Free Roadmap

Become a Data Scientist from scratch

Turn raw numbers into decisions. Go from zero to job-ready analytics in about five months — built around real datasets and portfolio-worthy reports.

20
weeks · ~10–12 hrs/wk
5
portfolio projects
4
phases · data to insight
₹0
free resources only
The one rule

Analyze → visualize → explain

Anyone can run a chart. The skill is explaining what it means. Every project below ends in a clear insight you could present to a manager.

Where This Leads

Career outcomes

Roles you can apply for

Data AnalystData ScientistBusiness AnalystBI Analyst

Who it suits: You enjoy finding patterns in messy data and explaining what they mean to non-technical people.

₹4–12 LPA
typical starting range in India

Indicative 2026 starting ranges in India — actual pay varies widely by city, company, and skill. Salary is an outcome of skill and a strong project portfolio, not a guarantee.

The Roadmap

Four phases, step by step

0

Foundations

Weeks 1–4

The core toolkit: Python, stats, and SQL.

Week 1

Python basics

Variables, loops, functions, working with files.

Week 2

pandas & NumPy

DataFrames, cleaning, filtering, groupby.

Week 3

Statistics

Descriptive stats, distributions, probability.

Week 4

SQL

SELECT, joins, aggregation, grouping.

1

Analysis & Visualization

Weeks 5–9

Explore data and tell its story with charts.

Week 5

EDA

Explore, clean, and handle missing data.

Week 6

Visualization

matplotlib and seaborn for clear charts.

Week 7

Dashboards

Plotly, Power BI, or Tableau basics.

Week 8

Data storytelling

Turning findings into a clear narrative.

Week 9 · Project ▶

Analytics report

A full EDA writeup on a real dataset.

2

Statistics & ML

Weeks 10–15

Test hypotheses and build predictive models.

Week 10

Hypothesis testing

A/B tests, p-values, significance.

Week 11

Regression

Linear and logistic regression.

Week 12

Classification

Decision trees and random forests.

Week 13

Clustering

K-means and customer segmentation.

Week 14

Model evaluation

Metrics, cross-validation, avoiding overfit.

Week 15 · Project ▶

Predictive model

Predict churn or price and evaluate it.

3

Tools & Delivery

Weeks 16–20

The workflow that makes you hireable.

Week 16

Advanced SQL

Window functions, CTEs, subqueries.

Week 17

Spreadsheet mastery

Pivot tables, lookups, dashboards in Excel/Sheets.

Week 18

Git & notebooks

Reproducible, version-controlled analysis.

Week 19

Communicating results

Reports and decks for non-technical people.

Week 20 · Capstone ▶

End-to-end analysis

A full case study from raw data to recommendation.

Build a Portfolio

Five projects that get you hired

Projects beat certificates. Do them in order — each builds on the last. Put every one on GitHub with a clear README.

Start here

1 · Exploratory Data Analysis

Pick any Kaggle dataset. Clean it, chart it, find 3 insights.

Dashboards

2 · Interactive Dashboard

Sales, sports, or COVID data in Power BI / Tableau / Plotly.

Statistics

3 · A/B Test Analysis

Analyze an experiment and state whether the result is significant.

In demand

4 · Predictive Model

Predict churn or house prices; explain accuracy and drivers.

Capstone

5 · End-to-End Case Study

Raw data → analysis → model → written recommendation.

Learn It

Learning resources

Click any resource to open it — free and well-known first, then build something with it.

Universal (any field): roadmap.sh · freeCodeCamp · GitHub Student Pack · Coursera

Do This Today

Your first step (takes 30 minutes)

1. Open Google Colab

colab.research.google.com — free, browser-based, every library ready.

2. Get a Kaggle account

kaggle.com — thousands of free datasets and community notebooks.

3. Do one EDA

Load a dataset, run .describe(), plot 3 charts. You've started.

Not sure which path is right for you?

PathAhead helps you choose the career that fits you — with guidance built for Intermediate students. Explore every roadmap in one place.

This roadmap is a free educational resource. Timelines are a guide — everyone learns at a different pace. Referenced resources (Kaggle Learn, freeCodeCamp, Khan Academy, Mode SQL Tutorial, StatQuest (YouTube)) are for learning only and are not affiliated with PathAhead.