The 10th CDA Data Analyst Certification Exam ended successfully at the end of June 2019.

Recently, we interviewed several excellent students who ranked among the best in this exam, and in this article we have compiled their test preparation and learning experience. I hope that test preparers can have some reference and achieve ideal results.

What I bring to you today is the few candidates who have achieved excellent results in the CDA certification Level 1 test. They come from different majors and fields. Among them are liberal arts students with a basic introduction, graduate students studying abroad, and the school Students ... but they all share the same ideal and prove their data analysis strength through the CDA certification exam.

Let's take a look at their style below!

Level 1 Outstanding Candidate

Zhang Qiannan

As long as you study hard, liberal arts students with zero foundation can get good grades!

1. Current work

After graduation, I was engaged in operation management for one year. Currently, I work as a data analyst in an Internet finance company.

2. Opportunity to apply for CDA certification exam

Now is the era of big data, I think the data analysis position is more promising. I hope to use data analysis to realize my contribution and value to the company, so I have the idea of switching to data analysis.

However, my major and previous work experience are far from the target position, which can be said to be a zero basis. Before I heard a friend say that the CDA certification exam (the former National People's Congress Economic Forum) has such a CDA certification exam, so I took this opportunity to systematically learn the basics of data analysis, and also set myself a goal and result, urging and testing the learning results .

3. How did I prepare for the zero-based data science

· Systematic learning

I resigned to prepare for the exam, because it is completely zero-based , and it is not just to study for the test, so I want to learn more, Excel, Python, MySQL, Tableau, SPSS are all learning, basically eight hours of study time per day Right. If it is only the first-level certificate, zero-based learning through a short period of months is also sufficient.

At the beginning, I read books related to statistics and Python . Later, I also purchased online video courses. One of the benefits of following the video courses is that there are important points. It is better to have a teacher to explain where it is difficult to understand. I recommend you also You can try double-speed playback, so that the speed will be slightly faster, do not worry about reading it.

· Good learning environment

It is best to have a good learning environment for study. It is recommended that you go to the library. It is quieter and has an atmosphere. If you are tired, you can read other books to adjust it.

· Repeated consolidation

I will do the questions later, especially the exercises in "Statistics" . I have done it several times. It's more consolidating. The calculation questions have to be calculated by myself, and the code has to be typed by myself. Practice makes perfect.

4. What are the knowledge difficulties in preparing for the exam

For me, the beginning of statistics will be giving me a headache, especially vector and matrix, a lot of knowledge about the point, however, because after all, a lack of thinking in this area, but we must try to try to understand, to see again and again , Because the following modeling part will involve these, the foundation is really important.

The difficulty in the content of the exam is the data modeling and analysis part. Factor analysis, cluster analysis, time series and other test sites are still quite difficult, so I must say that the previous statistical foundation must be laid well. Watch it several times, can't give up ~

5. Recommended books and courses

You can see the recommended bibliography in the syllabus for the test preparation books. Personally , I strongly recommend Jia Junping's "Statistics" . I started from this book and started the process of data analysis. Haha, this book is really easy to understand and friendly to liberal arts students like me, and the content of this book is also very comprehensive, and there are supporting practice questions, which are very suitable for the exam content.

There is also a three-piece set published by the Economic Forum of the National People's Congress , where you can read about data modeling and analysis.

Finally, the exam guidance manual is very important! Almost covers the focus of the exam. I will read the tutorial manual every day to deepen my understanding and memory. If I thoroughly understand the tutorial, I will definitely get a high score.

6. Suggestions for candidates

First of all, you must have a correct mindset . Do n’t think it ’s very difficult. The first level is all multiple choice questions and the content is relatively basic. It is relatively simple.

Secondly , it is important to have a small partner who understands this knowledge. It is still important to have someone to guide you when you are not.

There are sure to take the time to carefully prepare Yeah, I believe that the intentions of learning can certainly test had, like me, is a completely no basis for liberal arts students, but as long as a good school, and certainly no problem.

