If you are learning data science, you have probably seen DataCamp and wondered if its bite-size exercises actually build real skill. They do, up to a point.
DataCamp is great for learning syntax and concepts quickly. The interactive exercises give you immediate feedback, and you can cover a lot of ground without setting up your own environment.
The weakness is that everything is prepared for you. Real data is messy, and the hardest part of data work is cleaning it and deciding what to do, which the exercises skip.
Use DataCamp to learn the tools, then immediately start your own project. Download a messy public dataset and fight with it. That is where the actual skill forms. The platform starts you off, the project finishes the job.