Data Science Change Log

Codecademy Team
Check out the recent content updates to the Data Science domain πŸ“

March 4, 2024 - Prompt Engineering for Marketing Update

Dear Learners, We’ve made some additions to the Prompt Engineering for Marketing course that will be live beginning on March 4, 2024. These updates include an additional lesson, project, quiz, and two articles covering Midjourney, a generative AI that creates images, and how to use it. You might see your progress in the course drop because of these new additions. To reflect the new content additions, the name of the course is being updated to Learn How to Use AI for Marketing.

January 24, 2024 - Prompt Engineering for Marketing Update

Dear Learners, We’ve made an addition to the Prompt Engineering for Marketing course. The course now has an additional project that utilizes prompt engineering. You might see your progress in the course drop because of this new addition.

July 19, 2023 - Launching Updated Analyze Data with Python Skill Path

Dear Learners, we have recently updated our Analyze Data with Python Skill Path. This change will not affect your progress on the old version of the path. If you’d like to update to the new experience, here are the details:

If you are currently learning the basics of Python and pandas, we recommend enrolling in our new Learn Python for Data Science Skill Path. This Skill Path will teach you all the Python you need to know while analyzing real datasets in Jupyter Notebook.

If you know the basics of Python and pandas and want to learn how to visualize and statistically analyze data, we recommend enrolling in our new Analyze Data with Python skill path. This path has updated visualization content in Jupyter Notebook and a brand-new portfolio project.

You’ll still be able to access the old skill path with this link: Analyze Data with Python (2022 version)

June 29, 2023 - Launching Updated Visualize Data with Python Skill Path

Dear Learners, We have updated our Visualize Data with Python Skill Path. This change will not affect your progress on the old version of the path, and we’d love if you enrolled in the updated version! Visualize Data with Python

You’ll still be able to access the old skill path with this link: Visualize Data with Python (2022 version)

Keep in mind that the link above contains the previous syllabus for this skill path. Also, the previous version of the path will no longer be accessible from the Catalog. You won’t lose progress on the work that you’ve completed and will be able to continue and finish the skill path if you’d like. We look forward to continuing to be a part of your data learning journey!

April 19, 2023 - Removing Learn Data Visualization with Python (2022 version) from the catalog

Dear Learners, On April 19, 2023, we will be removing Learn Data Visualization with Python (2022 version) from our catalog. Why? We’ve updated this course with brand new content! If you haven’t already, please check out the latest version of Learn Data Visualization with Python

You’ll still be able to access the old course with this link: Learn Data Visualization with Python (2022 version)

Keep in mind that the link above contains the previous syllabus for this course. Also, the previous version of the course will no longer be accessible from the Catalog. You won’t lose progress on the coursework that you’ve completed and will be able to continue and finish the course if you’d like. We look forward to continuing to be a part of your data learning journey!

March 6, 2023 - Launching Updated Learn Data Visualization with Python Course into Beta!

Dear Learners, We will be updating our Learn Data Visualization with Python Course. This will go into beta on 3/6/2023, and will go live in the course catalog on 3/22/23. This change will not affect your progress on the old version of the course, and we’d love if you enrolled in the updated version!

October 31, 2022 - Updates to the Data Scientist: Machine Learning Specialist Career Path

We added more on Logistic Regression and its applications, a unit on Recommender Systems, and an updated final Project. We can’t wait to see what you build!

October 11, 2022 - Launching the Career Path into the Beta Catalog!

We are super excited to announce the launch of our first Data Engineer Career Path to Beta!

Q: What is a Data Engineer? A: Data Engineers make data usable. They build and monitor data pipelines, automate cleaning tasks, ensure data validity, manage ingestion, and are at the center of any data-driven organization.

Q: What is in this Career Path? A: This path starts from the very basics so you don’t need to know anything to start. We’ll give you everything you need to know to apply for an entry-level job in data engineering: from languages like Python, SQL, and PySpark to tools like GitHub, the Command Line, and Digital Ocean alongside essential skills like working with big data, cloud-based hosting, and data wrangling. You’ll build a portfolio along the way to showcase your work to future employers.

Q: Why Beta? A: We aren’t quite done putting the finishing touches on this career path. Some content isn’t available yet, but we want to give you a chance to get a head start before we invite the world to check it out.

September 19, 2022 - New Machine Learning Projects!

Because we are constantly improving (and responding to your feedback), we added new projects to the Machine Learning Paths. You can find them in the Paths below or on our Projects Hub!

September 12, 2022 - Updates to the Data Scientist: Inference Career Path!

We added a new capstone project at the end of the Data Scientist: Inference Career Path path to help you showcase your causal inference skills, and further build your portfolio of job-ready projects. You may notice a slight change in progress.

Aug 24, 2022 - Updates to Learn Microsoft Excel for Data Analysis!

Dear Learners, We added a new resource to the course: an Excel to Google Sheets Cheatsheet to help you convert between the two platforms. You may notice a slight loss in progress. If you open the new External Resource content item, progress will be restored.

