Book Image

Cracking the Data Science Interview

By : Leondra R. Gonzalez, Aaren Stubberfield
Book Image

Cracking the Data Science Interview

By: Leondra R. Gonzalez, Aaren Stubberfield

Overview of this book

The data science job market is saturated with professionals of all backgrounds, including academics, researchers, bootcampers, and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) graduates. This poses a challenge for companies seeking the best person to fill their roles. At the heart of this selection process is the data science interview, a crucial juncture that determines the best fit for both the candidate and the company. Cracking the Data Science Interview provides expert guidance on approaching the interview process with full preparation and confidence. Starting with an introduction to the modern data science landscape, you’ll find tips on job hunting, resume writing, and creating a top-notch portfolio. You’ll then advance to topics such as Python, SQL databases, Git, and productivity with shell scripting and Bash. Building on this foundation, you'll delve into the fundamentals of statistics, laying the groundwork for pre-modeling concepts, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI. The book concludes by offering insights into how best to prepare for the intensive data science interview. By the end of this interview guide, you’ll have gained the confidence, business acumen, and technical skills required to distinguish yourself within this competitive landscape and land your next data science job.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1: Breaking into the Data Science Field
4
Part 2: Manipulating and Managing Data
10
Part 3: Exploring Artificial Intelligence
16
Part 4: Getting the Job

Using variables, data types, and data structures

In Python, variables are the building blocks of any code. It’s simply a value of some given type assigned to an object. For example, if I set a variable called x equal to 10, the variable x now holds that value (until it is changed). In short, variables are used to store data. Unlike some other programming languages, such as Java, the variable type does not need explicit declaration in Python. The declaration or type of a variable is determined automatically when you assign a value to it (although you can and should change data types as needed). There are several built-in data types in Python. Here are some common ones:

  • Numeric types: There are numerous types of numeric data types, including int (integers), float (floating-point numbers), and complex (complex numbers). Numeric variables in Python are used to store numerical data:
    • Integers represent whole numbers without any fractional or decimal part. They can be positive...