What are the important skills to have in Python with regard to data analysis? "

What are the important skills to have in Python with regard to data analysis?

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The following are some of the important skills to possess which will come handy when performing data analysis using Python.

  • Good understanding of the built-in data types especially lists, dictionaries, tuples and sets.
  • Mastery of N-dimensional NumPy arrays.
  • Mastery of pandas dataframes.
  • Ability to perform element-wise vector and matrix operations on NumPy arrays. This requires the biggest shift in mindset for someone coming from a traditional software development background who’s used to for loops.
  • Knowing that you should use the Anaconda distribution and the conda package manager.
  • Familiarity with scikit-learn.
  • Ability to write efficient list comprehensions instead of traditional for loops.
  • Ability to write small, clean functions (important for any developer), preferably pure functions that don’t alter objects.
  • Knowing how to profile the performance of a Python script and how to optimize bottlenecks.