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I have been an investor for over 40 years. I spent 20 as a professional Financial Advisor. I achieved Presidents Club for my firm (Top 50 Advisors in the US).In this answer, I will teach you how to get started managing your money properly, in a well diversified stock portfolio.I buy quality stocks in my portfolio. No penny stocks, no story stocks like this is the next big thing in 5G, Pot stocks, Internet of Things, that sort of thing. Those are quite often pump and dump stories. I might buy one here and there, but only because I have done my research.Penny stocks (anything under $5) are a really dumb idea for investing, and especially beginners. 85% of stocks are owned by institutions (like mutual funds, insurance companies, Pension funds, etc.) Virtually all institutions have bylaws that forbid buying stocks under $5, and some have bylaws demanding they sell if a stock goes below $5. They have those bylaws because statistically, those are lousy investments. If you buy a penny stock, 85% of potential buyers (the institutions) are eliminated. Where is the demand for your penny stock going to come from? As a result, it is much harder for a $0.50 stock to go to $5 than for a $20 stock to go to $200 simply because 100% of potential buyers have the ability to buy the $20 stock.Index funds. First and foremost, I have never been satisfied with being average. Never in my life has that been my goal. By definition that is what index funds are. If you rank all 500 stocks in the S&P 500 by performance, the index will fall between #245 and #255 usually. You own both the best and worst in each sector, and everything in between. Same with sector ETFs. Average.ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds). ETF’s are like mutual funds with 2 major exceptions.1) They can trade during the day, all day, just like stocks are traded. This is unlike mutual funds, which can only be purchased or sold at the closing price each day. (A few can be traded twice a day.)2) Mutual funds can pick and choose what they wish to own and as an investor, you may not know exactly what you are buying when you buy it. ETF’s are defined at inception what they will have inside them, so you always can know what you are buying.The QQQ (Nasdaq 100) used to be a good ETF. Today, just 6 stocks now account for 50% of the ETF. Those 6 stocks are Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Nvidia, and Google. While they are all great companies, your diversification needs to be greater. Same for the S&P500. Those same 6 stocks make up 25% of the index. Not enough diversification for my taste. This came about because the SPX and the QQQ are market cap weighted indexes, meaning that the proportion of each stock held by the ETF is determined by the total value of the market capitalization of the underlying stocks.I believe in a diversified portfolio. I have learned from experience that what I think on January 1st will do best this year is not usually the case. Things change. Tech can go flat for many years at a time. In 1999. Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Oracle, and AMAT were the equivalent of FANG today (FB, AAPL, AMZN, NFLX, NVDA, GOOG.) Look at the charts. Some of them have not made their shareholders a dime in 2 decades. The same thing will happen to the FANG stocks someday. (Full disclosure: I personally still own 4 of the 6 FANG stocks. It ain’t over yet.)Rule #1 Always Buy Top Quality - Never, Ever Forget ThisI like buying the #1 or #2 stock in a sector or subsector. The reason is quite simple. The company got to that position because they had the right combination of management, marketing, sales, distribution, finances, capitalization, product R&D, etc.Most likely, they also now have the best margins in the business because they do volume. They can afford to spend more total dollars on marketing, but their per unit expense for marketing is less than the competition. Same for R&D, sales, etc. They probably also have patent protection in place.It is really going to be hard for the competition to unseat them.Finally, the #1 stock in a subsector has the best capitalization usually. They can not only survive a crisis, but usually take advantage of having access to capital to make acquisitions when their competitors are weak. Or they can increase their marketing and sales efforts while the competition is suffering.If just one department of a company is having problems and not performing well, you can likely describe the stock performance as mediocre.Exceptions to the Rule of Owning the #1 stock in a subsectorI do make exceptions to this rule when I see a trend developing that I think will last. For example, in the Financials subsector Capital Markets (Broker/Dealers, Investment banks, Mutual Funds, etc.) the traditional Wall Street firms just got too greedy. They have lost the next generation.The kids of the baby boomers (I call them the Echo Boomers) think everything should be online and free, or ultra low cost. Boomers do too. They also do not trust the old Wall Street firms, with good reason.However, investors been sold on the concept of owning index funds. You already know my thoughts on them, but that does not matter.The largest creator of index funds is a company named MSCI. They create indexes and funds all over the globe. They create the ETFs that this generation is buying in droves. The funny thing to me is that MSCI was previously known as Morgan Stanley Capital Investments. It’s old school Wall Street creating these ETFs and cashing in. They charge low fees, and they can because once created, they almost have to do nothing to keep collecting the annual fees. MSCI is laughing all the way to the bank.So I bought the stock that creates the ETF’s, MSCI, even though it is a smaller player in the Capital Markets subsector. MSCI is at the very heart of a new generation of investors. I’ve now had it since 12/31/2018, and it has already more than doubled in price.Market leaders can make tragic mistakes. IBM miscalculated the importance of software for the PC, and the impact of the PC as well. Intel did not see phones as a threat to their PC cpu chip business until QCOM already owned the phone cpu business. GE management did not understand the derivatives their financial unit was packaging and selling. You must stay diligent.Market Leaders can also do almost unimaginable great deals, like LMT (Lockheed Martin) landing the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter, F-35) deal, manufacturing it in 45 states for political protection, and getting the world’s largest contract ever, which, with upgrades and parts, will likely top $1 trillion in value.Or Nvidia designing graphic chips and getting patent protections for a dominant position in Gaming, Autonomous driving, Artificial Intelligence, 5G, cloud computing, and Video conferencing. Six of the fastest growing businesses worldwide. Awesome job!It is very difficult for a small company to take business from a market leader.It is much, much easier for a market leader to take business from a secondary company.As a result of getting rid of the losers in each sector, I usually outperform the S&P every year. I set a very high bar for my portfolio performance. I currently expect to beat the S&P500 by 1% per month. I don’t achieve that every month, but