Data science bootcamps are intensive, immersive training programs designed to equip students with the skills and tools they need to start careers in data science. Bootcamps typically offer a short-term alternative to traditional higher education, taking around 20 weeks to complete on average, according to data collected by Forbes Advisor.
DataCamp’s data science bootcamps aim to provide practical, hands-on experience in areas such as statistics, programming, machine learning, data analysis and data visualization.
What Is DataCamp?
DataCamp is an online learning platform offering more than 1,500 hours of self-paced courses in AI, data science, machine learning and non-coding essentials. DataCamp’s data science bootcamps suit all experience levels, from beginners just learning to code to seasoned professionals seeking new skills in a rapidly expanding industry.
DataCamp’s bootcamps offer a more flexible, lower-cost alternative to full-time, intensive programs. Forbes Advisor found that data science bootcamps had a median upfront tuition cost of $9,500, though tuition ranges widely among providers.
At DataCamp, on the other hand, students can start with a free basic membership. The premium membership, which starts at around $150 per year (or $12.42 per month, billed annually), includes unlimited access to more than 460 courses. DataCamp groups its course offerings into career tracks and skill tracks.
Self-paced coursework and subscription-based memberships make DataCamp a relatively affordable option for aspiring data science professionals with busy schedules.
Is DataCamp Worth It?
DataCamp allowed me to hit the ground running when I was hired as a data analyst and later as an analytics consultant working in a team full of data analysts, data engineers and data scientists. Familiarity with both Python and R will allow you to work on projects straight away and become a solid contributor while having the confidence in your coding and data analysis skills to add value in your team. This entry-point level of confidence is vital to then help you to both practice your learning with real-life projects while effectively learning on the job with your team. At the same time, DataCamp’s in-browser value proposition (meaning you rarely step out of their website to learn for the majority of the time) and built-in IDE (integrated development environment) means you miss out on hands-on experiences with a number of other skills.
I’ve completed the following skill and career tracks (the ones in bold are career tracks).
- Data Analyst with Python (47 hours)
- Data Analyst with R (64 hours)
- Data Scientist with R (94 hours)
- Intro to Statistics with R (20 hours)
- Python Fundamentals (15 hours)
- Python Programmer (36 hours)
- Importing & Cleaning data with R (14 hours)
- R programming (18 hours)
Here’s a brief summary of my learning profile, as well as some of the key track accomplishments:
I’ve been using the platform on and off over the past few years. DataCamp has been a valuable resource to continue improving my data science and programming skills in order to be more effective at my job overall since I often encounter interesting data analytics opportunities that require me to keep learning.
DataCamp has definitely been the key starting point for me in terms of becoming a self-taught data analytics professional because it enables me to work on projects I enjoy and write about all things data science. That said, it has its drawbacks.
DataCamp Teaches Core Programming
DataCamp excels at teaching the key fundamentals and giving learners the tools they need to get started. In a nutshell, DataCamp teaches core programming very well.
Lessons on general programming context and syntax are followed intuitively in the curriculum by the introduction of data analysis and science-specific packages, such as Pandas in Python for data cleaning and manipulation or ggplot in R for data visualization.
The transition is seamless and scaffolded well.Learning plans are bite-sized (meaning courses within a given plan/track are broken down in sections of two to four hours per course) and keep the course material manageable while also providing a modular learning experience.
DataCamp also covers the workflows those same learning plans are organized around. After the initial core programming lessons, you immediately get involved in the circular Data Import > Data Cleaning > Data Modeling > Data Presentation process which is very much used in practice.
This organization helps you get accustomed to working with data under scenarios that are similar to what you’ll later encounter as you dive into data analytics in whatever role you may land as a result of picking up these skills.
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Is DataCamp Worth It?
DataCamp enabled me to hit the ground running when I was hired as a data analyst and later as an analytics consultant working in a team full of data analysts, data engineers and data scientists. Familiarity with both Python and R will allow you to work on projects straight away and become a solid contributor while having the confidence in your coding and data analysis skills to add value in your team.
