How to Build a Data Portfolio For Free

Hello everyone,

Did you know you can build a data portfolio completely for free?

Even if you’ve never worked in data before, you can create and display a repository of your projects at no cost at all. 

Read on to find out how…

What is a data portfolio and why do I need one?

Your CV tells a recruiter that you can work in a professional setting and have work experience to bring to the table. Your qualifications or certifications exhibit your commitment to self-improvement and learning more about the field. But how does a potential employer know that you can actually do what you claim to?

That’s where a portfolio comes in.

Your portfolio is your chance to showcase your best work and prove that you can do what you claim to.

If you’ve already worked in the field for a while, then you should choose 2-3 of your best projects to hold in your portfolio. You should then look at the skills that are required for the next level of role you are aspiring to and develop a further 1-2 projects that go beyond your current work experience and show that you are able to do more. 

If you are looking for your first job in data, then building a strong portfolio will set you apart from other entry-level candidates. You can develop your own range of projects and prove that despite being a beginner you can analyse data properly and create some incredible visualisations.

But where to find the data for these projects? You can do it entirely for free - as you’ll find out in the next section.

Where to find datasets for free

You do not need to buy a dataset to create a portfolio.

Instead, you can source data for free in the following ways:

Build your own dataset 

This is time-consuming but a great chance to showcase your passions. Whether it’s to do with cars, running or types of plants, the world really is your oyster here. All you need to do is collect, clean and analyse your own data. You can collect it independently or involve friends and family to expand your dataset. It’s a good idea to have a go at this as it allows you to take control of all aspects of the data analysis process from beginning to end.

Datahub

Here you can find data covering a variety of topics, with a particular focus on timely economic and business data.

Kaggle

One of the most popular sources of free, publicly available data, Kaggle has datasets on everything from arts to science.

Data World 

Data World is home to over 130,000 datasets, with tags for efficient filtering and navigation.

Data Gov

A public dataset from the US government. This allows you to analyse real-world data covering topics such as crime, education and healthcare.

NASA Data

A source of open-data from NASA - a lot of fun for anyone interested in science or astronomy!

Mendeley

If you’re looking for data with a more academic slant, check out Mendeley. It’s the home of research-centric datasets.

And of course, I have to mention DataDNA - this is a group I run where we hold monthly data analysis challenges complete with datasets, analysis direction and collaborative tips. Being able to say you’ve won a challenge will be a big boost to your portfolio!

How to host your portfolio

Once you have your projects in place, you don’t need to build an expensive website to display them.

There are many options to show off your work at no cost, such as:

Building a PDF

You can create a slide deck on Canva or a PowerPoint presentation and save it as a PDF to share with employers.

Building a GitHub profile

GitHub pages let you host your portfolio for free. Here’s a great tutorial where you can learn more.

Medium

If you want the autonomy of your own website without the cost, consider building out your profile on Medium.com. It will allow you to go into more detail about each of your projects and has a more user-friendly interface for non-tech recruiters or hiring managers. 

Now you know how to build and host a data portfolio for free, you have no excuses!

Please share your completed portfolios in the comment section below with me and the other readers and let us know if you’re looking for advice on anything in particular!

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