I usually manage to beat the S&P by 12% a year. That is a spectacular result in my opinion. You may have higher goals than that, but I have found I am happy close to achieving that result. Good Luck!Please Note: This is a starting point for you. You will usually find there are companies outperforming the subsector market leader sometimes. Perhaps they have a niche that is fantastic, like MSCI. Over time, you can make adjustments to your portfolio when you see fit. This just gets you off to a very solid start in investing and learning how to watch your portfolio and managing it. You can get more aggressive after you learn what you are doing.Three Major Influences on Stock PriceThere are 3 primary things that influence a stock price:The sector accounts for 50% of the move.The market, 30%.Company fundamentals is only responsible for 20%.It is therefore 80% of the battle to focus on the sector and the market. Most beginners focus on company fundamentals. It is the least important.You can own the best stock in a sector, but if the sector and the market are declining, you are likely to be losing money.You can own a lousy stock, but if the sector and the market are advancing, you will likely be making some money.I repeat. It is more important to focus on the sector and the market! Pareto’s 80/20 law.The markets are predictable on a long time basis.If you look at a log chart of the DJIA, the markets have an alternating pattern of a stairstep. They are relatively flat for 17.5 years, then rise for 17.5 years. Timing is everything in the S&P and DJIA on a long-term basis. It’s not that hard to understand why, or do.During the flat stage, the market gains about 2.0% – 2.5% per year. Inflation adjusted, 0-1%.During the riser stage, they gain 15%-17% per year over the entire 17.5 years. It can make you quite wealthy in less than 2 decades!Surprisingly, the flat stage has more volatility and can have some of the most rapid gains. However, it is usually proceeded or followed, or both, by horrendous losses.The riser stage is surprisingly steady growth, with 2-4 periods during the 17.5 years of down markets.During each riser stage, the markets will double 4 times. 2…4…8…16. A $1 invested will become $16 if you own the index. $30,000 becomes $500,000. If you beat the market by 1% a month, $30,000 becomes $2,500,000.There is a reason this stairstep pattern exists. Once you know it, you can take advantage of it to make a lot more money from your investments.Since inception in August 1896, the DJIA has had 4 flat stages and 3 risers. We are right now (2020) at the beginning of the next great rise. I took the 20%+ downturn in December 2018 as my best real-time guess as to when the next riser was starting. 18 months later, I think I nailed it. These flats and risers are caused by the generational waves in the population. There were 78 million baby boomers. The kids of the baby boomers, which I call the Echo Boomers, consists of a combo of millennials, gen Z, etc. There are 84 million Echo Boomers.Most everyone goes through 5 life stages:Kids,Young Adults,Building a Family,Empty Nest, andRetired.And then one Dead stage. That one is pretty much permanent, but very important.About 95% of your income during your life is during the Build a Family stage and Empty Nest stage.The flats in the markets are when a generation (of 80 Million people) is Building a Family.The riser occurs when that generation are Empty Nesters. Why? When the kids move out, the parents focus on their next big goal, which is paying for their retirement through investing. When you have 40 million of the 80 million people doing that, the markets rise dramatically.In January 2000, the net cash inflow into the markets was over $60 Billion in a single month. (Net cash inflow = Deposits less disbursements.) That is when the Baby Boomers were contributing heavily toward their retirement, and cash flows going out for retiree’s had not yet started increasing. Since then, the net cash inflows have never exceeded the January 2000 inflows. I expect that will happen later in the cycle of Echo Boomers saving during their Empty Nest years.The market does not give a damn if you are 88 or 38 or 18 years old. It does not care if you are conservative or aggressive. It is driven long term by the net cash flows into or out of the markets. More buyers than sellers or vice versa. Short term, it is driven by the news cycle. Unless you are prescient and know what is going to happen, good luck with that.This next rise up is going to be enormous!The Largest Financial Engine Ever Created on Planet Earth!The Echo Boomers already control 65% of the income in the US. As such, they are the largest Financial Engine ever created on Planet Earth. Bigger than China! The leading edge of the Echo Boomers have completed the Build a Family stage and are now beginning to become Empty Nesters. Finally, on top of their massive position in income, they will inherit $69 Trillion over the next 20 years free of Federal Tax (unless the tax laws change.)What does this mean for investors? To say the S&P has gone up 10% per year (or whatever number you used) for the past 90 years is completely meaningless. It totally depends on whether the markets are in a flat (Build a Family) or riser (Empty Nest) life stage. Net cash flows follows the birth rate, offset by about 48 years. As a generation becomes Empty Nesters, the cash flows into the markets increases dramatically because millions of people increase their savings, and spending, as they become Empty Nesters.We can reasonably expect the markets to rise over the next 18 years by over 18% per year until 2037. (That is my estimate and implies DJIA 330,000 (or S&P = 41,000) by sometime in 2037. Yes, I know 18% sounds crazy big, but it is real. In 2019, the S&P was up 28.8%. The S&P is up 6.6% in 2020 as of Oct 19, 2020, even after a pandemic.)How to beat the Index – 2 stepsBy making 2 changes from index investing, you can dramatically increase your returns over the next 18 year riser. The first change is to NOT own all the sectors and subsectors like in the index.First step… Get rid of the sectors that are most important during the Build a Family stage, as those sectors will have declining demand. You only want to own the sectors with demand increasing as more and more of those Echo Boomers change their lifestyle while transitioning from Building a Family to Empty Nester.Second step – Buy the market leaders only, except if you have done your research and think that you have something really special (like MSCI.)Above is a chart showing both the Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks, divided by sector, and a list of the Top 10 stocks in each of 7 sectors. The combined revenue of the DJIA 30 stocks are larger than the total GDP for every country on Earth except the US and China. They are very good at what they do.Note: Dow Jones considers Visa a Financial. S&P considers it a technology company.There are 6 major sectors you want to own. These are:HealthcareFinancialsTechnologyCommunications/MediaConsumer DiscretionaryIndustrialsYou probably do NOT want to own all the subsectors in each sector! There are exceptions.Healthcare – XLV is the symbol for the S&P Healthcare sector ETFHealthcare subsectorsHealthcareBiotechnologyHealth Care Equipment & SuppliesHealth Care Providers & ServicesHealth Care TechnologyLife Sciences Tools & ServicesPharmaceuticalsTop 10 Holdings (51.01% of Total Assets) of XLV,(Pick 4 stocks (in 4 subsectors))JNJ ……. Johnson & Johnson …………… HealthcareUNH …. United Health Group Inc …..