This entry-point level of confidence is vital to then help you to both practice your learning with real-world projects while effectively learning on the job with your team.
At the same time, DataCamp’s in-browser value proposition (meaning you rarely step out of their website to learn for the majority of the time) and built-in IDE (integrated development environment) means you miss out on hands-on experiences with a number of other skills including:
- using the command line
- managing Python packages and environments
- using Git/GitHub in your IDE
- setting up and working out of your local Python IDE
- deploying your code to production environments
By no means should this should discourage you from learning on DataCamp, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind as you will likely need to supplement your learning experience with other resources.
Also note that some of this may have changed/improved since I last took their courses, as these platforms are always changing.
DataCamp Review: PROS
Being a leader in the space, it will probably come as no surprise that DataCamp has A LOT to offer to potential learners and users of the platform. It’s a sentiment echoed by many DataCamp reviews written by students, as well as something I’ve experienced firsthand, as well.
Simple to Use and Navigate Through
Many e-learning platforms these days try to pack as much stuff as possible within them. Since the market is becoming more and more competitive, some companies are trying to lure in potential new students by offering a huge quantity of various content.
Oftentimes, however, this results in the platform becoming over-encumbered and really frustrating to navigate through.
Upon my initial visit, DataCamp did kind of scare me, not gonna lie – there’s a lot to take in, section- and menu-wise. However, a couple of minutes spent on the site, and I already knew my way around.
In fact, I was pleasantly surprised – it actually is simplistic, has a contrasting color palette (it doesn’t bother your eyes), and portrays the main information and some “call to action” type of stuff.
The very first thing that you’ll see once you enter DataCamp is a banner with a registration form and a short, simple one-liner – “Build data and AI skills”. You can view the whole front page as a sort of a promotion, to all of the main services offered by DataCamp (so, if you’re one of the people wondering is DataCamp worth it, this page is for you).
You can access the courses by either entering a keyword into the search bar, or picking one from the drop-down “Explore” menu, at the top of the page. The available courses will range in topic and difficulty, but you can expect to find everything from ChatGPT introductions, all the way to SQL and Tableau fundamentals.
While you do have a few different ways to browse the course selection on DataCamp, if you’re lost, I found that it’s very convenient to select your skill level from the drop-down menu – you’ll see suggested courses for each level.
When you pick a course and enter its designated page, you’ll probably immediately notice one thing – it’s as simple as they come (although, you do need to log into the platform to view it fully). I mean, honestly – the page is very beginner-friendly, and contains all of the information that you might need to get started with the course.
I was a bit confused at first, thinking that I’m probably missing something, but nope – that’s all you get! I haven’t even seen many of the user DataCamp reviews mention this – it’s a big deal!
So, I have to commend DataCamp – while it's a point of personal preference, there's no denying that this is a really great layout as far as it concerns the students – no annoying pop-ups, no ads, no “recommended courses” or “you might also like…” or anything like that. Once you come to a specific course page, all of your attention can be directed at that single course.
While you can browse the platform to some extent without signing up, if you create and use a free account, you’ll be able to explore the first chapter of every course, without any problems. My advice would be to go ahead and create such an account, and only THEN glance through DataCamp’s selection – it will make the experience a bit more thorough and pleasant.
Overall, I have to say – I’m surprised by the direction that the company took when it comes to its page layout designs. And why am I telling you all of these things in the first place? Isn’t this supposed to be a “site’s usage” part of the DataCamp review? Well, it is!
All of the above-mentioned information comes into play when deciding whether the site is easy to use or not. And when it comes to this DataCamp review, – the platform really is easy and fun to both navigate and use, in general!
I had no trouble finding the things that I was looking for (“About” section, course list, partners, pricing). The whole user interface felt intuitive and easy (at this point, it's not a shocker, right?), and, in general, my experience was quite pleasant.
