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Pursuing a Master's Degree in Statistics - Data Science Track

Hi Quantopian friends,

I am planning to study statistics (data science track) this fall 2020 at Baruch College, which is a good public school. (Some friends recommended top-tier schools, but it will be more expensive so I decided to go to a public school) All tuition will be covered by my employer, if I go to a public school. I currently work at a financial institution in operations at NYC. I hold an undergraduate degree in accounting and MBA degree in finance. I am a beginner in programming; I took my first online python course last year. My goal is to gain fundamental knowledge/skills in statistics/data science in order to eventually become a data scientist.

In my case, is it worth to go for a master's degree in statistics?
Time: 2 years to complete / 20+ hours per week required for the study
Cost: $3,500 school fees + $1,350 books / all tuition will be covered

I found there are many good online courses and certificate programs, which only take few hours/weeks to complete.
(I took some python and data science courses at Udemy. I am taking python courses at RMOTR)

The opportunity cost for pursuing MS in statistics will be that I would not have time to take these online courses.

School vs Online Courses/Certificate Programs
Which one is better?

Lastly, can you recommend good online python/data science courses or certificate programs?
Any other thoughts?

Many Thanks,
James