Which do you think is best for learning data science in python?

NOTE: If you end up signing up for Data Quest, please show your appreciation of my guidance by signing up through my link: app.dataquest.io/referral-signup/j58oftwg/ Sadly, one of the drawbacks of DataCamp for learners is they do not have a promotion for referring other students at this time.

I just started jumping into the self-guided lessons for data analysts and scientists. I am writing this article as someone who has just started out in the first weeks of using both programs. I hope this article helps both platforms or programs to improve the experience of using them and also helps students reading this to find the best platform for themselves. One last note, I’m using the free versions of data camp and data quest.

Pricing

So, the first thing I noticed between the two is that Data Quest is double the price of Data Camp. I was surprised by this because it seems as if there is actually more content on Data Camp. Currently, the price hasn’t mattered yet because I’m using the free version but the only reason I wanted to use either platform was because of the cost savings compared to Udacity and flimsy video-centered programs like Udemy, etc. The major downside of DataCamp is that they don’t allow for a month-to-month subscription, which is pretty essential when you are first dipping your toes into a new field and new material. DC really overlooked the fact that many people are trying to find out if Data Science is right for them, so why would they commit to a year-long commitment after a few lessons.

Free Content Allowance

The first issue I ran into though was that Data Camp only allowed you to complete one section at a time each day for the free edition. I haven't had this issue with Data Quest so far but their sections tend to be a lot longer to finish. Either way, this is not a big deal for Data Camp because I could go to the other program after and so I did. So far using the free version I have been switching between both when I reach the content limit, meaning when I reach the limit on DQ I go to the other platform. It also helps to get a feel for which platform is better for you while it also helps you retain info by practicing in both.

Quality and Thoroughness of Lessons

However, almost immediately I ran into the problem with Data camp that the lessons were not thorough enough. I got stuck in one of the first sections so I had to go to Data Quest to look up the section and complete it there. In the variables section for Data Camp I got lost trying to figure out how to solve the “Operations with other types” section because the video and walk-through didn’t point to a specific way of handling the situation. Data Quest seemed to break down the material a little more at least in these first sections. This also might mean that if you are not new to this material Data Camp might be a better program to update yourself. One additional benefit of DataCamp is that it is gamified, leading the users to think maybe it is a little bit more of a mature platform overall.

Overall Design and Maturity of Platforms

Overall, it was far more thorough and fully designed in Data Quest. Also, I ran into a different issue with Data Quest, primarily that they didn’t have a mobile app. I knew that I would constantly have to be practicing if I was going to be able to learn. This forced me to use both programs with discontent overall for both. It is also disappointing that it costs more and doesn’t offer an app. You could use on your browser but it’s not as accessible still and again the higher price seems like they increased the price before they were clearly more competitive. I think the business planning could have been better and they could at least offer better discounts than just being the same price at Data Camp when they aren’t on sale. Currently, Data Quest at full price is almost four times the cost of Data Camp ($150 vs $600) when not on sale vs. Data camp on sale. Data Camp offers a very competitive rate and offers this discount often, meaning it is clearly a more affordable option.

Final Decision

If I had to make a decision between them both, which I may at some point I would probably say to use Data Quest because the main point is to learn and I got stuck in Data camp. Data Camps seem overall like a more mature platform that only needs some development of the curriculum for beginners. I am going to hold off for now on buying either because Data Quest’s price is far more than I think is worth it to pay for. I might just do the $420 intro program at Springboard or Udacity instead because their programs are more respected anyways. The high price also defeats the purpose of why I originally went this route for the reason of being self-guided and saving money. Overall, I think both Data Camp and Data Quest need to seriously consider the issues I pointed out here because I would actually say it would be better to start out elsewhere until they fix these issues.

Update: I have contacted DataCamp and DataQuest to do a comparative write-up about the two platforms to help them improve their platform, so far DataCamp sent a generic response back about how they aren't offering any partnerships of this kind at this time. DataQuest responded to my feedback and forwarded it to their team but I haven't heard back about my offer. I can say at this time that DataCamp seems less likely to think outside the box in terms of improving their product and am disappointed they haven't considered my feedback.

u/richie_cotton from r/DataCamp responded:

Thanks for the feedback on DataCamp and the comparison with DataQuest.

“I'd like to clarify that it is possible to subscribe monthly. While the pricing page emphasizes the annual plans (because becoming an expert data users takes longer than a month), when you click subscribe you have the option to choose a monthly plan for both the Standard and Premium packages.

I'm curious about when you got stuck on the "Operations with other types" exercise. Did you manage to locate any of the built-in help features like autograder feedback (when you hit submit), or hints, or video slide review?”

My response to Richie above:

Yes, I was able to use the Autograder feedback and the answer reveal. It felt like it was as help in pointing out how to solve it, so many times I remained confused if J was stuck before.

u/richie_cotton from r/DataCamp second response:

“Your review stimulated some good internal discussions, particularly around the language on the pricing page. You made a good point that it's currently a little tricky to see that monthly pricing is available.”

u/awaymsg explained three issues I had with Data Camps problem sets, basically that you don’t get granular enough support when solving problems or writing equations. This problem does persist with Data Quest as well sadly.

Did you manage to locate any of the built-in help features like autograder feedback (when you hit submit), or hints, or video slide review?”

My biggest issue with Data Camp's autograding feature is that the helpfulness is kind of inconsistent across different courses. The hints can be helpful and force you to think about the problem differently, which does sometimes lead to me figuring out the correct answer, but sometimes I'll get completely stuck due to a syntax error or something silly, and I feel like there's no help at all aside from replaying the video to look for the example the presenter gives.

By biggest gripe, though, is when you "show answer" there's no possible way to re-attempt the problem. Not that I want to get any extra points, but I think it would be really helpful to see the solution and then write the whole code again from scratch. Also, some sort of highlighting feature to see where exactly I went wrong would be nice.

I got a 1 year free from Datacamp because of Datacamp Donates and I got financial aid from Dataquest. As I have read from reviews, Datacamp is not sufficient for them. And others opt for Dataquest because of this.

Should I use both? I really want to be skilled as a future data analysts. And I am working to get an internship and hopefully get a work soon.