle it. I came in to the offices last week for an Introduction to Alteryx course presented by Dan Farmer and was really impressed. It compared nicely to Tableau in its drag/drop simplicity and being endorsed by The Information Lab is always a good start.

I also expect to develop my professional skills immensely during my time in the data school. Working under time pressure for clients and delivering training to the public will be challenging and particularly useful for me.

Learning Tableau and Alteryx aside, The Information Lab encourages us to build a ‘personal brand’. As someone who does not always feel at home on social media, this will be a challenge for me but one that I am very much up for right now. The same applies to the blogging. Having learnt so much from the Tableau online community, I appreciate what a brilliant resource it is. With the Data School training us up to such a high level, I believe I will be able to really contribute and give back now. Hopefully, I am able to find similar communities on Alteryx. I am also interested in getting involved in the wider discussion around data ethics.

Oh and hopefully after four months of training, Jamie and I will be able to find our way out of the right exit at Bank Station.

Thanks for reading!

Joe