Computing and Data analysis - talk to me like I'm a teenager

[Gingernaut]

I've often been fascinated by where statistics come from, how people 'drill down' to find trends, relevant information and computing in general.

As a girl in the 70s and 80s, computer science wasn't taught at school and although I have used computers, I haven't studied computers, coding or engineering at all.

How does one become a data analyst? Or a data technician? Or anything to do with computers?

I've been to a HE event for adults and it seems that not every college does Access to Computing.

There doesn't seem to be one centralised database of courses and having to visit individual sites is bewildering.

Many coding courses are aimed at children - there would be safeguarding issues if I showed up in a class of primary schoolers.

Where do I look for definitive information?

Can anyone help?

There is a college, a bus ride from me, that does Access to HE science courses. Two in fact.

Not what I want to do, but NHS compatible and what I'm used to doing.

I'll set up a meeting to discuss my options with their careers counselor.

I'm going round and round in circles, upsetting myself in the process.

There is no hope.

I can't do a subject I'm interested in, as it's not 'NHS approved', that leaves apprenticeships, which I can't afford.

Serious evening classes are a shit show, with more nail technician courses than the three GCSEs offered at all three colleges - English, Maths and Biology.

I can't afford to work at £4.30 an hour. I just can't.

I'll feel better in the morning, but I feel so hopeless now.

Not sure where you are, but I'm in Scotland and despite having had my fees paid a million years ago - when I actually spoke to admissions, they were quite sure they'd be able to wangle "round 2" for me - despite it having nothing to do with healthcare.

Have you actually spoken to admissions anywhere?

I'm not understanding why you're not pursuing the MSc conversion

how much do you need to earn OP? I might have some ideas for you, if you're willing to think long term

I worked as a data analyst/systems analyst/data modeller last century (more to the point I retired from it round about the year 2000. It is a myth that you need maths etc for many jobs in this area - I know my experience is probably out of date but what is needed is a way of thinking and a logical mind.
To produce a data model or to analyse a business situation before throwing coders etc at it - the background can be any discipline.

Sorry to say OP but I suspect you would be too old to be considered for apprenticeship - it has become a young persons area.

Sad really as when I started out in IT in the 1970s - people were recruited on the basis of aptitude rather than specific academic results.

53 England

I have met admissions and finance officers before 2017 when the NHS/healthcare ruling was put in place. They were happy to talk to me until I told them about the HND.

The HND has never proved useful, has no bearing on what I want to do and I have been previously advised to start at an Access to HE course and go on from there.

I've booked a meeting with a course and careers counsellor at a local college and hope to gain some clarity from her.

The frustrating thing is, there is no list of courses that would fulfil the NHS criteria, one has to make enquiries at each college individually.

We look for degrees in statistics, economics, or mathematics. Underneath all that code is the actual data analysis which is all based on the underlying statistics.

Now there are also plenty of people simply managing data or doing very basic reporting and that doesn’t have the same barriers to entry.

Learning the coding languages is easy if you have the type of brain that is enclosed to that. There are online courses which will give you a chance to try them out.

Thanks

How good are you with excel, OP?
I've worked in a BI team. We didn't do math at all. Just numbers made into pictures.

Intermediate level.

Can create graphs, can't work out pivot tables.

Trying to learn from a book, but looking online as well.

youtube is amazing for learning things like pivot tables -- you need pivot tables to do BI.

I perceive that a lot of PP are thinking 'data science' and not what Business Intelligence does; while I perceive that you (OP) are really thinking more BI than data science.

My vague understanding of data science is that it's ultimately about predicting the near future. In contrast, BI is all about recent (past) performance.

Statistical science is about proving relationships :)

Thank you.

I'll probably knock this pipe dream on the head and go back to lab work - I think that's my best option for getting funding for a second higher qualification. 🙁

I suspect you would be too old to be considered for apprenticeship - it has become a young persons area.

I completed an apprenticeship (in management, not IT) in February at the age of 48.

On the up side.

Got an interview locally.

Not relevent to what I want to do, it's in a field I've worked in before, but at a much lower level than previously.

If I get it, I get out of a tight spot and am free in the evenings.

Hello OP! I understand the feeling of being stuck mid-career. Just wondering - have you considered topping up your HND to make it a full degree? You basically just do the final year of a degree. You could probably do it part time if you need to keep working. Might be worth looking into?

Have you tried Code First Girls? They do courses aimed at women wanting to switch to a tech careers!

I'm looking at online learning, but I'm skint atm and need to find a job.

The HND is in media studies and has no relation to science or computing.

Still looking.

Am just wondering whether you could do the top up year in a related subject which takes you some way towards the tech industry? As a stepping stone, kinda thing.

Is that possible?

From writing for printed papers (Yup, that old) to science?

How?

I do have an online meeting with a careers advisor in August, but I'm stumped.

Just come from an online meeting with a HE advisor.

She told me I could start a Foundation Degree in a science subject, without an Access to HE course.

The only Foundation degree relevent for NHS funding states it requires an Access to HE qualification in the absence of A Levels, an ONC or an HNC.

I'm blundering around in the dark with people who don't know what they're doing.

What's the deal with needing it to be 'NHS approved'? For what? Why is this relevant?

You could do an OU degree, with a loan, in Computing or science without the need for an Access course. Your precious HND won't matter you'll still get loan funding.

See here: www.open.ac.uk/courses/fees-and-funding/equivalent-qualifications

Thanks.

That's more useful than some of the other links I've been sent.

To be honest college advisors really won't be aware of this stuff. The OU though are fab and very helpful if you can cope with distance learning.