Smart Analytics, Machine Learning, and AI on GCP (Coursera)

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Overview

This is a new kind of post I have been planning to start writing for a while: giving a short review of courses I take online. The first one is the Smart Analytics, Machine Learning, and AI on GCP , which I did using the Financial Aid Coursera provides. If you speak Portuguese and would like to know more about how to get this and also find peers to do courses together and motivate each other, consider joining this Facebook group! 

The course is pretty short, as it consists of only two weeks. 

Pros

I think the major pro here are the practical examples of how to use Machine Learning algorithms directly in BigQuery using plain SQL. This adds a lot of value for Data Engineers who have a good SQL knowledge. It is possible to train a model and even make predictions. This is one feature of BigQuery I would never dream existed.

Cons

Well, some of the examples are a bit outdated, and many use existing one table databases, which does not teach one of the most important parts of handling databases: reading and understanding schemas.

Besides, perhaps the course couldhave a little more content. If I paid for it, I would be disappointed for the small amount of content.

Conclusion

This is a good opportunity to get to know BigQuery and what it is capable of. It requires a previous knowledge of SQL, so you should study it first if you do not know the basics yet.

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