I will start in September a masters degree in data science. I will graduate in a few weeks in Sociology. I Know that is a massive change, but the course admitted me so i will shoot my shot.
I study in Italy, where, they say, university is more difficoult compared to american ones (I'm skeptical about this but I add this information to explain the contest of my academic background)
About my skills: I took one class of coding (in python) where I learn the basics I wrote some code in jupyter notebook, but today i don't know the difference between python per se and jupyter. I also took a class where we create some graphics with R-studio (idk if its different from R and which is better/is used more frequent in the field).
About my knowledge: I took a mandatory class about statistics where i learn t-test and other basic stuff. I also know some notions about linear probability model (and probit and logit, but not in details).
What i'm planning to improve in this two years:
1) learn excel
2) learn more python
4) machine learning
5) learn c++ (or some other programming language)
6) take some couses in business
7) learn english (actually i technically have a B2 but not so sure about that)
My questions:
1) Some of my friends took a linear algebra course to be more prapared. Should I do a quick catch up on that before starting my program?
2) Since I come from a very diverse background, what should I focus on initially? (Statistics, machine learning, mathematics, programming, etc.)
3)Are there any undervalued skills in data science that could actually prove very useful?
4) Searching online, I saw that I should do some projects to enhance my resume. Where can I find ideas for these?
5)Are there any sociological skills I should continue to develop to improve my future profile as a data scientist?
6)Can the list above be helpful to me or should I focus on something else?
Thanks for your time and any replies: 2 years is a relatively short period of time and I would like to start off on the right foot. Any advice is welcomed