Julio E
What would be the best way to get a Data Science job in Toronto, for someone who is living down in Mexico?
I have a bachelor degree in Philosophy, and last year I finished Industrial Engineering. Right now, I taking a specialization in Data Science through Coursera. I live in Guadalajara city and work at IBM as a Sales Manager Advisor. My wife and I want to move to Toronto, and I've applied to some jobs, but so far I've not got any answer.
Thanks in advance for your piece of advice!!
#job #job-search #career #data-scientist #python #toronto
3 answers
Nashra Siddiqui
Nashra’s Answer
Congratulations on planning to move to Toronto and planning for Data Science. I also moved to Toronto a year ago just to pursue a Master's in Data Science and fortunately, I landed up getting a data analyst job at STELCO (Steel Company of Canada). I still have a month left to graduate.
The thing that I realized here is that it is difficult to get a satisfactory job until and unless you have some Canadian working experience or you have some educational experience. You would definitely get interview calls but the preference is always given to those who have any of these as mentioned. I am not scaring you, I am just recommending you on personal experience that you can get a job here but it would take a lot of time/months and your patience if you don't have Canadian work experience or a degree. So, I recommend that when you come here, try to take admission in either graduate diploma courses in Data Science from some good college or try to take admission in a University by applying for Fall/Summer intake. Since you are already a professional so that would be an asset when you would apply.
There are many good colleges in Toronto such as George Brown, Centennial College, Seneca College which can give you a year or 8 months diploma at less cost. So by side of your job search, you can earn a degree as well from Universities such as the famous University of Toronto, Queen's University. They offer 9 months and a 1-year program respectively. Employers definitely prefer that.
Now, apart from that coming to the skills for data science-
Programming Languages: Python is the most trending and important language for Data Science. If you know Python you are already ahead in the job search. Besides, SQL is the most common one for databases
Tools/Technologies: Tableau/PowerBI
Platforms to connect: Linkedin, Indeed, Monster
Staffing and Recruiting Companies in Toronto: Robert Half, Randstad, Hays. You can register at these and they would schedule interview calls for you.
I hope that helps. I wish you the very best in your job search and welcome to Canada!
Thanks,
Nashra
Andrew Morrison
Andrew’s Answer
Hi Julio! Props for transitioning into a new field and a new country; I know that isn't easy :)
Some of the best ways to get noticed within a community (such as data science) is to sign up to github and start some cool projects on your own; utilize python notebooks to analyze pieces of your own life and post your findings!
Another way to get involved is to look at multiple open source projects that utilize data science or are data science libraries themselves. Being able to point towards experience in the open source world is a huge plus for recruiters.
As Justin said, looking internally at IBM for internal opportunities can help you transition into data science as well.
Andrew recommends the following next steps:
Justin Wei
Justin’s Answer
Julio, great job on working towards a Data Science specialization via Coursera! Along with Python I would also recommend getting familiar with SQL as well as visualization tools (Looker, Tableau, DataStudio) to become a qualified candidate. IBM is also a large company, are there any internal certificates you can complete for Data Science?
Justin recommends the following next steps: