Data science is an exciting field, but it can also be isolating. Several recently certified data scientists find that their post-college years can be quite difficult. Without the friendship and support from your peers, it can easily start to feel lonely.
Data science, on the other hand, is an intrinsically social profession. In addition to working with internal and external stakeholders to produce important insights, many data scientists enjoy keeping in touch with their colleagues in related jobs to learn about new concepts and techniques.
Data science communities are among the greatest means via which data scientists may connect with one another. We’ll go over the most well-known data science community in this post and explain how you can participate.
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Data Science Communities to Join in 2024
With increasing popularity, there are more organisations and resources dedicated to data science. There are various resources accessible for assistance, cooperation, and education, regardless of your experience level or length of time working in the field.
Kaggle
Kaggle is technically a coding tool rather than a community, but the Google-owned programme is so popular among data scientists that it now has one of the world’s largest data science communities.
The primary purpose of Kaggle’s creation was as a tool for team evaluation and assembly across competitions. It enables you to share your work with other scientists and engineers, discover and publish data sets, and investigate and construct models in a web-based environment. With the software, which provides over 50,000 public datasets and 400,000 public notebooks to tackle even the most difficult problems, you can even enter competitions straight from the programme.
The fact that Kaggle offers free access to NVidia K80 GPUs in kernels is another really helpful feature. This benchmark demonstrates that using a GPU with your Kernel speeds up deep learning model training by a factor of 12.5. This guide is just one of many excellent tools that can help you get started with utilising Kaggle in this manner. The best part is that there are currently over 3 million active users in the Kaggle community that utilise the platform to share their knowledge and skills.
Data Community DC
Data Community DC (DC2) operates on a significantly different model than the others on this list. Rather than being entirely volunteer-run, DC2 is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the field of data science in the United States.
To that purpose, DC2 provides a variety of services to contributors. The community’s main goal is to promote data science education. In order to achieve this, it has connected seasoned experts with nearby educational institutions, enabling them to take part in activities intended to motivate the upcoming generation of data scientists. There is much to offer in the community for people who live outside of the capital.
Data Science Central
Data Science Central is perhaps the largest data science community out there, at least in terms of the total number of contributors. Because almost anyone can post, there is a low barrier to entry, which results in a wide range of content quality. If you want to learn about new job opportunities before they are formally announced or stay up to date with industry trends, this is the place to be.
Although the core of Data Science Central is a forum system, there is also an editorial platform where professionals can use their personal blogs to offer their expertise. To facilitate peer connections, a comprehensive set of social interaction tools is also available.
Stack Exchange
Data scientists frequently overlook stack exchange because they believe it is a forum for developers to debate the nuances of new web frameworks. In actuality, though, the community has grown to such a size and diversity that it now encompasses a wide spectrum of IT topics, including data science.
Also, the majority of scientists in 2024 are also programmers. And Stack Exchange ought to be your first choice if you have any questions about coding, need assistance from someone to accomplish a task, or even want to hire a developer to create some software for you.
IBM Data Science Community
One of the finest places to go for professional-level understanding of the most important data science problems of the day is the IBM Data Science Community webpages. Because this community has existed for a considerably longer period of time than many of the others on our list, some of the industry’s luminaries can be found answering questions directly on their blogs or podcasts.
To sum up, the IBM Data Science Community is a fantastic resource to visit if you’re looking for particular advice from a member of the industry. Although it’s not as beginner-friendly as some of the other communities here, that doesn’t always mean a bad thing.
If you’re searching for a professional network, Reddit may seem like an odd choice because it’s more popular for exchanging memes than it is for answering intricate scientific queries. But, because social networks allow you to speak with peers more freely than professional ones, there are situations in which using them is actually preferable.
Data scientists may find a wealth of information on several popular subreddits, including r/datascience, r/dataisbeautiful, and r/MachineLearning. The subreddit r/dataisbeautiful is primarily visual, r/datascience is more beginner, and r/machinelearning is better suited for in-depth paper discussions. Talking about your issues on a private network has the benefit of keeping your employer in the dark about your true feelings about their latest endeavour.
Open Data Science
The community of Open Data Science is structured around specific, advanced initiatives. This website seeks to serve as a conduit for anyone working in all the various subfields of data science, including scientists, engineers, developers, and students. As varied as the community itself, projects can be suggested and created by its members, who can then invite others to collaborate in finding a solution.
Data Science Society
One of the most vibrant data science communities at the moment is the Data Science Society, which was founded by Berkeley graduate students. It is this group that has taken the lead in promoting data science training for women and minorities. If you want to connect with others who share your political and ethical views as well as the technical and scientific know-how necessary to actually make a difference, this is the place to be.
Driven Data
The goal of Driven Data is to use data science to improve society. This group focuses on connecting several critical players, including activists, lawyers, and data scientists and coders who are all working towards socially progressive aims.
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