Your Personal

Data Science Mentor

Are you trying to break into data science?

Here's the thing - there really is only one thing that a company looking to hire a data scientist cares about: your portfolio.

Hiring managers want to see that you can independently develop machine learning projects from scratch. No number of online certificates can replace that. On your own and without any experience, this can be a daunting challenge. I'm here to help. I've worked with hundreds of students to build machine learning projects from the ground up. Together, we will develop a plan, and ensure you hit all the essential points (and avoid any red-flag weaknesses) to impress hiring managers.

Since 2017, I've worked for online bootcamps that charge >$1800/month for students to meet with me weekly and have access to a set online curriculum. By working privately, I can offer the same weekly meetings coupled with a personalized curriculum for <20% of that rate.

Don't feel ready yet to start tackling an ML project?

I can also help guide you in learning the elements of the data science skill-set such as:

Python and the essential data science libraries: Pandas, Numpy, Sklearn, Matplotlib
The essential statistics data scientists use to test their ideas
How to craft a compelling narrative with your data and ensure non-technical colleagues/executives grasp the key takeaways
How to build, train, and evaluate Machine Learning models for regression, classification, and recommendation

Already a data scientist looking for an outside perspective on a current project? Shoot me an email! I offer an hourly consulting rate.

MENTORING

BENEFITS

Learn the skills necessary to land a job

in the competitive field of data science

Personalized guidance and support

Accelerate learning with tailored curriculum and projects

Accountability and motivation

Stay focused on goals with guidance and support to make consistent progress.

Mastery of data science techniques

Acquire expertise in core data science practices: data wrangling, statistical inference, machine learning

Expert help on your job portfolio

Receive valuable guidance in showcasing skills and projects effectively.

About Me

Benjamin Bell

Founder @ Breakthrough Data Science

I know what it's like to try to break into Data Science

In September 2014, I drove to San Francisco from my home in New Haven, CT to attend a data science bootcamp with dreams of landing a job in the field. Two data science positions later I began teaching data science on the side, and in the past 7 years I've had the pleasure of working with hundreds of students, taking many of them from little or no data science knowledge or coding ability all the way through developing machine learning projects for their portfolios. I find the work to be incredibly rewarding and am excited to share my knowledge with eager learners.

As a data scientist, I specialize in building data products that generate organizational value, as well as using statistics and machine learning techniques to derive insights from data that can be used to inform product and business decisions. I have experience dealing with a wide variety of business problems, and have worked both in the startup world and the Fortune 500. Some of my areas of interest include: Natural Language Processing, Topic Modeling, Recommendation, Data Visualization, Data Communication

Testimonials

Ben is a great mentor with a breadth of knowledge about data science techniques and methods. He helped my during my Data Science bootcamp and gave me guidance when I was unsure about what path I should pursue in my projects and career transition. Ben also gave me a lot of pointers on which data science subjects were high impact and which topics I absolutely needed to know. I'd highly recommend him to anyone looking for help with Data Science topics.

Christopher Gardner

Now: Data Engineer @ Meta

Was: Software Engineer, Spectrum Photonics

Ben is an incredible mentor to work with. He genuinely wants to see his students grow and succeed, and goes above and beyond to make sure he can help you understand whatever you're working on-- whether it be creating extra time to meet, or providing additional learning materials. Working with Ben was a fun, positive, collaborative learning experience that has helped me develop a strong Data Science foundation. He comes prepared every meeting, offers great insight, and has plethora of ideas to help you create the products or models you envision.

Mark Essery

Now: Data Science/Business Intelligence Analyst @ Traffic Tech

Was: Professional Hockey Player, Elmira Enforcers

Ben Bell is a skilled data scientist and a thoughtful mentor. He draws from his comprehensive experience in data science to advise and prompt his mentees to learn while exploring new topics. For me, Ben’s guidance was a key element of my success and enjoyment in learning a new field. He addressed my questions thoroughly during our calls and encouraged me to try different approaches to solve stubborn problems. I found that I looked forward to my mentor calls with Ben, and I often ended calls smiling. When I did struggle with technical or analytical problems Ben was simultaneously empathetic and firm in his encouragement to figure out the solution. I highly recommend Ben Bell as a Data Science mentor

Heather Passmore, PhD

Now: Senior Data Scientist @ GreatSchools.org

Was: Adjunct Professor, Murray University

Ben was my mentor for 8 months while I completed a data science program which covered topics such as python, machine learning, and statistics. He is a fantastic mentor and was invested in my success. Not only did he offer guidance, but he consistently pushed me to go beyond and grow to my fullest. His knowledge around complex data science topics and skills as a teacher are vast and I’d highly recommend Ben to anyone.

Sam Beardsley

Now: Data Engineer @ Upptic

Was: Senior Media Planner, Booyah Advertising

I was fortunate to have Ben as my mentor during the data science bootcamp. Ben's biggest strength as a mentor is his exceptional motivational skills that makes one push beyond boundaries towards superior outcomes. At the same time, he is good at providing both high level perspective as well as microscopic inputs. I wish him the very best!

Amit Kukreja, MBA

Now: Data Science Educator @ Various

Was: Associate Business Unit Leader, Multy Home

Ben mentored me in my efforts to learn the fundamentals of data science over the course of six months (Sep 2020 - March 2021). Under Ben's guidance, I completed two original data science/machine learning projects. His supportive input and constructive criticism significantly contributed to the quality of these projects, and his thoughtful suggestions caused me to expand the scope of my skills. I was able to learn and digest an enormous amount of material under Ben's mentorship and would strongly recommend him as a mentor if you are interested in learning lasting applicable skills in data science and machine learning..