July 25, 2022 - Updates to the Data Scientist: Analytics Career Path!

Dear Learners,

We always want to make sure that you get the best quality learning experience in our Career Paths, and are therefore updating the Data Scientist: Analytics Specialist Career Path with our newest Excel and Tableau content. You may notice a change to your progress bar as a result, but we are certain that the new content will better prepare you for a career as a data scientist. Happy learning!!

July 8, 2022 - Launch of 2 new courses!

Dear Learners, On July 8, we will be releasing 2 new courses on Tableau and Excel (Learn Tableau for Data Visualization, and Learn Excel for Data Analysis). These might be familiar because they will replace existing courses. Both of these courses take a more in-depth approach to the tools, situating them in both the technology and the skills of data visualization, and analysis, respectively. We’ve added more explanations, more instructions, more screenshots, quizzes, and projects. We hope you enjoy them!

May 16, 2022 - Launch of 2 New Data Scientist Career Paths!

Dear Learners, On May 16th, we will be releasing a new structure to our Data Scientist/Analyst Career Paths. The new paths are completely reorganized, allowing you to specialize in the kind of data science you are most interested in while preparing you to apply for generalist data science roles, too.

Specialized Data Scientist Career Paths

The new Data Science Career Paths are:

  • Machine Learning/Algorithms Data Scientist
  • Analytics Data Scientist
  • Inference Data Scientist
  • Natural Language Processing Data Scientist

All of the Data Scientist Career Paths Start with the same core content (Foundations of Data Science) and then branch into a specialization. So, you can start anywhere, and if you decide to change tracks, your progress will transfer.

If you are currently enrolled in the Data Scientist or Data Analyst Career Paths, you will automatically be enrolled in the updated Machine Learning/Algorithms Data Scientist or the Analytics Data Scientist Career Paths, respectively.

Legacy Versions

If you want to stay in the older version, please enroll in Data Scientist (2021 Version) or Data Analyst (2021 Version) before May 16th for a seamless transition.

February 9, 2022 - Updates to Analyze Data with Python Skill Path

Content Updates

The Fetchmaker project in the Analyze Data with Python Skill Path is being updated to a newer version. This may result in some small changes to progress.

December 1, 2022 - New Feature Engineering Skill Path!

Content Launches

Check out our new Skill Path on Feature Engineering to learn how to prepare your data for Machine Learning!

Oct 26, 2021 - Updates to Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Paths

Content Updates

Updates to our Data Analyst and Data Scientist Career Paths

Dear Learners, We will be updating some of our Python lessons and projects beginning November 15, 2021. If you have completed the affected lessons or projects, any code you wrote may no longer work properly. This change will not affect your progress.

A complete list to all of the lessons and projects is below.

Content Items (in order)

July 27, 2021 - Updates to Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Paths

Content Updates

We will be updating the Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Paths on July 27 to include additional modules about Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), which will also be released as an individual course on EDA. The new content includes:

  • Modules on Data Wrangling and Tidying
  • More content on Data Visualization
  • EDA for both Supervised and Unsupervised machine learning.

April 26, 2021 - Updates to Master Statistics with Python Skill Path

Content Updates

Along with the updates to the Master Statistics with Python Skill Path that we announced on April 12, two additional updates will launch today:

  • New track: Visualizing Categorical Data
    • New module: Bar Charts and Pie Charts
  • Eight new videos throughout the path, which were originally filmed as livestream sessions on YouTube:
  • Inspecting a Dataset
  • Summary Statistics and Data Viz
  • Associations between Variables
  • The Central Limit Theorem
  • Simulating a Binomial Test
  • Significance Thresholds and Multiple Hypothesis Tests
  • Hypothesis Testing for an Association
  • A/B Testing

Note that you do not need to watch all of these videos in order to complete the path. Once you open each informational, it will mark them as complete. However, we highly recommend checking them out if you’ve never seen our live series before! The videos come with live demos, as well as additional sample code and data that can be downloaded from GitHub.

April 12, 2021 - Updates to Master Statistics with Python Skill Path

Content Updates

We will be updating the Master Statistics with Python Skill Path on April 26 to include two additional tracks, which will also be released as individual courses. Each track contain will contain three new modules:

  • New track: Probability
    • New module: Rules of Probability
    • New module: Probability Distributions
    • New module: Sampling Distributions
  • New track: Linear Regression
    • New module: Simple Linear Regression
    • New module: Multiple Linear Regression
    • New module: Choosing a Linear Regression Model

March 22, 2021 & April 1, 2021 - Jupyter Notebook Articles Are Fixed

Content Updates

The following articles in our Getting Started Off-Platform series have been updated:

These appear in the Getting Started Off-Platform section of Python Fundamentals in the Data Scientist, Data Analyst Career Paths, and Visualize Data with Python Skill Path as well as our Portfolio Projects and Challenge Projects. What we’ve done:

  • πŸ› Fixed broken links.
  • πŸ— Rewrote tutorials for clarity.
  • πŸ“Έ Updated screenshots.

