S03E06 - Reimagining data analytics training - with James Cotton

S03E06 - Reimagining data analytics training - with James Cotton

Author: Half Stack Data Science December 6, 2023 Duration: 54:47

First of all, David's book Solve Any Data Analysis Problem is available in Manning's Early Access Program!

You can read more about it here: https://www.manning.com/books/solve-any-data-analysis-problem (if it's not on offer when you're there, you can get 35% off with the code au35asb).

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In this episode, we talked to James Cotton, co-founder of iO-Sphere.

Canadian originally, James has been working in the UK for the last 10 years, always in analytics, pricing, and data science. After a short stint in insurance he was at hotels.com for 3.5 years always working in customer analytics and marketing analytics. He then went to worldremit – a large uk fintech company that’s sort of like a digital western union. There he built out a team, growing it significantly. Over the past 7 or 8 years he’s hired dozens and dozens of data professionals of all levels – clearly seeing the gap between existing data training programmes and courses and the real need in industry.

James is one of the founders of iO-Sphere, which was created in order to close that gap with actually useful, practical, training. They also fund all the training of everyone that comes onto the programme – helping to lower financial barriers to accessing high quality training and these careers.

We talked to James about the skill gap between training and the real world, why no one has thought to close that gap in the way io-Sphere have, whether standardisation makes sense for the analytics industry, and of course where AI fits into all this.

Find out more about iO-Sphere here: https://io-sphere.io

You can find James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jccotton


Hosted by David Asboth and Shaun McGirr, Half Stack Data Science pulls back the curtain on what it really means to build and deploy data science within large organizations. This isn't a theoretical discussion of algorithms, but a grounded conversation about the messy, human, and often political challenges that define the field in an enterprise setting. Each episode delves into the practical hurdles-from managing stakeholder expectations and navigating legacy systems to communicating value and dealing with imperfect data. You'll hear candid reflections on projects that succeeded and those that didn't, offering a rare, unvarnished look at the day-to-day work beyond the hype. The Half Stack Data Science podcast is for practitioners who want to move beyond textbook examples and for leaders seeking to understand how to foster effective data teams. It’s a dialogue focused on the tools, processes, and soft skills necessary to deliver impact, making it an essential listen for anyone navigating the complex intersection of data, technology, and business reality. Tune in for honest talk about building things that actually work.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 33

Half Stack Data Science
Podcast Episodes
002: The Insight Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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In the second episode of the Half Stack Data Science podcast, David and Shaun talk about the strategy companies can employ to become more data-driven, using what they call "the Insight Journey".
001: What is Half Stack Data Science? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:37
In the first episode of the Half Stack Data Science, David Asboth and Dr. Shaun McGirr answer the question "what is Half Stack Data Science"?