… Health Care Providers & ServicesMRK …. Merck ………………………………. PharmaceuticalsPFE …… Pfizer ……………………………….. PharmaceuticalsABBV ... Abbvie ……………………………… PharmaceuticalsABT ….. Abbott Labs ……………………… Life Sciences Tools & ServicesTMO …. Thermo Fisher Scientific ....… Health Care Equipment & SuppliesAMGN .. Amgen ……………………………. BiotechnologyLLY ……. Eli Lilly & Co. …………………… PharmaceuticalsBMY ….. Bristol-Meyers Squibb ……….. PharmaceuticalsFinancial Subsectors - XLF is the symbol for the S&P Financial sector ETFBanksCapital MarketsConsumer FinanceDiversified Financial ServicesInsuranceMortgage REITsCommunications EquipmentTop 10 Holdings (52.78% of Total Assets of XLF(pick 4 stocks)BRK.B … Berkshire Hathaway …..………… Diversified Fin’l ServicesJPM …… JP Morgan Chase ………..………. BanksBAC …… Bank of America …………............ BanksBLK …… Blackrock ……………………..…… Capital MarketsSPGI ….. Standard & Poor’s Group ……..… Capital MarketsAXP …… American Express ……………….. Consumer FinanceGS …….. Goldman Sachs …………………… BanksCME …… Chicago Mercantile Exchange …. Capital MarketsV ……….. Visa …………………………………. Consumer FinanceMA …….. Mastercard ………………………… Consumer FinanceTechnology Subsectors - XLK is the symbol for the S&P Tech sector ETFInformation TechnologyElectronic Equipment, Instruments & ComponentsIT ServicesSemiconductors & Semiconductor EquipmentSoftwareTechnology Hardware, Storage & PeripheralsTop 10 Holdings (69.27% of Total Assets) of XLK (Pick 7 stocks (in 5-7 subsectors))MSFT … Microsoft ….. SoftwareAAPL … Apple ………..Technology HardwareV ……… Visa …………. IT ServicesMA …… Mastercard … IT ServicesINTC …. Intel …………. SemiconductorsNVDA ... Nvidia ………. SemiconductorsADBE .. Adobe ……… SoftwarePYPL … Paypal ……… IT ServicesCSCO .. Cicso ……….. Technology HardwareCRM …. SalesForce … IT ServicesCommunications/Media Subsectors - XLC is the symbol for the S&P Comm/Media sector ETFCommunications ServicesDiversified Telecommunication ServicesEntertainmentInteractive Media & ServicesMediaWireless Telecommunication ServicesTop 10 Holdings (77.38% of Total Assets) of XLC(pick 3 stocks)FB ……… Facebook ……………………. Interactive Media & ServicesGOOG …. Alphabet …………………….. Interactive Media & ServicesGOOGL .. Alphabet …………………….. Interactive Media & ServicesTMUS ….. T-Mobile ……………………... Wireless TeleCommunications ServicesNFLX …... Netflix …………………………EntertainmentATVI ……. Activision …………………… Interactive Media & ServicesT ………… AT&T ………………………… Diversified Telecommunication ServicesCMCSA… Comcast …………………….. Diversified Telecommunication ServicesEA ……… Electronic Arts …………….. Interactive Media & ServicesCHTR ….. Charter Communications … Diversified Telecommunication ServicesI think DISNEY should be on this list. I do not know why it is not.Symbol = DIS Subsector = EntertainmentConsumer Discretionary Subsectors - XLY is the symbol for the S&P Cons. Disc. sector ETFAuto ComponentsAutomobilesDistributorsDiversified Consumer ServicesHotels, Restaurants & LeisureHousehold DurablesInternet & Direct Marketing RetailLeisure ProductsMultiline RetailSpecialty RetailTop 10 Holdings (68.04% of Total Assets) of XLY(pick 3 stocks)AMZN ….. Amazon …………. Internet & Direct Marketing RetailHD ……… Home Depot ……. Household DurablesMCD …… McDonalds ……… Specialty RetailNKE ……. Nike ……………… Specialty RetailLOW …… Lowes …………… Household DurablesSBUX ….. Starbucks ………. Specialty RetailBKNG ….. Booking.com: The largest selection of hotels, homes, and vacation rentals ….. Internet & Direct Marketing RetailTJX …….. TJX ………………. Specialty RetailTGT ……. Target …………… Multiline RetailDG ……… Dollar General ….Specialty RetailIndustrials Subsectors - XLI is the symbol for the S&P Inustrials sector ETFAerospace & DefenseAir Freight & LogisticsAirlinesBuilding ProductsCommercial Services & SuppliesConstruction & EngineeringElectrical EquipmentIndustrial ConglomeratesMachineryMarineProfessional ServicesRoad & RailTrading Companies & DistributorsTransportation InfrastructureTop 10 Holdings (41.20% of Total Assets) of XLI(Pick 4)UNP ….. Union Pacific Railroad ….. Road & RailHON ….. Honeywell ………………… Industrial ConglomeratesBA ……. Boeing …………………….. Aerospace & DefenseRTX ….. Raytheon Technologies … Aerospace & DefenseLMT ….. Lockheed Martin …………. Aerospace & DefenseMMM … 3M …………………………… Commercial Services & SuppliesUPS ….. United Parcel Service …… Air Freight & LogisticsCAT ….. Caterpillar …………………. MachineryGE ……. General Electric ………….. Industrial ConglomeratesCSX ….. CSX Railroad ……………… Road & RailSo, we have 6 major sectors with 50 total subsectors.You do not want stocks in the Utilities, Consumer Staples, Energy, Real Estate, or Basic Materials sectors during the Empty Nest stage. Those are Build-A-Family sectors with declining market demand as the 84 million Echo Boomers transition from Building-a-Family to Empty Nest. Certainly, those sectors contain some very good stocks but in a declining sector, it is like swimming upstream.Out of over 15,000 stocks on the NYSE & Nasdaq combined, those 60 Top 10 (in their sector) stocks make well over 50% of the TOTAL sales and TOTAL profits of all 15,000 US stocks combined.As Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks: “That’s where the money is.”Starting Your PortfolioYou don’t have to do a lot of research to get started. In fact, I would advise against it because it is a lot of work while you still might have some doubts about your abilities and skill.I will make it easy for you:Pick 4 from Health (JNJ, UNH, MRK, PFE, ABBV, ABT, TMO, AMGN, LLY, BMY)Pick 4 from Finance (BRK.B, JPM, BAC, C, WFC, BLK, SPGI, AXP, GS, CME)Pick 7 from Technology (AAPL, MSFT, V, MA, INTC, NVDA, ADBE, PYPL, CSCO, CRM)Pick 3 Commun./Media (FB, GOOG, GOOGL, TMUS, NFLX, ATVI, T, CMCSA, EA, CHTR)Pick 3 Consumer Discretionary (AMZN, HD, MCD, NKE, LOW, SBUX, BKNG, TJX, TGT, DG)Pick 4 from Industrials (UNP, HON, BA, RTX, LMT, MMM, UPS, CAT, GE, CSX)Consider this as a good starting point. You can adjust the portfolio later to get more aggressive if you like. I recommend this as a starting point so that you get used to owning top quality, which translates into a high percentage of winners.

