Databases and SQL for Data Science

If you are located outside USA or Canada, don't take this course. Because IBM cloud DB2 will not give you free account to do the lab exercises. Otherwise you have to pay 202$ to get an account. I didn't continued the course due to this issue.

This course is more about IBM roping you into using a bloated cloud ecosystem, than it is about teaching you SQL. You will only learn DB2 stuff, and only through their cloud dashboard. This entire specialization is disappointing, but if you've made it this far, masochism may carry you through it.

The course teaches SQL quite well. But it doesn't teach and make practice about the connection to a database and use of sql magic. Hence, its very frustrating to understand the significance of '%sql' in a Final Assignment review. I think a lot of students are facing the same problem. Hence, it feels like- Final assignment is to check whether we can connect to the database, rather than checking our subject knowledge on SQL.

I would've given a five-star rating gladly, if it weren't for the terrible user experience of IBM DB2 Console, which wasted 4 hours of my time trying to load three small csv files into database tables.Apart from this "blocker bug", the course is well-organized and worth the price.

No live examples, no tutorial on how to navigate Db2 cloud. Maybe I was expecting too much; disappointed.

Only one star and I think it does not deserve it. On week 3 the assignment ask you to establish a connection with database and because It gives me an error for more than 3 weeks, I decided to use Forums. After a couple of dozen messages requesting for help, I received only 2 answers from the professor:First: "Go to week 3"Second: " Idon't see any attachment"I have sent so many screenshots that it is ridiculous. So If you find yourself unable to connect to the database and it gives you a constant error; my suggestion is PRAY!. Please, do not cry like me in desperation after a month. Just PRAY. I think it could work... someday

Horrible experience. The course is not updated. The ibm cloud function doesnt work at all. There are hardly any videos. Most of the content is just theory which you can read from anywhere. Dont waste your money.

Overall good course but a few typos and unclear instructions, mostly with the labs and our own 'user specific" DB2 specs which were needed for the 1st and 2nd lab - yet, clear instructions for doing so were posted several labs afterward. Labeling of individual labs (their titles/ filenames, when opened in Jupyter notebooks, did not correspond with the actual weeks in the course that the should have - wks 2 were called wks 4 and wks 3 were called wks 6) That made it a bit confusing at times. They appear to have been from a different course or earlier revision. Maybe revisit and revise this course soon for better flow. Also, please check the comments/discussion boards and address those concerns that are repeatedly coming up. Quite a few more students than just myself were stumped or confused over the same issues. Thank you.

In case IBMER's fails to have DB console lite access, its difficult to complete the assessments, hence there should be other alternative to practice it.

Although the material was clear and concise, working with IBM Db2 Cloud was a headache due to its unresponsiveness

No videos for week 2, sub-queries were confusing and questions 9 and 10 on final project are very 'vague' and 'confusing' with asking questions about Area(s) when in examples and previous course work we were taught to use group by, but correct answers did not use group by.

This course teaches you the basics of SQL completely unrelated to Data Science. SQL is not mentioned in any further courses in the specialization. Could have very well skipped this course from the specialization. There was not even a single assignment that involved both SQL and Data Science.