Meet Bojan Karaica – a student from the Data Science Bootcamp at Brainster, and Student of the Month for April 2021.
“Bojan is very proactive, has the right mindset and asks the right questions – he has contributed to improving the overall learning experience of the whole class!“- said Blagoj Kostovski, a Data Science Bootcamp instructor at Brainster.
✨ Meet Bojan!
Brainster: Tell us a bit about yourself. What were you doing before you joined Brainster?
Bojan: After graduating in Environmental Geology at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, I worked in several different positions within the private, non-government and government sector, ranging from field geologist/biologist, calibration technician to GIS specialist. Mostly, my focus was on using GIS applications, collecting and preparing data for geospatial databases, creating geodatabases, geospatial analyses and visualizations through maps.
Presently my interest lies in satellite imagery and its analysis.
Brainster: What is your typical day at Brainster’s Data Science Bootcamp?
Bojan: I usually prepare for the next lesson by going through the previous material (videos and presentation) and the assignments we were given for homework. If I have the time I read the topics (prep material, books/online) which I am not that familiar with.
I try to do the homework after the lesson when the topic is still fresh in my head. Afterwards, it’s only repetition till the next session.
Brainster: Since the Bootcamp is remote, how do you collaborate with your colleagues and instructors? What kind of support do you get from the instructors?
Bojan: I mostly use Slack for fast communication with my fellow students and the instructor. When there is a question or a comment which I need to be addressed or seen, this is the most convenient way to communicate.
Support is given in different ways from additional reading and direct answers/comments on our code/solution to the links on relevant websites which contain the possible solutions. One major support is the answers/comments, and sometimes live chat conversations via Slack, with other students. This enables us to see different approaches or the same ones but created independently.
Brainster: From the first class of Data Science Bootcamp, I remember…
Bojan: Mostly I was thinking: This is the start of my journey. At the end of the class: Wow, this pretty much covers 80% of SQL that I know. I am in the right Bootcamp 🙂
Brainster: Did you have any coding experience before applying to the Bootcamp?
Bojan: Yes, I did have some. I used SQL and Python on my job. SQL mostly for querying the PostgreSQL database and Python for manipulating geospatial data. I had finished some SQL and Python courses on some of the most famous online learning platforms during the past 3-4 years.
Brainster: Since you started learning, what has been the most challenging thing so far?
Bojan: The most challenging thing was to quickly remember which information is in which table and what is the best way to solve the task given during the lesson. This is the best way to learn because it pushes you to concentrate and really understand how SQL works.
The most challenging part was SQL procedures which are not conceptually difficult, but to solve a given task you have to use/and remember all the previous concepts of SQL.
Brainster: What is your favourite area in which you want specialize in data science?
Bojan: I would like to specialize in data modelling and creating/using models on satellite imagery classification tasks. This is my main focus but I would also like to build things so I will venture into creating online applications for data visualization and data classification.
I enjoy coding and building things so knowing how to create a functional database is the key to achieve my goal.
Brainster: Any last bits of advice that you would give to potential students who want to break into Data Science in 2021?
Bojan: I would advise them to get started as soon as possible if they are interested in Data Science. The key is to get started and after that point, it is only a matter of time when it will all come together. Never stop learning and never stop discovering the world. It is beautiful, trust me.
Join the next Fall Batch and start learning this month through the free Prep Programme. Master Data Science by working on real-life projects.