We just published an updated 2015 rankings - Data Science Bootcamps - The Best Courses of 2015. Over the past year and a half, we’ve amassed hundreds of data science bootcamp reviews.The Best Data Science Courses 2015Here we present a list of the top programs with the best reviews, as well as a short-list of other data science bootcamps with a strong reputation. Expect this list to be continuially updated.This list of courses is by no means exhaustive, but we wanted to narrow it down to provide students with a starting point of well-reviewed, vetted data science courses. As more data comes in for different schools, we will update our list.Note: We will not be covering master's degrees in this article - we have a followup article about the differences between bootcamps vs degree programs.Top courses in the USA:Galvanize4 stars (13 reviews)A 12-week immersive bootcamp in San Francisco, Galvanize teaches data science tools, techniques and fundamental concepts. By working through messy, real-world data sets, students will gain experience in data munging, exploration, modeling, validation, visualization, communication and more. Among those teaching the classes are world-class instructors, data scientists and industry leaders. The school not only boasts an immersive education, a collaborative environment and world-class networking, but also a 93 percent placement rate, $115,000 average salary and job placement within six months. The bootcamp difficulty is intermediate, so all applicants are required to have programming experience. (Note: Zipfian Academy was acquired by Galvanize.)Overall Satisfaction(4.4)LocationDenver, Boulder, Fort Collins, San Francisco, SeattleNumber of Reviews13SubjectsHTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, Javascript, Data SciencePrice Range$$$$CoursesGalvanize Full Stack, Galvanize Data Science, GalvanizeU,This was probably the largest single propellor of a career that I've ever heard of. After attending the course I was given a ton of resources and opportunities for face time with companies in the area. I had a job two days before graduating and I'm absolutely loving it.Check out more Galvanize reviews on Switch.General Assembly4 stars (41 reviews)The 11-week data science technology course is one of General Assembly's part-time bootcamps. It runs twice a week in the evenings. Some core skills students should expect to walk away with include knowing how to apply math and programming skills to make meaning out of large data sets, learning how to analyze and manipulate data with Python and learning how to make predictions about data using fundamental modeling techniques. The course must be done in person and takes place a General Assembly's many locations.Overall Satisfaction(4.1)LocationNew York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington D.C., Austin, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, SingaporeNumber of Reviews41SubjectsWeb Development (Full-stack: Javascript, Ruby, Rails), Web Design, UI/UX Design, Product Management, Digital Marketing, Analytics, Front-end (HTML, CSS, Javascript), Back-end (Ruby, Ruby on Rails), Data SciencePrice Range$CoursesUser Experience Design Immersive, Data Science, Back End Web Development, Web Development Immersive, Front End Web Development, Digital Marketing, Mobile Development, Product Management, Product Management Immersive, Visual Design , Analytics,I've not only taken the 11 week Data Science course but have attended many workshops and watched many courses online. Overall, GA has really helped me stay current with my skills and helped me innovate in my company.Check out more General Assembly reviews on Switch.Metis5 stars (9 reviews)After 12 weeks of the intensive, in-person data science bootcamp, Metis grads should expect to be fully qualified for an entry-level data scientist position. At the New York City bootcamp, students will receive 100% in-person instruction with experts from Datascope Analytics as well as career coaching during and after the course and job placement support upon completion. All applicants are expected to have some previous experience in programming and statistics. By the end of the course, students will be capable coding in Python and at the command line, understand data science tools and applications, know the fundamentals of data visualization; have introductory exposure to modern big data tools; and more.Overall Satisfaction(4.6)LocationNew York, San Francisco, ChicagoNumber of Reviews9SubjectsData Science, Python, Data Visualization, JavaScript, D3, NLP, Naive Bayes, Hadoop, Spark, Machine Learning, Online TrainingPrice Range$$$CoursesMachine Learning: Algorithms & Applications, Data Science Bootcamp, Data Visualization with D3.js, Explore Data Science: Online Training, Intro to Data Science, Big Data Processing with Hadoop & Spark,I had full career support throughout my job search, even after I graduated from the bootcamp, and I definitely couldn't have found my awesome job without taking this course.Check out more Metis reviews on Switch.NYC Data Science Academy5 stars (17 reviews)The Manhattan-based full-time bootcamp runs for 12 weeks and seeks to help students learn practical skills needed for a career in data science. During the course, students will learn how to solve real-world business and industry problems as well as beginner and intermediate levels of Data Science (R, Python and Hadoop) and R packages R(Shiny, Knitr, rCharts and more). Students will also complete a 2-week hands-on project and have help from the school with job support and preparation in the last week. Applicants are expected to have a Masters or PhD in science, technology, engineering or math, or at least have equivalent experience in quantitative science or programming.Overall Satisfaction(5.0)LocationNew YorkNumber of Reviews17SubjectsData Science, R, Python, Hadoop, SparkPrice Range$CoursesData Science with Python: Data Analysis and Visualization, Data Science with R: Data Analysis and Visualization, Data Science with R: Machine Learning, Data Science with Python: Machine Learning, Big Data with Hadoop and Spark,Data Science Bootcamp was the best experience in my career. Instructors were not only helpful in teaching the regular materials but also guide you to establish your confidence in yourself to be a Data Scientist. They will help you even after completing your bootcamp. Nice and honest environment.Check out more NYC Data Science Academy reviews on Switch.ShortList CoursesHere is a list of date science programs who have also made it onto our shortlist, but do not currently have a lot of alumni reviews.Bit BootcampBit Bootcamp is based in New York. Both the 12-week Algorithm Training course and 4-week Big Data/Hadoop Training course are immersive and use diverse methods -- live instruction, class collaboration and technical fundamentals -- to cover much more than just the basics of data science. By the end of the course, students will not only have a portfolio of real-world projects but will also have access to a network of employers and career preparation. Prospective students are expected to have familiarity with SQL and programming like Java, C# and C++, as well as solid math and problem solving skills.The Data IncubatorThe Data Incubator is an intensive fellowship that seeks to transform scientists and engineers into data scientists and quants. The fellowship is seven weeks long and includes training in technical skills, like software engineering, statistics, data visualization, databases and parallelization, and soft skills like communication techniques and networking . It also provides mentorship opportunities, employer-paid scholarships and access to innovative employers. Fellows can either attend the program full time in person in New York City, San Francisco or Washington, D.C., or part time online.Data Science DojoUnlike some of the other bootcamps that span several weeks, Data Science Dojo is a 5-day immersive data science bootcamp. Because they believe the two concepts should be taught together, both data science and data engineering are a part of the curriculum. After completing the course, graduates will be connected with the bootcamp’s hiring partners and the school has an active job board to help students who want to find jobs on their own. The only requirement for students is to have knowledge of at least one programming