In my first week at the data school in Sydney, things kicked off on November 27th. The program spans two years and began with a brief introduction by Coach Bethany. We received new laptops, had a cybersecurity lesson, and got to know our office on the 10th floor at 275 George Street. The office has great facilities, city views, and even free coffee pods and snacks.
The first day included an overview of the two-year program and a tour of the office. We then dived into our first training session on effective data visualizations.
Day two focused on the basics of data preparation and cleaning. We learned why clean data is crucial and explored the steps involved in preparing data for meaningful visualizations. This included a deep dive into various data connections, unions, joins, and pivots, laying a strong foundation for our upcoming projects.
Under the guidance of Coach Natalia on day three, we explored Tableau basics. We covered live and extract connections, Tableau features, and topics like grouping, hierarchies, and different filter types. Practical exercises using Tableau’s Superstore dataset added a hands-on dimension to our learning.
The exploration of Tableau continued on day four with Coach Bethany, focusing on parameters and their versatile applications. We learned how string parameters could be used to change dimensions in visualizations. The day concluded with a challenging exercise involving parameters and live worksheet actions, pushing us to create an interactive bar chart.
The final day presented a practical challenge: updating one of our application dashboards using the knowledge acquired throughout the week. With a four-hour window, we enhanced visualizations and presented our updated work to the rest of the office. The experience was rewarding and showcased the practical application of our skills, including the use of parameters and filters. Weekly presentations, like these, offer invaluable opportunities to hone my skills in discussing dashboards.
Overall, it was an exciting and immersive first week, and I look forward to further developing my skills in the data analytics field.