As the end of training approaches, it is time for me to reflect on what I think is a good way to make the most of your training at the Data School. My advices here are based on my experience, the order in which I will put my tips is purely based on training notes :)
Make mistakes, they will teach you so much
Be ready to try different things, yes you will feel disappointed when things go wrong, but you will also learn so much. This is where you grow during training, taking risks, obtaining feedback and progressing. Personally, these are the moments that lead me to progress the most.
Use your personal development time
This is where you can showcase some extra skills, so make sure to use it. You can build beautiful vizzes for tableau public (I recommend having a business dashboard on there), do alteryx challenges which will allow you to pass your core and advanced certifications, practice PowerBI reports and DAX. This extra time every day is great for you to work on things that interest you specifically. I would recommend especially doing some tableau prep as I believe the tool will become more and more common.
Speak with your coaches
They are always here to help and if you tell them what you are interested in, they will be able to point you in the right direction. During my meetings with my coach I learnt so much about different events I could attend, resources I could find, people I could contact. These meetings also taught my a lot about myself and helped the coaches understand how they could help me throughout training. I am certain that what I've learnt in these meetings will help me while on placement and in the future.
Write a list of your skills
You will have learnt so much, make sure you have a list of what you did for two reasons. Firstly, it will help you reuse what you've built when you need it. Instead of recreating a calculation or complex chart, you can then just copy it and save countless minutes (if not hours). Secondly, you will be able to revise better for interviews in the future. Knowing what you did, why and explain it well will help you structure your examples during interviews and bring you some confidence which is always helpful for stressful interviews. This is especially important to remember the work you have put in during client projects. There are 8 of them, each one matters and includes different skills that are not necessarily part of training. These are incredibly valuable!
Make connections
You will work with many people from different backgrounds, there is so much to learn and discover from them. You can then learn from their experiences, find out what could make your life easier!
I had a wonderful time through training and am definitely forgetting some aspects, but these are the ones I feel have helped me the most.