Which of these are the best Data Science courses for an recent graduate economist? I have recently graduated from college in my country with a bachelor's degree in economics. In my country (Paraguay, a Latin American country) there is a big lack of data scientists/statiscians. I have now the temptation to enroll at the National University of Asunción (the best public university of my country) in order to pursue a bachelor's degree in statistics coursed fully online.
However, with all the problems that education at every levels here in my country, I feel that studying a new bachelor's degree won't be worth it. I think that it would be nicer to move at the same pace as the world moves right now.
I'm looking toward to two data science certificates/degrees online that are offered through udacity.com and statistics.com
The first one which I saw (Udacity.com Nanodegree in Data Science) made me an impression that it was designed in order to be prepared to land a job in Silicon Valley or Wall Street. 
The second one (Statistics.com Certificate in Analytics for Data Science) made me an impression that it had more theoretical content in it's program, but it looked very well designed too.
But I have a very big doubt in choosing some of this kind of programs. The Statistics.com certificate is far expensive than the Udacity.com nanodegree (5 times more expensive). And I do not want to be frustrated for paying too much money and time for something that cannot be really worth it.
So, what do you recommend me to do? I trust in the expertise of the people here.
 A: At least in the US, online certificates and online degrees have little to no actual value (other than the knowledge you gained from the coursework). If you need an advanced degree in statistics or data analysis for a certain job, you should aim for a master's degree or a PhD in a brick-and-mortar institution. Otherwise, if you just want to learn, try textbooks or free Internet resources.
A: Disclosure of possible conflict of interest: I teach (on-line) at UOC
I agree with Kodiologist that there are on-line certificates with little value. However, there also exist on-line universities within the same system of public universities than the brick-and-mortar universities of the same country, subjected to the same quality controls and with a comparable prestige - at least, within the same range of prestige of off-line universities in the same country. The most known example worldwide is The Open University in the UK, and in Spain there are UNED and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. I teach at UOC and at off-line universities and the level of knowledge that students reach is equivalent - for example, in basic statistics courses that I've taught in both places. Furthermore, I know people getting jobs and working with their UOC degrees just as they would with a degree from an off-line university.
I suggest to search in prestigious on-line universities for courses in your topic. In UOC there are some masters and courses related to economy and data science that might interest you, although I do not have direct knowledge of those courses because I'm teaching in other studies and can't give an informed opinion on them. 
And as a final comment: Brick-and-mortar universities have some advantages, but on-line universities might ease a lot the logistics of studying. I suggest giving a try to the prestigious ones. Anyway, I must agree with Kodologist that books and Internet free resources are a great way to learn nearly anything, too. 
