Welcome! Congratulations on your acceptance to GreyAtom's FSDSE Program. We hope you are really excited!! We want you to get ready for the Program and have a smooth experience. This means there is some work to be done before the start of the program.

This guide covers the following steps that you need to go through to prepare for the class.

• Setting up your operating system
• Setting up the version control system
• Pre-Reading Material
• Community and Meetups

The material in the Pre-Reading Material section is optional, but highly recommended.

• Minimum system requirements for the laptop to be used during the course - 64 bit system, minimum 4 GB RAM, i3 and above processor

• You can use either the Mac OS or Ubuntu 16.04 while working through the program.

• A note on hardware: your machine should have the amd64 architecture. If you are not using an ancient machine, you should be fine.

We'll be using Homebrew to install and manage packages.

• Install xcode using this guide
• Install brew using this guide

You are already using Ubuntu? Just make sure you are using 16.04 LTS and you are all set.

You can follow any one of the following strategies:

1. Erase everything and install Ubuntu 16.04 to replace Windows
   • http://www.linuxtechi.com/install-ubuntu-16-04-with-screenshots/
   • https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-ubuntu-desktop
   • https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/installation-guide/amd64/index.html
2. Setup Dual-Boot (you'll have both Windows and Ubuntu 16.04 in your machine)
   • Make sure you have someone experienced to assist you
   • https://www.lifewire.com/ultimate-windows-8-1-ubuntu-dual-boot-guide-2200654
   • http://www.tecmint.com/install-ubuntu-16-04-alongside-with-windows-10-or-8-in-dual-boot/
   • https://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/installing-ubuntu-alongside-a-pre-installed-windows-with-uefi

Using VMWare to run Ubuntu 16.04 from inside of Windows is not recommended.

In case you are new to Ubuntu, here is a guide to get started.Installation related help available on Ubuntu Forums and StackOverflow

• Install Git and create a GitHub account.
• Hands on Introduction to using Git and GitHub, video series (27 minutes)

Two companion blog posts:

• Simple guide to forks
• Git quick reference for beginners.

• Analyzing the Analyzers:An Introspective Survey of Data Scientists and Their Work

• A Visual Introduction to Basic Statistics and Probability

• Read the first two chapters of The Data Science Handbook

• Python Code Academy Course An interactive, in-browser tutorial from Codecademy with 20+ modules and 200+ exercises. It is geared toward novice programmers. We want you to complete first 25 assignments here.

• Khan Academy: Probability & Statistics

We will share many more, when in the course, but here are some very good starting points

• KDnuggets
• The Guardian
• yhat

Keep up with the latest in Data Science. Join & Attend the DataGiri Meetup

www.meetup.com/datagiri

• Learning is Organic – It grows. Just like a child. You can’t accelerate the years. Accept it.
• Principal of Necessary Chaos – Chaos is part of learning. Get comfortable with it. Your objective over lifetime is to minimize the chaos.
• Mathematics is the Only Language – You cannot escape Mathematics. Not liking Mathematics is akin to not liking Oxygen.
• To really master any subject, know the philosophy behind it.
• Inflection Point is “Point of Sustainable Practice” – This is the hardest part. Once you reach here. You can drive wherever. Till such time, struggle is inevitable.
• Be hands-on, practice daily – Common sense, isn’t it?