The Data Viz Certification Program

“…these data are great. The layout of the charts is also really good as well. Please let your team know this is nice work. We should be looking at information like this regularly.”

☝️ Want your boss’s boss to say this about you?

GET ON THE VIP LIST

Did you sign up for an online course with really good intentions, only to find yourself barely checking in a couple months later?

Don’t feel bad. Only 15% of students finish an online course. 

In the Evergreen Data Viz Certification Program, we won’t let you fade away. 

The Certification Program is a customized course for data viz die hards who want go-to co-worker status and charts that change the world.

When you commit to the Certification Program, you become a data visualization aficionado, period. We’ll hold your hand (and hound you, if we have to) every step of the way. We’re your partner in your growth and development as a data visualization rockstar.

You get targeted, boutique coaching on your data visualization projects, with certification waiting for you at the end. Your year in the Certification Program will help you produce amazing visualizations, build your skill set and competitive edge, and get you recognized for your talents.

You’ll always know the answer to “how can we make this graph better?”

Before she joined the Evergreen Data Visualization Certification Program, Ashley was routinely creating (mediocre) visualizations and found herself wondering:

Are there other graph types I should be using? 

What’s the best way to format my graphs?

Are the colors/layouts that I think look nice likely to translate to the majority of my readers? 

Is there a more effective way to convey the main messages of the data? 

Good questions, right?

Just like Ashley, who said 

I used to spend a lot more time tinkering with different formatting options like choosing a graph type and making decisions about axes, grid lines, data labels, etc. Since I now have clear guidance on how to make those decisions, I typically fly through those steps leaving more time for more advanced design and highlighting the main point(s) of the data.

A good coach needs even more than a background in education and an expertise in data visualization.

You want to spend a year with someone who’s also always rooting for you.

I’ve got your back.

Bonus: I’m surrounded by incredibly smart people, who will be part of your bench of expert coaches.

With this much expertise at your side, showing you the way, you can’t fail.

Our students succeed because we know how to teach and we ESPECIALLY know how to teach data visualization. 

Get on the VIP list to be the first to apply for one of the 28 spots in our next cohort.

I designed a program so rigorous and structured that I get to award you a certification when you graduate.

You wanna get technical about what that means?

This is an Assessment-Based Certification Program.

That means you don’t just get some certificate of attendance. 

You’re awarded a certification after you complete a rigorous curriculum and satisfy a structured set of assessments. Only people like me, with a deep background in education and an expert-level knowledge of data visualization, can create curriculum and assessments like this.

You get to claim you have a Certification in Data Visualization. It doesn’t expire. Other online courses can’t get you here with their module-by-module, hands-off, untested approach.

You can brag and you’ll have the receipts to back it up.

And your boss’ll be bragging on your behalf!

Holly’s mentor said Holly’s growth had direct impacts on the quality of decision-making: “Due to these improved visualizations our medical group Chief Executive immediately understood the places in her group that had volume problems and was able to act with confidence on needed changes to compensation.

The Chief Executive was effusive about the graphs, because they told her the story she needed in a succinct and persuasive manner. 

Hang on, there’s more. 

In another project, Holly’s graphs “were crucial part of a larger presentation that our Executive Director said was the most well-received by our system wide leadership than any other presentation she has been a part of.” 

When I tell you that you’ll become an indispensable part of your company, I mean it.

Elizabeth’s boss told us “Elizabeth created a one-page handout for our program to be utilized by a variety of audiences.

We were on the verge of outsourcing the creation of this document when Elizabeth asked if she could give it a shot.

What she created was an excellent example of aligning our branding with previous marketing materials while also displaying our data for best effect.

The impact of this is that we now have a one-page document that is appealing to stakeholders and other audiences, while also saving money and time.“

Saving your boss time and money? You better believe Elizabeth will be the very first person who gets asked to the table next time around.

Courtney’s become mission-critical. Her directors (three of them) told us “Courtney’s enhanced skills that merge her expertise in health communication and data visualization have been invaluable to our research team.

Courtney’s ability to synthesize a large volume of qualitative data into clear, concise visuals has been crucial in the success of our research dissemination efforts.”

Invaluable. Crucial. That’s you. 

So, apply.

The application will ask you to spell out your hopes and dreams. We’ll ask you whether you want to become an expert in R, Tableau, Power BI, or Excel (or all of the above!). And you’ll show us some of your recent graphs so we can assess where you’re at right now.

We only accept 28 students in each cohort. We enroll two cohorts a year. 

This, my friend, is how you skyrocket.

“I’d been visualizing data at work for a few years, but felt I was in a rut and always using the same types of charts. My visualizations were getting boring and repetitive, and I knew I could be doing a better job of conveying the most important information from my analysis.”

This ☝️ was Danielle Glazer, when she found the Evergreen Data Viz Certification Program. She was making charts like this 👇

In one year, we changed the way Danielle thinks about how to display information. When you change how you think, you change how you graph. This is what Danielle makes now 👇

Even more than changing how you approach data storytelling, we teach you methods that make your life easier, more efficient, and more rewarding.

I expected to broaden my knowledge about different ways to visualize data, but I’ve also been surprised at how much more efficient I am now at building graphs.

Things just go faster! I also get a lot of positive feedback on my visualizations. People say they are clear and easy to understand. And last but not least, I’ve become one of the ‘to-go’ people in my office when colleagues have questions about how to visualize something.

