10 answers
Qinglin
Student
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4
Questions
Asked
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What types of jobs am I suitable for after graduation?
I am taking data science and nlp curriculum, but I am not sure if i will be able to find a job in this field. I came from a non-tech undergrad program, and the current grad problem that I am enrolled in is related to educational tech, but I am taking many ml, ds, and nlp curriculum.
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10 answers
Sheila Johnson
Director of Analytics
2
Answers
Fort Worth, Texas
Updated
Sheila’s Answer
Great question!
Data Science is a hot field, and it's valuable even from a non-technical undergrad program. Whatever your major is/was, your abilities from a data science knowledge perspective only enhance what you bring to the table. My major was nursing, and I am in Telecom/Technology, but I still use the skills I learned in Nursing for analysis/data science. What I learned about triaging (from nursing) alone has made my "different" background something that's really paid off.
Visit your schools' counseling teams, too.
Data Science is a hot field, and it's valuable even from a non-technical undergrad program. Whatever your major is/was, your abilities from a data science knowledge perspective only enhance what you bring to the table. My major was nursing, and I am in Telecom/Technology, but I still use the skills I learned in Nursing for analysis/data science. What I learned about triaging (from nursing) alone has made my "different" background something that's really paid off.
Visit your schools' counseling teams, too.
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Qinglin
Joshua Lutyens
Data Science
1
Answer
Maricopa, Arizona
Updated
Joshua’s Answer
In my experience, technical skillsets can often stand on their own merit (even if they are not your specific degree). For example, I am a data scientist, but my college degrees are based on mass communications, psychology & philosophy.
My advice would be not to let the specific degree(s) serve as a roadblock-- instead, gain the technical acumen through experience, and collect specific projects you have completed. Along with amping up your resume, creating a portfolio of data science work have you done is a great way to showcase your skills & set you apart.
Best of luck!
Josh
My advice would be not to let the specific degree(s) serve as a roadblock-- instead, gain the technical acumen through experience, and collect specific projects you have completed. Along with amping up your resume, creating a portfolio of data science work have you done is a great way to showcase your skills & set you apart.
Best of luck!
Josh
Thank you so much! I will work on the portfolio and resume.
Qinglin
LeAnn Starks
Executive reporting
3
Answers
Waco, Texas
Updated
LeAnn’s Answer
You could look into Business Intelligence. This is reporting around a company's core systems. You need to be eager to learn the inhouse tools and enjoy relating data.
Suggest looking at databases and concepts around different systems
Apply for entry level positions with big box companies and review a variety of reporting tool documentation
LeAnn recommends the following next steps:
Thank you so much, LeAnn! My previous job search was confined to data science, and I will certainly take your advice to look into the field of Business Intelligence.
Qinglin
Jeremy Davison
Data Engineering
1
Answer
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Updated
Jeremy’s Answer
Hi Qinglin,
There are many people out there working in Data Science or Business Intelligence that come from a formal education background that may not relate or cross over into that field. I'm talking about those with degrees in things like Chemistry, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, and so on. Trying to break into the Data Science field requires you to be able to both explain and demonstrate your understanding of the various principals and technologies/algorithms involved with the field during interviews. If, during your classes, you've done projects related to Data Science, keep those handy and reference them as examples of your experience and what you accomplished during your coursework. Be as specific as possible about the experience - What were you trying to solve for? How did you approach the problem? What was the outcome? What did you learn from the project? Sharing these answers to interviewers will show that you are familiar with the subject matter and will be able to perform in the role.
Beyond formal education, one of the most important things in any kind of Analytics role is the ability to critically think about problems and their solutions. This is more of a soft skill that you work on over time that can't be as easily taught but is invaluable in the industry. Coming at problems from different angles and trying to derive creative solutions will make you a valuable asset to any company, as well as any industry you work in.
To be more concise to your question: With the coursework you've listed, I think you could easily find roles within Data Science, Business Intelligence, or Data Engineering. All three are closely related but focus on different aspects of the data itself. Think about which of those you'd be most interested in and focus on the tools and languages you might need to know. But with that said, once you're familiar with one segment, transitioning over to another is much easier if you decide you want to pivot.
I hope this was helpful - best of luck to you in the rest of your education and start of your career!
