what is your 'why'?
I started taking data science course part time at lambda school (yeah, it's online). Before even day one starts, they let me read a lot and watch a lot and finally do some work.
One of the assignments at the end of orientation was,
A written letter from your "future self" to your "present self" about how your life is different now that you completed Lambda school.
ok. it's fun. 'future me' telling 'present me'. I did this a while ago when I was 20's. let's go.
Intro
Hey Johnny, yeah It's me, you from the future. Taking part-time course for 1.5 year was tough, especially the time zone difference really confused me. However, spending time with folks, teachers, supporters from lambda school was really priceless memory. They were continuously learning and the vibe was really not easily discovered. However, I made a few mistakes and wanted to warn you.
Advice from the future
- spend time wisely. Stop procrastinating with your friends drinking beers or etc because your time is golden. I'm not telling you to study all the time, instead, prioritize your work and conquer it one by one. Value your time with family. They are your number one top priority.
- Don't stop digging. You know you have a tendency to stop digging when reaching at certain level. If you are interested, go find it until you get it.
- Remember your goal and why. You started this because you wanted to think based on data and make a decision based on data. You are not here getting some degree, but trying to find real decision making process with data. Don't do fancy, but do something that makes sense to you.
- Remember that basic is more important than anything. Don't try to do some fancy things first. You need to understand the base firmly so that you can go to the next level. Without the basic, any of your advanced work will go to rubbish.
- My last advice is that you must know where you at. Always look around and measure how much further you came and to go. So you need to be able to switch your scope dynamically. Talk to cohort and discuss with them to get the job done. Help your cohort if necessary. Be Kind to them.
Ok. Enough lecture. I will end it here.