March 16, 2021 - Python 3 Updates in Career Paths

Content Updates

Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Paths have the following changes to Python Fundamentals:

  • πŸ— Rewrote module: Functions
  • πŸ— Rewrote module: Lists
  • πŸ— Rewrote module: Loops
  • πŸ†• Added article: Combining Lists: The Zip Function
  • πŸ› Fixed recent bug reports

March 12, 2021 - Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Path Updates

Career Path Groups Launch

We’re excited to launch a new feature to the Data Scientist and Data Analyst Career Pathsβ€”Career Path groups.

Learning should be social and when changing careers, it’s important to gain collaboration skills. When you enroll in the a Career Path, you’ll now be placed in a group with other learners who enrolled that week.

Content Updates

πŸ†• At the beginning of the Path there is a new Community Resources informational that directs you to your new group so you can meet other folks getting started in data science.

πŸ†• At different intervals in the Path, you’ll see prompts for the following activities:

  • pair-programming
  • code review
  • group projects

Each also includes the resources you need to get started!

FAQ

I’m already enrolled in the Data Scientist or Data Analyst Pathβ€”do I have a group?
Everyone who is currently enrolled in either Career Path has automatically been placed in a group based on your enrollment date. All you need to do is click the link in the informationals to be connected with your group in the forums!

Do I have to do these activities with my group?
While you’ll first join your group on the forums, you’re welcome to use any of our other community spaces (data-science Discord or data-analyst Discord, Codecademy Chapters, or Facebook) to connect with other Codecademy learners and do group programming activities.

Do I need to do these activities?
These activities are fully optional and you do not need to complete them in order to complete the path. However, we highly encourage everyone to try at least one of the activities! You’re also welcome to do these activities as often as you likeβ€”no need to wait for our suggestions.

Welcome Informationals

πŸ†• You’ll see that we now have a dedicated β€˜Community Resources’ Informational, which includes:

  • the link to connect with your group
  • other information about our community spaces

πŸ— We’ve also updated two other informationals with more clarity about what to expect.

March 11, 2021 - Natural Language Processing course to Skill Path conversion

Content Updates

πŸ— We’ve converted the Natural Language Processing course into a brand-new Skill Path. The original course page still contains Getting Started with Natural Language Processing. Meanwhile, the new Skill Path contains all of our current NLP content, along with the following:

  • πŸ†• Informationals to better frame some of the content in context.
  • πŸ†• External resources, including books and documentation to supplement your learning.
  • πŸ†• A final Portfolio Project where you can analyze text message data.
  • πŸ› Fixed recent bug reports.

Feb 26, 2021 - Updates to the Learn to Program Alexa and Learn Conversational Design with Alexa Courses

Content Updates

πŸ— Echosim.io, the browser-based tool for testing your Alexa skills, is going to be deprecated in the coming weeks. We’ve removed all references to Echosim.io and instead referred learners to the Alexa skill simulator on the Test page in the Alexa Developer Console. There should be no impact on your existing progress in the courses.

January 21, 2021 - Updates to the Data Scientist Career Path

Content Updates

πŸ— Since we’ve developed the Data Analyst Career Path and recently launched the Master Statistics Skill Path, we wanted to include new, relevant content in the Data Scientist Career Path. The following units will be updated:

  • πŸ†• Python Fundamentals: In Python Syntax, there is a new article about variable types.
  • πŸ†• Data Acquisition: In SQL, we’ve included two more helpful external resources.
  • πŸ— Data Manipulation: The challenge project This Is Jeopardy! has been moved from Hypothesis Testing to this unit where it is a better fit.
  • πŸ†• Data Wrangling and Tidying: We’ve added new articles and external content on Tidy Data and Exploratory Data Analysis.
  • πŸ†• Summary Statistics and Hypothesis Testing: Our new content sets up a more solid statistics foundation for burgeoning data scientists and analysts.
    • πŸ†• Variable Types β€” article, lesson, quiz and project
    • πŸ†• Summary Statistics for Categorical Data β€” lesson, quiz, and project
    • πŸ†• Visualizing Categorical Data β€” lesson, quiz, and project
    • πŸ†• Data Transformation β€” 3 articles, project
    • πŸ†• Associations between Variables β€” article, 3 lessons, quiz, project
    • πŸ†• Exploratory Data Analysis for Summary Statistics β€” article
    • πŸ†• Hypothesis Testing: Testing an Association β€” 2 lessons, 1 quiz
    • πŸ†• Experimental Design β€” article, 2 lessons, quiz, project
  • πŸ†• Data Visualization: We’ve added a new article and external resources for EDA, plus a new external resource for selecting visualizations. πŸ— The Twitch projects have been updated, and your progress may be impacted here.
  • πŸ†• Communicating Data Science Findings: There’s a new, helpful external resource here.
  • πŸ— Additional SQL has been renamed SQL for Interview Prep with the addition of more advanced SQL content, including Window Functions, and common interview problems.