I’ve noticed that many other Data Camp reviews also don’t seem to have any notable issues when it comes to how easy it is to navigate and find things on the site. So far – so good!
Courses Focused on a Specific Niche
This point seems self-explanatory, but is an integral part of what makes DataCamp successful and so attractive to its potential students. I’ve outlined this in the introduction, mentioned it a few times in this DataCamp review, and it’s even in the name, too – DataCamp is focused on data-driven and -specific courses.
“Data”, however, is a pretty broad term. A few years back, I would have said that the correct terminology to use would be “data science[2]”. Indeed – I remember trying DataCamp out back then, and it was very focused on data science and analytics, as the main vocal points of the platform.
These days, the focus appears to have broadened quite significantly. It’s still very much data-heavy, but with more emphasis on topics such as AI, applied finance, and data manipulation (in the broad sense of the term).
By widening its focus like this, DataCamp does a pretty good job of solidifying itself as the leader in all-studies-data. This also works to increase its popularity, as well as shape a rather specific identity in the MOOC market. Either way, this is seen as a big benefit among student DataCamp reviews.
Highly Improved Content Quality
A lot of people wonder, “is DataCamp worth it?”. Content quality plays a big role in answering this question. This is probably a no-brainer, but if an online education-based company wants to survive and build a reputation for itself, the quality of the content should be at the top of the priority list.
Because this is such an important thing, let’s analyze what is the case with DataCamp‘s content quality as the next step in this DataCamp review. For starters, let me tell you this – in the beginning, DataCamp did get a fair amount of negative feedback considering this aspect, but it did improve exponentially based on that.
You see, if you looked for Data Camp reviews that would reflect the quality of the site’s courses in the past, you would have noticed a common trend. It can probably be summed up with the following statement:
“DataCamp is great, but…”
A lot of user DataCamp reviews that were talking about the courses on the site were indeed quite two-sided. Students seemed to genuinely enjoy the site, yet there was always something that they didn’t particularly like.
Some of the most common complaints when it came to the content on DataCamp was that it was a) not very practical, and b) way too text-based. Students claimed that, while there were usually great examples given, the instructors tended to get somewhat hand-holdy and “do the work for you”.
Also, while most courses did have short videos, a lot of the assignments were very text-reliant, which resulted in huge walls of text that made some people discouraged (especially beginners).
However, it's not the case anymore. DataCamp improved its content quality a lot, especially when it comes to assignments that are now fun, short, and indeed practical.
With all that said, while it is true that the platform used to have some “meh” Data Camp reviews, as far as its content was concerned, this appears to be an issue that’s been solved a long time ago. The vast majority of students seem to enjoy and appreciate the current content quality. And I can attest to that from my own, personal experience, as well!
If you're wondering why I'm telling you all this in the first place (instead of just saying that DataCamp course quality is great), it's because I want to highlight that the company has one very important characteristic – listening to user feedback and actually hearing it.
Various Learning Options
DataCamp provides a versatile learning experience tailored to different educational needs. It offers three main options – individual courses, Skill Tracks, and Career Tracks.
If you're interested in honing a specific skill, individual courses are your go-to option. These are designed to provide targeted knowledge in areas like Python programming, data manipulation, or machine learning, among others.
Education Gamification
In order for a company to stand out from its competition, it needs to have something that would be both unique and memorable to the user. This could be a competition, an affiliate program, special offers on courses, etc.
If you know a thing or two about online learning platforms, you’ll notice that these things aren’t all that unique in and of themselves. However, if given some sort of a twist, they can become a staple for the platform’s success.
DataCamp does offer an interesting and quite useful feature for its students. This feature is called “XP” or, in other words, “experience points”. Each user can earn XP by completing courses, performing certain tasks and other actions on the site (just like you would in a game).