or scripting language, and the bootcamp recommends the knowledge of R or Python programming. The bootcamp takes place all over, from Silicon Valley to Sydney.Data Science for Social GoodThe Eric & Wendy Schmidt Data Science for Social Good Fellowship is a University of Chicago program that runs for 12 weeks in the summer. The program trains aspiring data scientists to work on data mining, machine learning, big data, and data science projects with social impact. In the program, fellows work to help governments and nonprofits solve real-world problems dealing with education, health, transportation, economic development and more. Prospective fellows are expected to be graduate students or at least seniors in college and have a passion for solving problems with social impact.Microsoft Research Data Science Summer SchoolAn intensive 8-week introduction to data science, the Microsoft Research Data Science Summer School is a course for college students in the New York City area. Course work includes both data science and group research projects, and classes are taught by leading scientists at Microsoft Research. In an effort to increase diversity, the school encourages women, minorities and individuals with disabilities to apply. Each student receives a $5,000 stipend and a laptop.SlideRuleSlideRule's Intro to Data Science course isn't your typical bootcamp. First, it's all done online; second, it's completed at the student's own pace (though, it's worth noting that tuition adjusts depending on how long it takes to complete; and third, students get a weekly call from an expert industry mentor. The curriculum includes probability and statistics, R basics, exploratory data analysis, data visualization, data wrangling and analysis techniques. During the course, students will be able to create and kickstart their portfolio and network with industry experts.Insight Data EngineeringThe intensive, 7-week fellowship touts itself as the bridge to a career in data engineering. It takes place in New York City and Silicon Valley and is open to anyone with a strong background in math, computer science and software engineering fundamentals. They also seek fellows who come from positions in the industry or directly from degree programs (bachelor’s, master’s and PhD). In the program, students will be able to participate in project-based learning and work with top industry mentors.Comparison of data analyst, data scientist, and data engineering rolesData AnalystA data analyst role can be found at pretty much any large corporation or government organization. From accounting, to risk analysis, to a/b testing, to working on government data, there are a lot of data analyst roles out there. A data analyst is basically a junior data scientist. It’s a good place to start if you don’t have a very technical background and have only taken one or two statistics classes.You won’t be required to have mathematical background or a PhD/research experience, but you will be required to be diligent, strong at communication, and able to perform computer work. Once you get more experience as a data analyst, you can take more advanced courses, earn a master’s degree or consider a data-science bootcamp to jump into a more research-based, analytical role.Data analysts need to have some basic understanding of the following subjects: Excel spreadsheet, basic statistics (college-level intro classes), basic statistical tools (like STATA/SPSS), producing graphs and diagrams and presenting simple summary results.A strong attention to detail is necessary as processing data requires much diligence, patience and an eye for error. You'll be manipulating small to large datasets, and it's very easy to make mistakes.Day-to-day You'll be given specific instruction from a more senior member and will likely be using Excel to process data and produce summary results. Things like bar charts, pie charts, trend lines, simple regression analysis, box plots, etc., will be common day-to-day tasks. As a side note: You may also be querying databases for data using SQL and scripting languages. For this reason, it is not a bad idea to learn some basic SQL programming. It's important to remember that you won't be doing complicated analysis independently or building your own statistical models or any type of predictive analysis. These higher level tasks are usually conducted by data scientists or senior researchers.Data ScientistSome companies treat the titles of “data scientist” and “data analyst” as the same thing and they are often used interchangeably. However, in general, there are some distinctions between the two. A data scientist’s work usually needs more complicated analysis and a stronger understanding of the fundamentals of statistics. A strong background in college and graduate level statistics coursework is needed for a career as a data scientist. Usually job listings will require a master’s degree in quantitative finance, statistics, or some relevant field.While a data analyst simply may be doing work in excel to present summary statistics of small datasets, a data scientist will be managing larger data sets from different sources. They'll likely be comfortable with Python and R programming and using advanced statistical models and tools like STATA and SPSS. SQL and basic scripting languages are a must-know for data scientistsData scientists are often employed by technology and financial sectors, where huge volumes of data are being processed every day. As new data comes in and new problems come up, these data scientists are employed to find ways to optimize a company’s marketing campaign, optimize a hedge fund’s trading algorithm, or come up with new ways to predict or model consumer behavior. The end goal is to make full use of the company’s data to help generate profits and make the products better.Note that in different industries, often times they require specialized knowledge. For example, in the medical industry they require knowledge of biostatistics and bio-statistical models, which can be different to financial statistics and financial modeling.Data EngineerA data engineer is very different to a data scientist. Think of a data engineer as more of a computer scientist who specializes in building systems to manage data. They focus on creating robust data systems that can aggregate, process, clean, transform, and store large amounts of data. Typically in large corporations a data engineer builds a robust, fault-tolerant data pipeline that cleans, transforms, and aggregates unorganized and messy data into databases or datasources. Data engineers are typically software engineers by trade. Instead of data analysis, data engineers are responsible for compiling and installing database systems, writing complex queries, scaling to multiple machines, and putting disaster recovery systems into place.Data engineers essentially lay the groundwork for a data analyst or data scientist to easily retrieve the needed data for their evaluations and experiments.Skills and tools: Data engineers need to have strong knowledge of core computer science principles and software development experience. In addition, they need to have expertise in new technologies that help manage large datasets. These technologies and concepts include MapReduce, NoSQL databases, MongoDB, SQL, Hadoop, Storm, and other various Dev Ops tools like Chef. You will need the ability to learn whatever technology the company is using to manage their data systems, and there are a wide variety of them, although the core underlying principles are very similar.