There are many people out there working in Data Science or Business Intelligence that come from a formal education background that may not relate or cross over into that field. I'm talking about those with degrees in things like Chemistry, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, and so on. Trying to break into the Data Science field requires you to be able to both explain and demonstrate your understanding of the various principals and technologies/algorithms involved with the field during interviews. If, during your classes, you've done projects related to Data Science, keep those handy and reference them as examples of your experience and what you accomplished during your coursework. Be as specific as possible about the experience - What were you trying to solve for? How did you approach the problem? What was the outcome? What did you learn from the project? Sharing these answers to interviewers will show that you are familiar with the subject matter and will be able to perform in the role.
Beyond formal education, one of the most important things in any kind of Analytics role is the ability to critically think about problems and their solutions. This is more of a soft skill that you work on over time that can't be as easily taught but is invaluable in the industry. Coming at problems from different angles and trying to derive creative solutions will make you a valuable asset to any company, as well as any industry you work in.
To be more concise to your question: With the coursework you've listed, I think you could easily find roles within Data Science, Business Intelligence, or Data Engineering. All three are closely related but focus on different aspects of the data itself. Think about which of those you'd be most interested in and focus on the tools and languages you might need to know. But with that said, once you're familiar with one segment, transitioning over to another is much easier if you decide you want to pivot.
I hope this was helpful - best of luck to you in the rest of your education and start of your career!
Hi Jeremy, this is super helpful! I will definitely follow your advice and reflect on the projects I have done for the coursework. As for right now, I feel like the biggest difficulty is familiarizing myself with the programming language and making up for the absence of knowledge in maths foundations. However, your advice has given me some confidence in my future career, as the most invaluable skill for a job in Data Science or Business Intelligence is my ability to interpret the data and leverage the data analysis for problem solutions. Thank you so much for the advice and wish you all the best!
Qinglin
Eric J Graves
Princ Engr-Data Science
3
Answers
Marysville, Ohio
Updated
Eric J’s Answer
The fact is many individuals pick a degree before they are really that familiar with the careers out there. This often means by the time people gradaute they might want to do something almost entirely different. You can take the route of going back to school, studying and getting certifications, or you can simply try to get your foot in the door at companies you want to work for.
As a young adult my mother always told me to get the worst house in the best neighborhood over the best house in the worst neighborhood. This applies to jobs also. Find a company you believe in, that you have room to grow, and get your foot in the door doing any job you can get. You probably shouldn't start your career in your final dream job because that means it probably wasn't that well sought after if you could get it with no experience. Something to think about and best of luck to you!
As a young adult my mother always told me to get the worst house in the best neighborhood over the best house in the worst neighborhood. This applies to jobs also. Find a company you believe in, that you have room to grow, and get your foot in the door doing any job you can get. You probably shouldn't start your career in your final dream job because that means it probably wasn't that well sought after if you could get it with no experience. Something to think about and best of luck to you!
This is so true! I did not get enough career education prior to college that would allow me to make an informed decision on my undergrad major. I find myself enjoying my graduate school courses much more than those from undergrad. Thank you so much for sharing with me the word of advice for your mother, and I will look for the companies that I believe in after graduation. Wish you all the best!
Qinglin
Siddharth Johri
Software Engineer IT
3
Answers
West Windsor Township, New Jersey
Updated
Siddharth’s Answer
Data Science is a very good field and has lots of opportunities. Every organization has huge sets of data which they need to analyze --so the data scientists and analytics jobs are there in every organization and you play a key role in the organization. All the jobs would relate to reporting and the data analytics field would be there to analyze the data and find opportunities for the organization to make a profit and pinpoint its weak areas. Thus you can fin the data science field very impressive and as well as Data Science is one of the areas which is growing in the industry.
Thank you, Siddharth for the advice.
Qinglin
Fred Rosenberger
Data Analyst
481
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Fred’s Answer
I would suggest you visit your school's career center. (Every college I've seen has one). They can help you prepare your resume, give you interview tips, and even suggest where to apply/what kind of jobs to apply for.
Thank you so much!
Qinglin
Thomas Söhn
Solution Partner Manager
1
Answer
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
Hi Qinglin,
as the other answers already suggest, Data Science is field with a positive job perspective for the future.
But I feel from your question that you are not sure if you fulfill all requirements coming from a non tech background.
I studied languages and culture and worked at a university before I considered switching to the eCommerce/Tech Business (first as an Editor, later as Technology Partner Manager). Although I was attracted by the eCommerce business I was unsure if i would bring all required qualifications for this branch because I never was a techie.
