My journey has been full of turbulence, till now.
I was into a Field Sales profile earlier.
Based on my analysis of upcoming trends and technologies coupled with my business acumen, after carefully assessing for 2 years I decided I will switch to Data Science as D. S was going to have an important part to play in business decisions in the coming decades, I believed.
Now the path…
I first learnt the theory. I practised it. R programming, Statistics is what took a lot of time for me to absorb.
Though I had studied from colleges which are amongst the best in India - B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from NIT SURAT (2011 passout) & MBA in Marketing from K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management and Research(2012-2014), I did not have any coding background. It was all about perseverance and not giving up. I joined online course as well. But these money churning institutes can never satiate/quench the thirst of a seeker of knowledge.
I was based out of Mumbai, I moved to Gurgaon - a hub of startups, in hope of getting a break in D. S. I took up Python to add to my skill sets.
No one was willing to invest in a candidate who had only theoretical knowledge of Data Science and Coding. Whether it was during interviews or searching for jobs on job portals, they all needed candidates with minimum 2 years experience. If you browse for jobs with designation of Data Scientist on your favorite portal you will find that an overwhelming majority of the job openings would need you, a Data Scientist, to have an experience of at least 2 years.
Hence I took up a job in a startup. My principal KRA there was to develop content and take care of social media platforms. I continued in the same profile for 1 quarter. After I proved myself, I have started working on live data, learning from existing Data Science team. Though its a small team with not a lot to do, but at least the transition has started.
The point you need to keep in mind when making a switch is, to be ready to compromise on package and profile for a while if you see a possibility of a gradual transition to your desired role. Be ready to move from one city to another. Maybe even switch countries.
The endeavours must not stop. Its always good to keep upgrading and up skilling yourself. Be on the look out for opportunities. Knowledge of live projects, making the existing data talk(understanding and interpreting the data for others), getting a solution for an existing problem, making predictions about trends, sales, purchase, production etc is a mandate for a Data scientist. Pick them up either by freelancing, volunteering to work for a start up free of cost with their Data science team, putting more effort in terms of work and number of hours in your current company even though you might be working in a different profile.
Good luck!
I was into a Field Sales profile earlier.
Based on my analysis of upcoming trends and technologies coupled with my business acumen, after carefully assessing for 2 years I decided I will switch to Data Science as D. S was going to have an important part to play in business decisions in the coming decades, I believed.
Now the path…
I first learnt the theory. I practised it. R programming, Statistics is what took a lot of time for me to absorb.
Though I had studied from colleges which are amongst the best in India - B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from NIT SURAT (2011 passout) & MBA in Marketing from K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management and Research(2012-2014), I did not have any coding background. It was all about perseverance and not giving up. I joined online course as well. But these money churning institutes can never satiate/quench the thirst of a seeker of knowledge.
I was based out of Mumbai, I moved to Gurgaon - a hub of startups, in hope of getting a break in D. S. I took up Python to add to my skill sets.
No one was willing to invest in a candidate who had only theoretical knowledge of Data Science and Coding. Whether it was during interviews or searching for jobs on job portals, they all needed candidates with minimum 2 years experience. If you browse for jobs with designation of Data Scientist on your favorite portal you will find that an overwhelming majority of the job openings would need you, a Data Scientist, to have an experience of at least 2 years.
Hence I took up a job in a startup. My principal KRA there was to develop content and take care of social media platforms. I continued in the same profile for 1 quarter. After I proved myself, I have started working on live data, learning from existing Data Science team. Though its a small team with not a lot to do, but at least the transition has started.
The point you need to keep in mind when making a switch is, to be ready to compromise on package and profile for a while if you see a possibility of a gradual transition to your desired role. Be ready to move from one city to another. Maybe even switch countries.
The endeavours must not stop. Its always good to keep upgrading and up skilling yourself. Be on the look out for opportunities. Knowledge of live projects, making the existing data talk(understanding and interpreting the data for others), getting a solution for an existing problem, making predictions about trends, sales, purchase, production etc is a mandate for a Data scientist. Pick them up either by freelancing, volunteering to work for a start up free of cost with their Data science team, putting more effort in terms of work and number of hours in your current company even though you might be working in a different profile.
Good luck!