Absolutely!Of course the coronavirus may have put a dent in this. But according to Business Insider here is how they were doing in 2019.According to the business insider BTS is worth 3.8 Billion a year to South Korea in tourism and merchandise exported associated with BTS.How BTS makes and spends their moneyBTS is the highest-paid K-pop group, earning $57 million in pre-tax income in the last year, according to Forbes.Most of that fortune comes from their "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" world tour, in addition to their album sales and brand deals.The group is worth $3.6 billion to South Korea's economy, per yaeer (!) contributing to a surge in tourism and increasing the appeal of South Korean products. They're expected to bring in $37 billion over the next 10 years according to the Hyundai Research Institute. [this was before Covid]BTS makes their money through record sales, merch sales, tours with ticket sales [they grossed 80 million dollars on a six date tour! and according to Forbes they grossed $170 million in all world and local tours in 2019. Surpassed only by Metallica within a year], movies, clothing brand endorsements, and TV commercials.From: How BTS built a billion-dollar fandomHere is a video about how that happened with more stats:Fast Company provides some stats to show why all this money has been rolling in:BTS accounts for $4.65 billion of South Korea’s GDP—and other jaw-dropping stats about the supergroupBTS scored three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart in less than a year. They are the first band to do so since The Beatles.In its first six months of release, the EP Map of the Soul: Persona sold 3.5 million copies around the world, 562,000 of which were in the U.S. alone.In April, the video for “Boy With Luv” broke a YouTube record when it sailed past 100 million views in less than 48 hours, and BTS became the first Asian band to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify.BTS’s merch sales have reached $130 million. That’s a lot of books, T-shirts, dolls, cosmetics, and jewelry.A Korean study estimates that 83% of BTS’s fans are female, and 45% are between the ages of 10 and 30.Neither BTS nor the individual members have a manager or any other representation. They are wholly owned by South Korean music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk’s Big Hit Entertainment factory. Bang himself has an estimated net worth of $770 million, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index.Here is some more info specifically about how much BTS brings in to South Korea in relation to major corporations:A recent article by U.S. magazine Hollywood Reporter puts the boy group’s annual revenue at $4.65 billion and claims this puts the music group in the “same league as Samsung and Hyundai.”But is this claim true? An analysis of 2018 company revenues shows that even though BTS makes billions – through album and ticket sales, but also by selling merchandise and attracting visitors to South Korea – they do not come close to corporate money makers.In 2018, Samsung’s revenue was almost $212 billion, or 13 percent of South Korean GDP. The second largest contributor to the country’s economy, Hyundai, still managed a contribution of 5 percent, not unusual for major high-tech companies. The South Korean company most comparable to BTS’s contribution was Korean Air, which earned revenues of $11.65 billion – 0.7 percent of GDP - in 2018. In the end, BTS’s $4.65 billion is only a minor contribution to South Korean GDP at 0.3 percent.Infographic: How Much Money Does BTS Make for South Korea?Now I think comparing a music group to a major airline isn’t fair but that article above just means that you have to be careful with you stats. I certainly wouldn’t personally mind being responsible for almost $5 billion Canadian GDP while just making $8M for myself. That’s a huge donation to society for one band.Here are some more stats from Medium:The “BTS Effect” on South Korea’s Economy, Industry and CultureIncrease of South Korea’s Consumer Good ExportsOn Dec, 2018, HRI also revealed that BTS is responsible for contributing $1.1 billion (1.7%) to the total Korean consumer goods export which was $65.2 billion in 2017. 1.7% is a big percentage being contributed by just one Korean artist alone. Another reason why this is huge is because according to the International Trade Center’s data and World’s Top Exports report, export goods such as cosmetics, food, clothing (where BTS had a compelling impact) are considered important exports of South Korea.According to the latest report, BTS has an effect on the following consumer goods: Clothing = $2.026 billion, Cosmetics = $2.8 billion, and food = $3.96 billion.In the car industry, BTS are currently the global ambassadors of Hyundai Motor’s SUV “Palisade”. According to SM2 Networks, Hyundai Motor received 600 billion won ($504 million) in promotional results from the collaboration with the group, proving the power of the “BTS Effect”.The Growth of Korean Hallyu WaveAccording to a government-affiliated Korea Foundation, it was reported that BTS lead a 22% increase of Korean Hallyu fans worldwide in 2018 (Korean Hallyu means the increase in popularity of Korean music, films, TV shows and language).It’s natural that through BTS, who is the biggest boy band in the world, people are taking interest in Korean culture such as Korean shows, dramas, food and the Korean language.It should also be mentioned that while BTS currently brings South Korea the most, the KPop industry and several bands as a whole bring in a huge amount of SK GDP.Here is a 2019 list of the top ten income earning Kpop bands. These Are The Richest K-Pop Groups Right Now - E! OnlineIn fact, according to most sources Kpop is a $$5 Billion a year industryBTS tops Billboard 100 list: How K-pop helped Korea improve its economyHere is a list of statistics to show K-pops comparative value from Statistica and other sources:Topic: Music industry in South KoreaAs a result, the South Korean music market took sixth place in the world music market, preceded by the United States, Japan, Germany, UK and France.n recent years, the size of the South Korean music industry has steadily expanded as the number of audiences around the world has continued to increase over the past decade. The main destinations of exports are Japan, China and Southeast Asian countries.More than two thirds of music consumers in South Korea use music streaming services. The leading digital music provider is Melon, a South Korean music provider operated by Kakao.Here's How Much The 4 Biggest K-Pop Companies Earned In 2018 - E! OnlineAccording to the report, leading the pack in terms of revenue was SM Entertainment, who brought in around US$518 million, followed by YG Entertainment who earned about US$243 million. In third place was Big Hit Entertainment, the parent company of mega boy band BTS and their newly launched rookie group TXT, who raked in around US$192 million, while JYP came in fourth with earnings of around US$107 million.Big Hit was undisputedly in pole position, according to Statista. With only two boy