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

Querying Databases with SQL

In this chapter, you’ll learn the essential aspects of databases, starting with a broad overview, then diving deep into the fundamental language of SQL, exploring crucial concepts such as subqueries, JOIN, CASE WHEN, window functions, aggregations, and how to tackle complex queries.

Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to tackle any database-related question in a technical interview effectively. This is crucial for those preparing for a technical interview because understanding databases is a foundational skill for data scientists; equipped with the knowledge shared in these chapters, you’ll be ready to face any database question confidently and proficiently.

So, in this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • Introducing relational databases
  • Mastering SQL basics
  • Aggregating with GROUP BY and HAVING
  • Creating fields with CASE WHEN
  • Analyzing subqueries and CTEs
  • Merging tables...