Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. 
― Allen Saunders

Hello audience! It has been a shamefully long time since my last post — so long, in fact, that logging into my WordPress blog I was met with a new post editor!

In my last post before I went off-grid, I suggested that I would be taking some time to re-brand my skill set to data science in general and R in particular. I hinted my overall mix of blog content would be shifting away from Excel and into other tools and “data philosophy” more generally.

So, did I meet these goals? Stay tuned to find out!

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So… did I meet these goals? Rather than answering, let me just provide an update. You’ll see… it’s complicated. 

Thankful analytics

Not too shortly after signing off, I was referred by a friend (I’m forever indebted to you, Ted!) to a job posting for the coding bootcamp Thinkful. Their instructional design team was building the curriculum for a new data analytics “bootcamp” and needed a subject matter expert to take the lead.

Impressed by my online corpus of writing (and specifically that written for a liberal arts graduate audience, as that is a common persona for many of their students), Thinkful brought me on to the contract.

Over 300 pages (and counting!) of created content later, and I can only say this has been a fantastic experience. As a content creator, you often wonder whether you’re writing to an empty room. Is anyone getting anything out of this? Am I?

Not so with my Thinkful curriculum — I know that it’s helping dozens of students get their first job as a data analyst. I can’t think of more meaningful work than that — it’s something my own blog has been devoted to with the “Hired with Excel” theme. 

Take that idea, turbo-charge it as a multi-skill curriculum and staff it with a panel of giving, creative people and you get some idea of Thinkful’s data analytics bootcamp. Read about the program here. I would encourage any of my readers who are interested in learning to code, analyze and tell stories with data to check out the program. Not only will you gain a tight Excel proficiency, you’ll pick up skills in Tableau, Python and SQL (That’s really an impressive skill set!) with a focus on career-readiness and “thinking like an analyst.”

I am so thankful for what I have been able to build with Thinkful and look forward to continuing the relationship. 

More content coming

So, that was the great bulk of my time. It wasn’t exactly self-studying data science concepts in R, but it definitely sharpened my data acumen and made me a more well-rounded analyst. I’m now comfortable writing about everything from SQL to case interviews to statistical inference now, and hope to bring that versatility to this blog… someday.

A positioned professional

I wanted to take the last few months away from writing and content creation to “re-brand” myself into a more skilled and versatile professional. 

What I didn’t reckon with, however, was the idea that my content creation itself could help me become a more skilled and versatile professional. It’s been so exciting to get involved with the growing world of online data training on a professional level, outside the “home base” of my blog.

There’s so much to learn and pursue that I couldn’t imagine saying that I’m “bored” or “stuck.” Data analytics is really an exciting field to be in, especially for those of us keen to share what we know. 

Thanks for being part of the adventure. Seriously, I consider my network more valuable even than my content or knowledge (Although as I’ve explained, the two are inextricably connected.). As my work at Thinkful confirms, I get joy from seeing other analysts thrive just as I do myself.

To close on a high note: We’re all in this together!

The post Time for an Update first appeared on Stringfest Analytics.

90% ignore it. 

7% give me private feedback on cosmetics: that photo was blurry, something is out of order, etc. 

3% like, comment, and share it. 

At least the 90% are honest. It’s too bad. I try engaging with the content of anyone I know personally, just to follow the Golden Rule. But I get it, not everybody cares for Excel. 

Ironically, the 3% are often people who I think wouldn’t be impressed with my content themselves. They’re already successful entrepreneurs, trainers, and Excel experts.

But, they see the value in the content, and they know the most important thing they can do for me is develop an audience that I can serve. 

Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more Excel tips and tricks.

(Savor this book.)

The 7% want to be helpful. But a beautiful product, with the un-blurry GIF or perfectly-synched video, is arguably not even a product. 

Why? If a product has no audience, is it really a product? 

I’ve been reading The Lean Startup, a book that has completely changed how I think about building my blog.  

In the early stages, find your most rabid customers, however few. Don’t be afraid to collaborate with them. Never assume you know what they want. Build and modify products rapidly.  

This is quite different than spending hours and hours to cut the most perfect video or to make sure every word is correct on that blog post.

Am I advocating sloppiness? No. I am advocating that you work with and not assume you know what the customer wants.

Put it this way, from The Lean Startup: 

“Imagine if Craig Newmark, in the early days of Craigslist, had refused to publish his humble e-mail newsletter because it lacked sufficient high design.”

The 3% gets it, the 7% is still learning.

This tangent may end up as part of my course on networking for analysts. Learn more here. 

The post The 3%: Cosmetic Purity is Overrated first appeared on Stringfest Analytics.