bands signed to their company, Big Hit earned around US$67 million in profit, while SM took home approximately US$44 million, JYP earned about US$25 million, and YG earned close to US$10 million.Each BTS members’ net worth ranges from $8 - 12 million each. The difference in income depends on solo album sales and writing/producing copyright income added for some members.Keep in mind that producers and artists don’t just MAKE money, they have a lot of expenses. BTS is the only group I have heard of in recent years that has grossed so much on a tour. Western bands such as the Rolling Stones who used to do 30 city tours sometimes just broke even.KPOP groups take years to develop. I have no references but I heard that it may have taken about 1 million dollars per member to develop, train, and house the top ten Korean band members. [only after a group debuts do they start paying back that development money.As mentioned in the video above, members of BTS also donate literally millions of dollars, of their own incomes, to charities including Unicef.THE COSTS of KPOPNot everything is about money and GDP though. Worth also has to be measured in social costs. There are other social, emotional, and societal costs that cannot be measured in income or wealth loss but which can be huge problems for the Kpop industry. This may not have to do so much with BTS itself, however, they haven’t specifically spoken about it and they have lost dear friends and colleagues to these losses. The financial damage that these issues translate into is hard to calculate but if often comes at the price of progressive culture, self-esteem, and sometimes suicides. These are are listed in this excellent article from the Capitalist website below:The Capitalist Control of K-pop: The Idol as a ProductA Tool of Foreign PolicyThe “soft power” of K-pop in foreign policy is proved by the performances of CL and EXO during the closing ceremony at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018, BTS’s speech at the UN and the fact that former US president Barack Obama noted in his speech at the Asia Leadership Conference in 2017 how many Americans were learning Korean to keep up with the K-pop group SHINee.Moon Jae-in, the current president of South Korea, knowingly makes use of K-pop to strengthen diplomatic ties with the US. Moon recently invited EXO to meet Donald Trump during his visit to South Korea.This naturally created uproar among many fans, as the band members’ reactions showed they didn’t attend the meeting of their own free choice. While many Western celebrities have refused to meet Trump on ethical and political grounds, Korean stars have no such choice, given their every move is controlled by their employer. As Korean society considers the president’s recognition to be a great honour, it would have been improper to decline the invitation.Manufactured and Controlled Identities (of Idols) [leading to heteronormativity, transphobia, and homophobia reinforcement]All K-pop stars must present the perfect façade of a supremely talented and gorgeous, single, heterosexual star, seemingly accessible to fans of the opposite sex. To maintain this illusion and prevent fans from becoming irrationally jealous, performers are often prohibited from dating, at least at the start of their careers. As recently as last year, Cube Entertainment dropped two of its highly successful artists, Hyuna and E’Dawn, because they had started a relationship despite a contractual ban on doing so.In addition, this image reinforces heteronormativity, which is already deeply rooted in the conservative and homophobic Korean society, as coming out automatically means certain disgrace and even the end of their career for LGBTQ+ stars. There have been tragic cases of LGBTQ+ celebrities losing their jobs and the support of their families as a result of public stigma, even causing them to take their own lives. Holland, who made his independent debut in 2018, and stands up against discrimination and suppression, is one of the few openly gay idols. He says that K-pop often fantasises about same-sex love, but at the same time it is ironically a sensitive subject and a taboo.This is a manifestation of a particular trait of capitalist conservatism, which commercially exploits homo-romantic “fan service” to satisfy the fantasies of heterosexual fans and employs queerbaiting without acknowledging and accepting gender and sexual minorities, who are forced to hide their identity in the K-pop industry.Restrictive Beauty Standards [leading to reinforcment of racism and body image illnesses]Due to South Korea’s restrictive and ethnically specific beauty standards, the country has the highest per capita ratio of plastic surgeries in the world. This is why plastic surgery is common among both female and male performers. The cult of beauty increases the already fierce competition in the jobs market, since appearance is considered important in hiring even for jobs where looks are of no consequence. For that reason, people pay a lot of attention to their looks, not so much out of vanity but because they want to be successful and socially accepted.The most noteworthy beauty standards are having an extremely light skin and slim figure, which does not come naturally for many Koreans. As in Europe, idealising light skin originates from the customs of the nobility in East Asia, where it symbolised the privilege of not working and thereby showed a person’s status in society. Leaving elitism aside, it undoubtedly also has connections to white Western imperialism and outright racism.Colourism (the preferred treatment of light-skinned people, and prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic group) is widespread in Korean society, which is why there are only a few darker-skinned idols. Even they are often bad-mouthed because of it or fetishised for appearing exotic. Most of the idols’ photos are edited beyond recognition by the media and, first and foremost, fans, so that stars who actually have a beautiful golden skin tone begin to resemble startlingly pale porcelain dolls (“whitewashing”).The idealisation of being thin is so extreme that even people of normal weight are criticised in society and the media, especially women, celebrities and even young teen K-pop artists.Artists are often forced to practically starve, as the industry trains them to excess until they faint on stage. ..Because of this, K-pop is one the major reinforcers of the unrealistic beauty standards rooted in Korean society, as it is especially harmful to the confidence and mental health of young people and normalises dangerous skin-bleaching creams and eating disorders.Conformist Gender NormsFemale performers are expected to look sexualised but innocent in a doll-like way, which can be explained by the industry’s Lolita complex, bordering on paedophilia, as well as the misogynistic idea of humble and “untainted” beauty.Nevertheless, the album and video concepts available to female idols have recently expanded to include more dynamic images compared to the doll vs sexual object binary. Despite this, the bodies of K-pop artists, especially female stars, are like national property to take pride in or criticise. Female artists are sexualised in an especially objectifying way typical of a capitalist patriarchal society.Cultural AppropriationAlthough K-pop