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Learning to Learn

(kevin.the.li)
101 points jklm | 2 comments | 22 Oct 24 00:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.446s | source
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dartharva ◴[22 Oct 24 02:38 UTC] No.41910678[source]▶
This is something I have personally struggled with, so I wish the author elaborated more. If you are a novice, how do you quickly identify what the foundational knowledge is? How do you know what makes you an expert and not an "expert beginner" as the author says to the extent that you can build a personal curriculum about it?
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eacapeisfutuile ◴[22 Oct 24 04:53 UTC] No.41911304[source]▶
You don’t. That is what you will build as you learn a topic, it makes no sense to “identify” it first.

Do the thing you want to learn.

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1. dartharva ◴[22 Oct 24 05:50 UTC] No.41911543[source]▶
I learnt data analytics and SQL for MIS/BI purposes on-the-job as a sales manager. Got pretty good at it too, built several dashboards and long-standing capabilities for my team.

Now, if I say I want to get into this scene for good, I am immediately daunted with a mountain of diverging learning paths to take. Should I take to Python and its massive library ecosystem, or should focus on database fundamentals? In every choice taken there are seemingly infinite branches, and it is rather hard to focus if you aren't even sure you're on the right track.

Last time I sat in an analytics/consulting interview they grilled me on highly specific technical questions on data pipelines and warehousing and testing and other topics that I've never had to worry about before at work. In another assessment, I was grilled on some AWS/Redshift-specific things. In yet another I was expected to know deep learning. It is all too hard for someone not originally with an engineering (or adjacent) background.

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2. eacapeisfutuile ◴[22 Oct 24 05:57 UTC] No.41911573[source]▶
Yeah learning to actually use in practice is different from preparing for interviews. I would say continue where you already built some knowledge and branch out when you realize you have to, and then work on learning one branch as you go.

For interviews you may need to lookup what type of questions to expect and memorize details on that, unfortunately. That is not useful in practice but can be necessary for interviews.