Dashboard week is finally over and with it, my time in Data School training. This doesn't mean training stops; after training, DS'ers will be placed in 4 6-month placements with clients where training will be on-the-job. For now, I have been placed on The Bench, and you can read my thoughts about that in this blog. But for this blog, I will give my thoughts and overview of the DS 4-month training.

The Company

It's hard to know what to expect before starting at the Data School. Sometimes companies will describe and promote their culture in a way that will attract prospective clients and employees but the reality of working there can be different. When I applied to the Data School, read reviews, and spoke to alumni, I was skeptical, but intrigued enough to apply. Then when I finally started, all the skepticism fell away. The Data School is really what The Information Lab promotes it to be.

The culture has been cultivated to enhance the training. Those on placement help those training and those on earlier cohorts help later cohorts - there is no shortage of help. The social life of the company is also intentionally constructed. To name a few:

• PODs - there are a number of PODs which each DS will be placed in. PODs are made up of TIL Core and DS employees and serve as to connect different parts of the company.
• Mentors - each DS'er will be given a mentor who will help them through their time at the DS. This could be either with work, placement, training, networking among other things.
• Events - when a DS graduates from training, there will be a small party. Other DS'er or Core team will arrange competitions and outings for anyone who wants to join e.g. games night, dinners, bake-offs to name a few.
• Table Tennis - need I extrapolate?

The Training

Given the iteration I joined in (32), TIL had a good time to develop and refine the programme. Because of the value given to feedback and review of the training, I am sure future iterations will be slightly different also.

The first few weeks were structured, every minute being accounted for, with scheduled breaks. This is due to the pace at which tools are taught. By week three, I passed the Alteryx Core exam. The remaining weeks were given more flexibility to allow for client projects.

Or main focus of the training is Alteryx and Tableau but we also spent time on SQL, Snowflake, Power BI, various servers, consulting, and other soft skills and corporate knowledge. Although I wish SQL was given more time, we were given a great starting block to spend our own time practicing it. We didn't do any Python, which I had hoped we would, but as I wrote in my blog about The Bench, there is plenty of resources and expertise in the company to learn it in my own time or given space in my timetable.

The Coaches

Robbin may have been my main coach, but there were many coaches who have their hand in the training of DS'ers. Each coach has their own realm of expertise and style of training which helps to give DS'ers a holistic training. We all learn in different ways, and DS'ers are no different. Some of us are quick, some slow, some like practical learning, and others the theory. A mixture of different teaching styles is exactly the remedy. Moreover, with the coaches combined experience and expertise, there is not much our cohort asked that wasn't answered by the coaches teaching.

My Cohort - DS32

Our cohort, like most, were from diverse background: some of us had just finished university, while others, like me, had changed careers to start at the Data School. When eight of us met each-other, I wondered if we would work and train well together. With the intensity of the training and the personalities in our cohort, we became very well knit. I must admit, I will miss training with them.

Other Cohorts

The new cohorts started, month after month of us starting, and by the end of our training, we had spent months in-training together. Having several different cohorts in-training at the same time, means we could lean on each-other. It also means, as we go through placements, there will be many others in their first placement also to cover more clients and bring back a range of experience into TIL to support other DS'ers as needed.

Overall, I have enjoyed the training and I will miss it. Although, it will be nice to have a break and change of pace, as well as not having to travel in from Cambridge every day (subject to my eventual placement client's preferences). I would say it was well worth it, and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in a data related career.

Goodbye for now, dear reader.