7. Future career development plan

Now doing data analysis in the financial industry is my ideal career. Examination CDA learned theoretical knowledge, and then hope to accumulate practical experience in the work, can grow into an experienced data analyst, but also have to learn a lot of financial and big data knowledge, in order to better understand the data and use data.

Lu Chenggang

I took advantage of the summer vacation to return to China for an internship and successfully passed the CDA certification exam Level 1!

1. Introduction

I am a graduate student in biostatistics at New York University. He is currently returning to China in the summer and working as an intern in a financial risk control company.

2. Opportunity to apply for CDA certification exam

At the beginning of study, I chose the major of biostatistics to jump out of the pit of doing scientific research. In the subsequent learning process, I found that in addition to the regression and hypothesis testing methods used in the field of medical statistics, there are more interesting methods for dealing with data, such as various methods of data mining, and these methods are not affected by the field. Restrictions are widely used in various industries.

I took a brief look at the content of machine learning and found that it covers a wide range of content and deep learning, and it is not possible to drive slaves in a short time.

Because the content is not within the scope of courses offered I graduate, so I have to learn to collect data on the various types of networks, but also found CDA certification exam, it is divided into three level, level1 data entry as the basis for a scientific, level 2 of The direction of modeling analysts will evaluate the knowledge of data mining, and level 3 requires candidates with a data scientist's knowledge reserve.

I think this exam is very suitable for my planning. I plan to take the exam at the first level. The syllabus it provides can provide a more official guide for my learning route. At the same time, it can also be a test of my learning results.

3. How did I prepare for the exam

My review is carried out in accordance with the contents of the preparation outline .

After I signed up for the exam, I printed out the review materials provided by the official, and read through them from beginning to end to see what I could not do. Since the professional courses at the graduate level involve a lot of knowledge about various types of hypothesis testing and regression, it does not require much effort in this respect.

What is relatively unfamiliar to me is the knowledge of SQL in Chapter 2 and the little time series involved in the end. PCA, factor analysis needs to fully understand the need for a solid linear algebra foundation. Fortunately, the level 1 requirement is not deep, but it is recommended that you want to continue the test or want to engage in data mining in the future The line is well consolidated (this sentence is also said to myself). Since I have been busy with my studies and internships, there is not much time actually spent preparing for this exam, mainly in the week before the exam. But the key is to make sure that you understand all the knowledge points to be assessed before you go to the exam.

4. What are the knowledge and difficulties in the preparation

PCA, factor analysis , takes time to understand.

Another point is SQL . Many friends who have basic knowledge of statistical programming will find SQL very simple. However, for any language, if you want to learn well, you will not be able to understand the meaning of each instruction and write more practice. So it takes some effort in this regard, not too lightly, and complex SQL statements can contain very complex logic, it is far away from "simple".

SQL is too important for data workers. In a word, you can not Python or R, but SQL must be.

5. Recommended books and courses

For the content of SQL, you can find the practice courses under SQL-track on the datacamp website. Any friends who have basic programming skills in other languages are suitable.

Then there is the CSDN blog. If you encounter any knowledge you do n’t understand during the learning process, you can search for it. In most cases, a god has written a blog about your problems.

Of course, the most essential thing is to return to the syllabus. According to my experience, this exam is strictly in accordance with the content involved in the syllabus, so as long as the content of the syllabus is thoroughly understood, the results should be considerable.

6. Suggestions for candidates

If your time permits, please do not take the exam for the exam, master all the knowledge points it requires, it becomes an opportunity to test your professional knowledge. It's not easy to change careers. Welcome to like-minded friends who can form a group to learn together and live tenaciously in the ocean of knowledge of data science ...

7. Future career development plan

Take Level 2 in the next exam to test the learning outcome. Later engaged in machine learning algorithms or data mining.

Hu Yuxin

At the graduate level, I want to pass the CDA certification exam to test what I have learned before.

1. Opportunity to apply for CDA certification exam

I am currently a graduate student of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics. The undergraduate accidentally saw the CDA test, but hesitated not to take the test before. At the graduate level, I want to comprehensively examine what I have learned, most of which I have learned, and I want to examine the results of what I have learned.