Danielle’s not exaggerating. Her boss wrote us to say “Her work has become so impressive that we recently asked her to lead a group to re-envision how our office tells stories with data.” 

Your future is leadership, too.

Do you want your boss saying this about you?👇

“His visuals look more polished, they tell better stories, they help cut through the noise and are some of the best visuals presented in the company. His work made clear our pending decisions and allowed senior leadership to have effective and efficient conversations.”

Yes, you do. 

Take a Peek

Let me show you what’s in store. In this tour, we’ll walk through the heart and soul of the Certification Program. I’ll show you how we construct a specific data visualization curriculum for each student. Let this sneak peek help you decide to join. 

Advance your career.

My friend, this is how you make your boss happy. And when you make your boss happy, you get queued up for bigger projects, more responsibilities, and add-a-week-of-vacation promotions.

We have 28 seats open and one of them has your name on it.

You get to that point in your professional life where you’ve got your core job duties down. You could just coast, phone it in, or maybe even phone it in from the coast 🏝. 

But in your heart you know there’s something more. 

More skills to grow.

More joy in your job.

More impact from your work.

That’s where PJ Sweeney was.

I had a full decade in analytics and reporting. I’d begun as a single contributor. Over time my skills grew and I developed professionally to the point where I was leading a team of analysts at a Fortune 100 company.

However, after achieving all of that, I basically plateaued professionally. I knew there was more to know and I began searching for the next step. It was actually a comment on a reddit feed that lead me to The Evergreen Data Certification Program. I jumped in with both feet and don’t regret a moment of it.

And YES of course PJ learned so much that his boss at that Fortune 100 was thrilled. PJ got that impact he was looking for. But there’s more:

My goal at the beginning of the course was to grow my skills to the point where I could take that next step professionally.

6 weeks shy of finishing the course, I was offered an excellent position at a great company with awesome benefits because of my industry experience, and my data storytelling and data visualization skills

Will you land your dream job?

Now I can’t promise it (fun fact: that’s actually illegal! Indeed this is when I have to tell you that results may vary.) but I can tell you that you’ll grow new data visualization superpowers and impress the hell outta your colleagues and customers.

Just sayin, here’s what happened to Lee (who’s in New Zealand – we make any time zone work):

I got a pay raise (8%!), there’s a promotion in the pipeline, and senior leadership has more visibility of my work.

More than that though, I have more of a sense of purpose at work, and people are now looking to me when it comes to communicating data to the wider department.

And Catherine Nichols reported back with these outcomes, before the end of her year

This course has greatly improved my work situation. I have been able to work on more complex, higher-profile data viz projects. My most recent project involved designing a multitude of complex charts for a report that was featured in the New York Times.

Additionally, my supervisor has recommended me for a promotion to a newly-created position in which my work will shift to focus more on our data viz projects than on our general design needs.

Emphasis added is mine cause that’s so freakin cool! 

Update: Catherine got that promotion. And a 25% raise (holla!). She said, “This promotion is a direct result of the skills that I learned during this past year.”

To gain certification, you have to make 50 successful visualizations using Excel, Tableau, R, Power BI, or a combination of those. 

You’ll have a core curriculum to complete and every student has to create something that’s automated, something that’s interactive, and something that shows your ability to layout multiple charts – like a dashboard or a handout.  

You earn digital badges for each tutorial you complete and a paper certification at the end. 

Students spend 1-2 hours a week, for a whole year, becoming rockstars. Sure, it’s an intense year. But it’s a do-able year because you’ll be part of a supportive and encouraging environment. We specifically have small class sizes in order to focus on you and your data.

This is where you make how your data looks match how good your data is.

Think of it this way: 

You will invest in your growth for a solid year and before that year is even complete you are going to be churning out high-impact data stories that make you feel like a rockstar and earn you accolades (and hopefully a raise too). 

Your data will look so good, Todd will *finally* have to say something nice about your work. 

Our students learn how to make high-impact charts that change the world (and get a few compliments). When you need to know exactly how to sail through a slideshow or clinch next month’s speech, you just have to tap your Coach on the shoulder. We’ve got you.

For the first time ever, you can now get hands-on, customized, personalized, structured, incredible data viz education. We are ready for you. You coming? 

Like any other major life upgrade, it’s common to have questions. Here are some answers, but if you still don’t see your question addressed, email me.

Your biggest burning question is probably How Awesome Will I Be When I Graduate? 

Our students can answer that one for you. We survey them anonymously throughout the year – anonymous on purpose so they can be brutally honest. 

Are you ready to rocket your data visualization skills?

Strap on your tandem jetpack, honey, cause you are coming with us.

You’ll complete the application, which includes sending us three of your recent graphs. We’ll let you know whether you’ve been accepted. Based on your application info, we’ll custom-build your learning path through 50 graphing tutorials. You and your Coach will start plotting your strategy to data viz victory.

Heads up: There are no refunds for The Evergreen Data Visualization Certification Program. Only sign up if you’re ready to commit to the work.

Join us in launching your communication capacity into outer space. Join The Certification Program.

I expected the program to be top tier, and great, and it was.

What I didn’t expect was to become well versed in three different tools (R, Tableau, and Excel) so quickly.

I’ve learned how to create a variety of high quality visualizations in multiple formats, and have become the go to person in my division for this type of work.

I’ve been able to apply what I’m practicing in the courses directly to visualizations being shared with my bosses, our board, and outside stakeholders.

I’m consistently getting positive feedback and have been asked to create more visualizations.

They’re asking me to do work more on what I really enjoy doing.