I then talked to people from inside the business and we mapped my skills to the requirements of different roles (technical editing / product marketing etc.). That helped me a lot to understand how I could provide value in different roles.
I got the job and started soaking up knowledge and training my skills, but I also felt that I was able to bring skills from my former job at university, which I wouldn't have thought before.
Not having a prototypical background doesn't disqualify you, it may even be an advantage, if you know how to play the card.
My advise in your case:
- Do some high level research about job profiles that match your current study profile & that you're interested in
- Read and reflect the job profile and requirements (are you interested by such an occupation. Could you start tomorrow or where do you have gaps that you'd need to close?)
- Get in touch with people that have work in this role and ask them if they share "real life insights" about their work.
- Discuss your skill set with them to know if they think you could start directly or need to skill up in some fields.
- Ask them if you can shadow them at work or even better try to do an internship.
as the other answers already suggest, Data Science is field with a positive job perspective for the future.
But I feel from your question that you are not sure if you fulfill all requirements coming from a non tech background.
I studied languages and culture and worked at a university before I considered switching to the eCommerce/Tech Business (first as an Editor, later as Technology Partner Manager). Although I was attracted by the eCommerce business I was unsure if i would bring all required qualifications for this branch because I never was a techie.
I then talked to people from inside the business and we mapped my skills to the requirements of different roles (technical editing / product marketing etc.). That helped me a lot to understand how I could provide value in different roles.
I got the job and started soaking up knowledge and training my skills, but I also felt that I was able to bring skills from my former job at university, which I wouldn't have thought before.
Not having a prototypical background doesn't disqualify you, it may even be an advantage, if you know how to play the card.
My advise in your case:
- Do some high level research about job profiles that match your current study profile & that you're interested in
- Read and reflect the job profile and requirements (are you interested by such an occupation. Could you start tomorrow or where do you have gaps that you'd need to close?)
- Get in touch with people that have work in this role and ask them if they share "real life insights" about their work.
- Discuss your skill set with them to know if they think you could start directly or need to skill up in some fields.
- Ask them if you can shadow them at work or even better try to do an internship.
Hello, Thomas, thank you so much for sharing your career path with me, it is really inspiring! I have been trying to reach out to some of my grad school alumni working in the field of data science to ask for an information interview. I will try to follow your advice and map the essential knowledge and skills required for the occupations. :D
Qinglin
James Baxter
2
Answers
Princeton, New Jersey
Updated
James’s Answer
Hi Qinglin,
There are definitely many fields outside of education that your career choice would apply to.
Companies in the financial sector, content management and others would be interested in your skills.
Look at any of the following areas for example:
Financial services - e.g., Black Rock
Audit firms - e.g., Deloitte, E&Y etc
Consulting firms - e.g., Deloitte Consulting, Anderson, etc
Content management
I'd suggest looking at the recruiting sites of any of any of those companies for analyst or technology roles and think about how your skills could meet the needs of the job descriptions posted.
Good luck with your search.
There are definitely many fields outside of education that your career choice would apply to.
Companies in the financial sector, content management and others would be interested in your skills.
Look at any of the following areas for example:
Financial services - e.g., Black Rock
Audit firms - e.g., Deloitte, E&Y etc
Consulting firms - e.g., Deloitte Consulting, Anderson, etc
Content management
I'd suggest looking at the recruiting sites of any of any of those companies for analyst or technology roles and think about how your skills could meet the needs of the job descriptions posted.
Good luck with your search.
Hi James, thank you so much for the advice! I did not know about the wide variety of companies that would be potentially interested in the skills I developed. I will definitely look into that.
Qinglin
Sarah Danenberg
4
Answers
Irvine, California
Updated
Sarah’s Answer
It really depends on what you want to do. I personally tried out a few different customer service jobs till I found a company that I really liked. When I started working for them, did the absolute best I could on each and every phone call I took and moved up. Now I'm in a dream role doing Data Reporting. I had no idea this is what I wanted to do, but I found it by working for a large company with a lot of opportunities.
I suggest you check out a few different things, but no matter what you do, but you 100% in to it and learn as much as you can.
I suggest you check out a few different things, but no matter what you do, but you 100% in to it and learn as much as you can.
Thank you for the advice, Sarah.
Qinglin