 Neon data institutes are hands-on short courses designed to help early career scientists fill in the gaps between their academic training and the evolving needs of the scientific community. These institutes attract a diverse group of participants from a broad variety of research areas with a common interest of working with ecological data and large data sets. The institute combines presentations by subject matter experts with hands-on analysis using neon data in a small group setting. Participants collaborate with colleagues and instructors to identify and overcome challenges, gain relevant new skills to the areas of research, and become more proficient with cutting-edge ecological data. Each institute graduate walks away with the skills to work with data that will help forecast continental scale environmental changes, inform natural resource decisions, and increase our understanding of the interactions of humans and the environment.