2. How did I prepare for the exam

Because I was originally studying statistics, I am familiar with most of the content of level 1 exams. I reviewed all the knowledge points in the manual in one month, two parts per day, practiced the problem set found, and finally made the Mock questions.

3. What are the difficulties in knowledge preparation

Since undergraduate and graduate students have always studied statistics, the content involved in level 1 has no more difficult knowledge points. The standardization knowledge in the data preprocessing method in data acquisition and processing is more difficult to understand, and I learned from Zhihu and CSDN.

4. Recommended books and courses

4 part1,3,4 are part of the learning at the undergraduate stage too, part2 just in school, probably for me the most important thing is the second part, it is recommended books is pro forma manual and "Introduction to Database Systems" two books .

5. Suggestions for candidates

Each part should make good arrangements for time, and you can learn from the Zhihu and CSDN websites for the knowledge points that you do not understand.

6. Future development plans

I haven't graduated yet. First I want to go to an internship in data analysis. In the future, I want to work in finance.

In the future, you should learn more about statistical programming and finance, such as Python, SQL, CFA.

Li Wanjun

As I am about to graduate, I plan to obtain the CDA certificate as a stepping stone to the job interview.

1. Opportunity to apply for CDA certification exam

I am a junior student majoring in economic statistics at Tongling College. I am about to enter my senior year, and my friends and classmates have chosen to take the postgraduate entrance examination. With their own goals, they are not interested in the postgraduate entrance examination. Facing the troubles of graduation and employment, I plan to take a certificate with a high gold content related to our major. I searched the Internet and learned the certificate of CDA data analyst.

Through specific understanding, I am gradually interested in data analysis, and through communication with professional teachers and CDA teachers, I have strengthened my determination and intend to obtain this certificate as a stepping stone to the job interview.

2. How did I prepare for the exam

Because I am a junior student, I have more free time, so I can concentrate on preparing for the exam for about three months

Learning arrangements:

· Focus on reading books in the morning and afternoon, operate computers in the evening, and practice SQL database language

· Read all the books carefully, if you do n’t know how to consult the teacher

Because I am a statistics major, so many of our professional courses are intersected with the required reading books for exams, so it seems to be relatively easy. After reading the books in detail, about two days later, I will read the books again, and then I will directly turn to the table of contents. I will recall the main contents of this book according to the table of contents. After reading the book, until you are proficient, just repeat it a few times, the knowledge will be remembered very firmly.

3. After the book is proficient, do the simulation questions at the back of the test preparation manual again.

In the process of doing simulation questions, look at your own ability, and then slowly make up for the gaps according to the situation. One month before the exam, mainly read the preparation manual, probably read it two or three times, and do the simulation questions independently three or four times to improve your own accuracy. Before the exam, it is best to type the content of the SQL database language yourself and type the code independently Once again, do not read books, increase familiarity

4. What are the knowledge and difficulties in the preparation

· For statistics majors, the book "Statistics" is almost no problem for me. This is to memorize the formulas and definitions and do the matching exercises twice.

· The book "Multivariate Statistical Analysis" is relatively difficult. Many of the nouns are difficult to explain, especially the principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, and logical analysis are relatively difficult to understand. I used SPSS software To understand, this method can not only better understand the definition but also exercise your own software operation ability.

· "SQL Classic" is mainly to write code through the computer, practice makes perfect, so that the memory will be more solid

5. Recommended books and courses

· Jia Junping's "Statistics" books and supporting exercises

· He Xiaoqun ’s book “Multivariate Statistical Analysis” and watched the course “Multiple Statistical Analysis” by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Wang Xuemin

· "SQL Classic" book

· LEVEL 1 Exam Preparation Manual

6. Suggestions for candidates

Do n’t be afraid, do n’t be nervous, as long as you prepare for the exam carefully, you will have unexpected gains. Any certificate is not terrible. Believe in yourself and prepare for the exam with confidence.

7. Future development plan

After graduating, I plan to work on data analysis. At the beginning, I started to work as a data analyst assistant, slowly improving my practical ability, training my ability, and adapting myself to the development of society. An excellent data analyst makes your life different!