DataCamp Review: Should You Learn Data Science With DataCamp

DataCamp has so far helped 9 million learners in over 180 countries gain the skills they need to work with data in the real world.

Can it do the same for you? In this DataCamp review, we will go over some key points you need to know before taking classes on the platform, including pricing, topics and quality of courses.

What is DataCamp Good For?

First things first — what is DataCamp? 

In brief, it’s an online course provider specialising in data science and machine learning.  

Founded in 2014, it offers high-quality online courses in R, Python and SQL. Its classes are interactive and self-paced, allowing you to learn whenever and wherever you want.

Datacamp courses are easy to follow and suitable for complete beginners and intermediate students. Those with more extensive knowledge, though, might want to look at platforms that delve deeper into certain IT skills. 

DataCamp tracks for individuals 

In addition to its stand-alone courses, DataCamp offers a variety of Tracks students can choose from. 

Like Codecademy, DataCamp’s learning programs are divided into two main categories: Career Tracks and Skill Tracks, both of which combine individual courses around a specific skill or career. 

These programs make it that much easier for individuals to find the courses they want and only follow classes that are of interest to them. 

DataCamp for Businesses

Business memberships is also available at DataCamp. This learning platform has collaborated with 80% of the Fortune 1000 companies, including Ikea, Intel and PayPal, providing flexible online training to upskill teams and improve the decision-making process. 

DataCamp for Classroom

Datacamp offers free access to educators who can use the platform to empower students with data skills for the future. 

This means that any educator may apply to get their students free access to 1,200 hours of DataCamp data science courses. Once they get approved, educators can use other features of the platform as well, such as giving their students assignments and monitoring their progress.

Content Quality

Many DataCamp reviews have commented on the quality of content offered by the platform. 

But does it live up to the hype? 

Topics & Technologies 

DataCamp offers 300+ courses that explore various data science and analytics topics from Data Engineering and Data Manipulation to Machine Learning and Applied Science. 

DataCamp students can also filter courses by technology—the platform covers 11 of them, including Python, R, SQL, Power BI and even Excel and Spreadsheets.

There are also 90+ projects available that will not only let you learn independently and gain real-world experience but also give you the chance to create a data science portfolio you can use to advance your career. 

Courses structure

The majority of DataCamp courses are broken down into short, bite-sized lessons that combine video material and hands-on exercises for a truly interactive learning experience. These come in the form of interactive exercises that you can complete immediately inside the in-browser code editor. 

The more exercises you complete in the browser, the more points you will earn—the platform’s way of keeping you motivated and on track. 

DataCamp Features

The site abounds in features from allowing you to enter coding competitions and earn money prizes to downloading course videos and slides for offline viewing. 

What else does DataCamp offer?

Ease of use

You can try out DataCamp for free by signing in with your Linkedin, Facebook, or Google account or by entering your email address and password. 

You can find the same level of simplicity when you browse the platform’s catalogue. That said, courses and projects are divided by technology and topic, as opposed to other platforms that have advanced search filters making navigation much easier. 

On the plus side, there is a nifty assessment tool that lets you identify gaps in your knowledge, thus narrowing down the list of skills you need to focus on. 

DataCamp Workspace

The DataCamp Workspace is an online IDE that allows you to write code and analyse data. It comes with more than 20 preloaded datasets that you can analyse, as well as access to pre-written code so you start doing data science.

Treehouse and Codeacademy boast a browser-based code editor, but DataCamp lets you share published workspaces with other students and even allows you to collaborate with them by getting feedback and comments. 

Certification

A DataCamp certificate, also known as a Professional Data Scientist certification, is available to students who sign up for the Standard and Premium Plans. 

Note that not everyone is eligible and there are steps to be completed before you become certified. The certificate is also only valid for two years and it is not accredited, but it does give you the chance to prove you have the skills to compete in the job market.

If accreditation is a serious consideration, look into edX, FutureLearn or Coursera. Alternatively, you can give Pluralsight a try—courses are not accredited, but the platform can get you ready to take industry certification, like CompTIA and PMI.

DataCamp for Mobile 

DataCamp is accessible on almost all platforms.

You can choose a DataCamp subscription for desktop, which gives you a consistent learning experience across browsers and mobile devices. 

On the other hand, you can get a DataCamp app mobile-only subscription. Unlike Codecademy’s app, which is only for research and practice, the DataCamp app is fully functional and will provide you with unlimited access to courses, practice exercises and progress tracking.  

DataCamp Community

Anything support-related is placed on the DataCamp Resources page, where you can find news threads, a resource centre, tutorials, cheat sheets, chat rooms, and a podcast. 

It’s not only resource-rich, but it’s also a fantastic way to stay in touch with other students and data science experts and address issues, share code, or brainstorm ideas. 

All in all, Datacamp has a strong community, much more supportive and extensive than what you might find at other platforms. 

DataCamp Pricing

DataCamp has three subscription plans for individuals:

Compared to other platforms focused on coding and tech skills, DataCamp is very well priced. 

Treehouse and Pluralsight, for example, are both more expensive and only have paid plans, while Codeacademy is cheaper, but its free plan is quite limited. 

Businesses, on the other hand, have two options:

DataCamp deals

Even though DataCamp is somewhere in the middle of the price spectrum, you can always get access for less as the platform runs ongoing promotions and discounts. 

Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. An added bonus is that you can keep using the services until the end of the month even if you cancel. 

Is DataCamp Worth It? 

Overall, DataCamp provides students with a well-rounded learning experience, thanks to its user-friendly interface, hands-on exercises, simple price plans, and expert-led courses that can be taken offline as well as on mobile.

It may not be the platform of choice for more advanced students, but if you are interested in learning data skills from scratch, you should consider DataCamp a worthwhile investment.