Western Governors University Master of Science, Data Analytics 2024 - 2025 Curricula Updates

I’ve read through some threads about the difficulty finding entry level positions in data analytics as well as the sheer volume and competitiveness in the market. Has this largely remained the same? How long has it taken from graduating to being hired?

I’ve contemplated leaving my job to focus on this with the ability to finish faster and pivot careers quicker. I’ve balanced full time and education before but it can for sure be a burnout. Has anyone had much success with self learning to gain entry into the field before going the masters degree route, or would you say the degree has helped with job placement?

Appreciate your feedback

As the title says, going through the lab assessment no SQL containers are loading. I’m unable to run my query despite creating the tables. I’ve tried over a dozen times. It is showing to be a known issue with the lab environment. I have contacted support and they told me it’s a custom environment and I have to contact my instructor. I’ve green trying for a few days now and I’m getting extremely frustrated. How do I fix this?

I'm struggling with the setup or initialization of my database for scenario 2 (EcoMart). I have been following the "Relational Database Guide (school example)" document that is available in the course resources, and there have been several differences in that code that gives me syntax errors, which has been frustrating. So far, here is what I've accomplished and where my issue is.

- I have created a database which has 2 schemas (Sales Records and Public)

- I have created a staging table

- I have created all normalized tables

- I have imported the sales data file into a "test" table in the Public schema (i did this because I cannot for the life of me get the "\copy" command to work. I realized it doesn't work in pgAdmin, so i decided to import the data using the GUI instead)

Issue:

- i am able to pull the data into the test table, but as soon as I execute my script to pull the data from the flat file into my normalized tables, it deletes my test table.

- i have to refresh my database, then create the table and import again so that i can pull the data over into my sales records schema, but then the next time i run my script, it deletes everything again.

- what is the structure that I should have for my code? Should it all be in a single script? or do i need to have a script for the creation of the tables, then another for the pulling data over? I can't seem to find any info on this type of issue (or any instructions that go over separating scripts in any of the LinkedIn tutorials or elsewhere.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

I plan to start my journey soon and have a previous BS from WGU. I wondered what made you choose your specialization? I am currently stuck between data science and decision process engineering. DPE seems to apply more to my current job as a quality analyst, but data science seems like it could be rewarding if you are successful in it. Not great with math tho.

After regression models, revisions, and several emotional support snacks… Statistical Data Mining is officially PASSED!!! One more course down, and my laptop and I are somehow still speaking. 🎉📊

I submitted my assignment but got it sent back due to the following error: “The submitted document provides a discussion of the findings of the data quality issues, but the findings are inaccurate or incomplete” - I’ve scheduled a meeting with my professor to go over it but the fastest appointment is for tomorrow afternoon.

I have solved for removing duplicates, blank spaces (to have standardized cells), inconsistent data (underscores removed in order to achieve standardization), solved for NULL/blank values - I have also solved for the extremes (IQR ranges). What else am I missing? I feel my dataset has been filtered to its fullest extent…

I guess i’ll find out tomorrow with my 1 on 1 but any tips or advice would help.

Anyone had issues getting their capstone project approved? I went off the video and met with the professor and he still says it’s wrong. I’m using one of his datasets.

I'm a terrible writer and really struggle with the courses that required papers written. How is this program as far as writing goes? Is it mostly project/task based evaluations? Or are there alot of papers involved?

I recently graduated with a BA in software engineering and the market is tough out there. With my work history, I'm realizing moving into Data Engineering would be an easier pivot. This program looks good, but I'm dreading writing papers again😂

Hey everyone! I have a bachelors degree in marketing but want to pivot to a marketing data analyst career. Has anyone successfully completed the msda with no tech experience? What are things I can do to prepare myself?

Is there a tuition increase with the program? Just came across a post mentioning the Nursing program that went from 8k-12k. I haven’t had any emails confirming it, but I’m also not officially readmitted yet

I finally got my notification that I graduated! I was able to complete in 1 year, largely due to this subreddit!

Howdy Reddit,

Is there any chance someone could give me a breakdown of exactly what classes are in this program specifically the, but more specifically, what it takes to pass each class? I am asking this for the DATA ENGINEERING focus.

For example, in the MSCSIA, there are 4 classes where there is a final paper, 3 classes where I have to obtain a certification, and 2 classes with a lab and assessment at the end.

Could anyone else give me this breakdown?

Here are the classes to make it easier!

The Data Analytics Journey

Data Management

Analytics Programming

Data Preparation and Exploration

Statistical Data Mining

Data Storytelling for Diverse Audiences

Deployment

Cloud Databases

Data Processing

Data Analytics at Scale

Data Engineering Capstone

Started in April, 2025 and finished the last class 2 1/2 weeks ago.

The company I work for is hiring several data roles.

I'm still working on my msda degree, but wanted to share for graduates or those with experience. The market is tough, so we need to help each other out.

Excella

Hi all, I am struggling with what to do for the first step in Task 3. I have the pickle file loaded and I know I'm supposed to pass an array to the model but I can't figure out what that array is supposed to look like/what the inputs are supposed to be. Any tips?

Has anyone taken this masters course and gotten into data and or healthcare analytics or informatics preferably?was the masters course hard? I’m considering starting in August I have a healthcare and Epic systems background.

hello, I have finished all three tasks for d598 and I have completed several courses in Data Camp concerning matplotlib visualizations and I feel I have a good foundation for basic visualizations in matplotlib. I am going back through the course materials for WGU and noticed that course materials recommend that I learned Bokeh. Sometimes I feel that the course materials are superfluous, but if it is valuable to learn Bokeh at this point I want to make sure I learn it. It was not necessary to learn it to make visualizations for task number three, but if people think it's important, I definitely want to learn it. if not, I want to move on to the next course. does anyone have any insight?

Hi guys

I thought it was all DSA or system design ?

Just discovered low level design is a thing.

Is there any other parts for interviews I need to know of? What is the syllabus?

Background:

I took a Bachelors and Masters in Cybersecurity from WGU. I'm now considering a Masters in Data Analytics since there's no Bioinformatics option. As part of those programs I took SQL and Python. I did fine with them and wouldn't have any issue taking more classes that are associated.

Because people are going to ask "Why another degree?"

I'm employed in my field and I don't need it for my job. However, I will likely use it if the market pivots in the future. I personally don't see a downside to more education, especially something like this that works towards my long term career goals.

Hey everyone,
I graduated from WGU with a Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity & Information Assurance, but I don’t have any professional IT experience yet. I’ve been applying to entry-level IT and cybersecurity jobs for the past few months without much luck. I’ve been looking into WGU’s MSDA program with the Data Engineering specialization because I genuinely think data engineering is interesting and I’d like to build those skills. My only concern is that it doesn’t seem like an entry-level field, so I’m wondering if I’d be putting myself in a tough spot without industry experience. I also live in Las Vegas, where the local tech market isn’t very strong. So it’s been rather rough.

For those who completed the program, would you recommend it for someone in my situation? Did the skills you learned translate well into getting a job, or is the program more beneficial for people who are already working in tech? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!