Hi 👋!

Welcome to my February newsletter!

This past few weeks have flown by, between finishing up at my previous job and starting a new one, I’ve not had time for much else! The new job is going well, the first week was a whirlwind of information, new faces and systems and changing my routine whilst having a cold left me exhausted! 😴 Week two and I’m mostly recovered, adjusting quickly, and hoping to jump back into a few projects this week!

With no new posts or projects, this month we will take a look at my favourite posts, new resources for you to explore with an added bonus that is invaluable if you’re interested in design! Go check it out 👇

The UK storms have given me a chance to keep up with reading! I’m loving non-fiction right now which is something new for me, usually I rush through so I can get onto the next novel! Whilst I’m the flow, I’ve got a stack of non-fiction books lined up, including Hello World by Hannah Fry which I cannot wait to read!

I’d love to hear what your experiences are with moving jobs. What do you wish you’d asked in your first weeks in your current role? Or any advice you would have liked when starting?

📰Favourite Posts

1. Build a Weekly Planning Dashboard in Notion: Follow this quick start guide to build a weekly planning dashboard in Notion to track your tasks, meetings and monitor your progress.

2. Creating word clouds with python: During an NLP project, I created word clouds to visualise frequent words in a document. This got me thinking about how this could apply to other datasets including Game of Thrones.

3. Data Science Skills: Web scraping using python: Gathering data from websites can be simply done using python. This tutorial introduces web scraping using python and how to get started.

You can also find a selection of my articles on Medium.

🔍Top resources

This month’s recommended resources from across the web and beyond!

• Rachael Tatman’s tutorials: I signed up to a 5-Day Data Challenge led by Rachael and have since followed along with several of her live coding sessions. Rachael walks through the latest data tools & techniques in real-time and you get a chance to ask questions and join the conversation!
  ✨I especially enjoyed the Intro to APIs workshop from Kaggle CareerCon 2019 and learning how to deploy an API within GCP!

• 🎙PyDataMCR & Towards Data Science Podcasts: I first listened to the PyDataMCR podcast a few months back hoping to learn from local Data Professionals, find out the latest technologies and I got more than expected! Not only have I learnt about new tools, but I’ve also come away from each episode feeling inspired and motivated! This week I’ve started listening to the Towards Data Science podcast and have a few others to listen to for my new daily commute - I’ll keep you updated with any further recommendations!

• Great Expectations: One of the tools mentioned in the PyDataMCR podcast for data validation in checking that your data is as you expect! It also integrates with many of the popular tools & systems; check out their GitHub!

🌟Bonus

• RefactoringUI: If you’re interested in learning more about design and UI, RefactoringUI is a must. They also have a book containing all their tips & tricks in one comprehensive guide.

📚This month’s reading list

Despite not being so active with writing and projects this month, I’ve kept up the reading and am way ahead to hit my yearly target of 20 books! 🙌

#003: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz ✭✭✩✩✩

#004: Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport ✭✭✭✩✩

📘 Currently reading: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Next month I will have some project updates and hopefully an article or two in store!

See you then!

Kerry