If the student wants to reveal some sort of a hint or a method of solving a problem within a course, a certain amount of XP is used. The user’s experience is shown at the top of the profile page.
It should be said that XP doesn’t really serve a specific purpose. It’s not used in any specific way – these experience points are basically there to help you – the student – stay motivated to keep on learning.
It truly is an interesting concept. Not a lot of online learning platforms use something similar. However, even though XP doesn’t really serve a practical purpose, it’s still a nice method of encouraging students to learn and finish courses. If you like this type of interactiveness, then maybe you should consider the answers to the question “is DataCamp worth it?” to be a positive one, after all.
DataCamp Review: CONS
It’s worth acknowledging that no MOOC provider is perfect, and DataCamp isn’t an exception, either. A lot of the “negative” things will depend on students’ own preferences and expectations. That being said, if there is one objective con that should be mentioned, it would have to do with the certificates offered by the course provider.
No Accredited Certificates
DataCamp’s certificates aren’t accredited. Apart from the aforementioned formal certificates (which are not accredited as well), the platform doesn’t even call the thing that it issues “certificates”, in the first place – instead, they’re referred to as “Statements of Accomplishment”.
DataCamp, as a whole, isn’t an ‘accredited course provider’. To be fair, for most people, this isn’t really an issue – if you’re looking to specifically increase your skill level in some field related to data, or to learn a new skill, in general, accreditation isn’t a necessity.
At the same time, it’s worth pointing out that not every student’s wants and needs are the same. Accreditation is important for those who want to, for example, make their online studies count towards their university credit. This isn’t something that’s possible with DataCamp.
Throughout the many online learning platforms that I’ve had the privilege of checking out, I have to say – accredited certificates are rare to come across. Chances are that if this is something that’s a “make it or break it” point for you, you’ll be searching for MOOCs that offer this perk, specifically.
Where DataCamp Leaves You Wanting More
DataCamp may feel like a very condensed version of all there is to know about working with data and using technology to work on data science projects. It almost feels too easy and guided. In a way, that’s because the platform and the team are very good at developing learning content in a way that is accessible and attracts students.
Simplicity, though, should not get in the way with the curiosity you will develop for learning all things data, which you won’t find neatly packaged in DataCamp.
That’s why I suggest stepping out of DataCamp after completing a couple of tracks and getting to learn more about the following topics via books and other learning platforms which supplement what DataCamp does not have as far as getting to the core of data science as a discipline.
- Computer Science (data structures and algorithms)
- Mathematics (linear algebra and calculus)
- Statistics and probability
- Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- General back-end development (Django, Flask)
- Machine learning algorithms
If you want to get the most out of the platform and your overall learning experience:
- Don’t just learn to just code. Get familiar with the data analytics workflow.
- Use DataCamp to get yourself job ready and then keep learning.
- Complement your learning with core data science topic areas not covered in as much depth on DataCamp.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About DataCamp
Is paying for DataCamp worth it?
The value of any bootcamp is subjective depending on each student’s goals and aspirations. You can progress through the courses at a pace that suits your lifestyle and work demands. You’ll also learn valuable skills that can help you gain entry into a course-related field and likely increase your earning potential.
Do you get certifications from DataCamp?
Yes. DataCamp offers certificates for data analysts, data scientists and data engineers. Once you register for a certificate, you have 30 days to pass one or more required timed and practical exams to earn it.
Is DataCamp certification valuable?
The bootcamp market is unregulated, whereas traditional higher education has the college accreditation process to regulate value and quality. So a certificate from any bootcamp provider, including DataCamp, is only as valuable as an employer believes it to be. Check with your prospective employer or DataCamp alums to gauge their perceptions.
What is better, DataCamp or Udemy?
Whether DataCamp or Udemy is better depends on your interests, budget and goals. Udemy offers more than 11,000 courses across many subjects, with many starting at just $10. DataCamp focuses on data science with courses that include interactive coding exercises.