groups increasingly include more non-Korean artists, their employers are often xenophobic and discriminatory, which is one of the reasons why three of the four Chinese members of EXO sued their company and left the group (they are now enjoying success back home).Especially in the past decade, K-pop has been more and more inspired by African-American R&B, hip hop and rap music and style. At the same time, the awareness of African-American culture is low, which frequently causes tactless and sometimes even directly racist incidents, because people don’t distinguish between deferential and neutral references and the symbols of a very painful history.These major and minor issues create dissonance with K-pop amongst the international fan base, who are culturally more knowledgeable, since—while the racist and xenophobic mocking of marginalised cultures in order to earn a profit by emulating them is increasingly criticised in the West—the K-pop industry mostly ignores criticism or refuses to understand it, not to mention self-reflection or apologising. Performers are frequently barred from having a say in choosing the styles intended for them, which makes it difficult to find the real culprit in this issue. This is why many black fans of K-pop are deeply disappointed and alienated by the genre, which imitates their culture without respecting them.Contractual SlaveryThe Korean Fair Trade Commission established a rule that contracts may only last up to seven years. In 2017, the fines that companies could legally demand for cancelling a contract were reduced and pressuring performers into extending agreements was made more difficult.Nevertheless, almost the entire earnings of new performers are often taken by the company to compensate for training and launch costs, so that artists may effectively work for nothing for years before they earn anything at all. Training performers to sing, rap, dance, act, speak foreign languages, perform and so on may take years. For example, one of today’s most popular artists, G-Dragon, trained for 11 years at YG before making his debut in the group Big Bang.Some of the groups are never launched, since only the super-talented make it and some less successful groups only perform for a couple of years. Thus, hopes of stardom may end with crippling debt, not to mention the fact that many youngsters sacrifice their education to chase a dream, which is why it’s hard for them to find another job later.Moreover, the restrictive slave contracts allow companies to control nearly every aspect of their performers’ lives. The trainees, who live in ascetic dormitories, are often prohibited from communicating even with their parents and friends. They may not go out if it’s not urgent and they’re worked to exhaustion up to 20 hours a day. This state of half-imprisonment cuts young teenagers off from normal development and may cause mental health issues, especially if they live in fear of their employer’s violence.Physical and Sexual ViolenceMentions a whole bunch of horrible situations perpetrated both on and by Kpop artists and others in the industry.Ignoring Mental Health ProblemsCompanies’ control over their performers’ working and private lives, exploitative overworking, occasional abuse, restrictions arising from fame and the pressure to appear perfect create a lot of stress and mental health issues like anxiety and depression for K-pop artists. Ignoring mental illness is prevalent not only in the K-pop industry, but in Korean society as a whole. South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the world, since few people seek psychiatric help.Problematic Fan CultureThere are thousands of fanatic fans (sasaeng in Korean, meaning “private life”) who have extensive networks that function as a totally unethical business in which people trade detailed information on stars’ private lives for large sums of money: addresses, phone numbers, private photos and videos, their locations and activities at any given moment, and more.Koreaboo Fetishismome even want to become Korean. In Korean society, being Korean primarily means being born in the nation, not obtaining citizenship. Identity is intrinsically connected to ethnicity, which is why fans who are mockingly called koreaboo sometimes also imitate Korean features. Even though this is not malevolent behaviour, such a parody is actually offensive to and harmful for Koreans since it is fetishist, cements stereotypes and generalises the entire Korean culture on the basis of the industrial K-pop genre.So when you consider a “cost benefit analysis” of the huge social costs to Korean society you could get into the nitty gritty by doing a type of “lost time injury” cost analysis that is done in Occupational Health and Safety/ Employee Wellness programs. One would have to do a lot of research to find out the dollar value of these social impact losses, however, they DO translate into real revenue losses as well as societal if you value the $$ that much. Here are some questions to get a Master’s student in Musicology started:How much of the Korean GDP was spent in mental health care since the rise of K-pop?How much in potential earnings is each K-pop idol’s suicide worth to society?How much does it cost South Korean society to incarcerate perpetrators of sexual violence in the industy?What is the collective amount of financial damage in the termination of each Idol’s contract due to their failure to “follow the contract rules”?How much of a loss of potential sales and income are cultural appropriation and SOGI-phobic attitudes in the industry by turning off progressive potential fans?How much are the ultimate health care costs of substance abuse used to self-treat emotional health problems among idols and fans?What is the cost to the industry of Idol’s physical injuries over their life span?For every trainee that does not debut or has a truncated career, what is the dollar cost in potential earnings for each trainee that did not pursue an education that could have gained them a higher standard of income?How much loss of potential income to Korean fans through illegal merch/ticket sales and fandom stalking endeavours? (the Kpop black market)?How much personal income have koreaboo fetishist fans wasted on trying to change their appearance and culture to become a Korean fantasy idol?The article ends with this awesome statement:Creating art to serve the capitalist appetite for profit never justifies human sacrifice, and no artist, no matter how commercially minded, deserves to suffer.Finally, I would like to ask the largest money makers for Korean Pop music, the band members of BTS who have done so much for their society and their fans. Why isn’t BTS asking these questions, publicaly, of their industry. Why aren’t they writing songs and making more comments about these societal Kpop industry costs than they currently are?These lads have the power and the financial clout now. I see some of the critique coming out in small statements and some of their movie clips. But as they continue, I feel they have a responsibility to do more. (As does Big Hit). I think, to be truly popular and credible in the West as fans age and mature about these issues in their own working lives: BTS has to start doing THAT kind of empowerment work, by asking these hard questions: now that they are privileged enough to do so.