It took me three years to learn the core high-end skills needed for the progression of my Data science career – Machine learning, SQL, Python, and data visualization. The importance of getting the necessary skillsets in data science cannot be over-emphasized as professionals need to keep up with the latest improvements around programming and computing.
All those rigorous learning and understanding of new skills paid off and I got job offers immediately after certification. Sometime last year, I worked as a consulting data analyst at a Fintech startup, a pretty awesome position as it created room for creativity and personal development to acquire more skill sets. You can never learn everything in data science.
Fast forward to three months later, we had guests from top tech firms at the office. A meeting envisioned to share ideas and perspectives about computing, data visualization, and optimization.
I had a brief conversation with one of the data scientists, and I asked him to sign my laptop.
He signed it and said, "Use what you have to build something valuable."
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting something like "Alright Ben, here is my card, come by and I will expose you to mentorship and better job opportunities." I mean this is the dream of 90% of data scientists, right? – To get better job offers that will increase experience and grow your portfolio.
However, I realized that those few words he said to me were based on solid advice. There are lots of misconceptions about career advice. People often think that for advice to be considered valuable it needs to be a long three-hour speech or based or backed with countless years of research. The truth is a single sentence could be the motivation you need to take your career to greater heights.
Use what you have to build something valuable
Have you ever thought of quitting your current job to create something valuable? According to research, most data scientists never want to quit their jobs. They love hiding under the shadows of the database. There are two main reasons behind this:
- They don’t know what to build.
- They are scared of failure.
- They have ideas but they’re just lazy to act on them.
A lot of talented data scientists are not utilizing their true potentials, probably because of the bonuses and allowances attached to working a job. All that advance experience and expertise in Machine learning, Data mining, Data visualization, SQL, Python, People skills, Modeling, and many more are all going to go to waste if we can’t apply them to projects that deliver positive changes in society.
Start small. It might take time but it all depends on your dedication, ideas, and mindset to save humanity. Data Science isn’t just all about analyzing stats and transaction figures, it’s more than that. Decreasing expenses, enhancing productivity, creating a better living is the true meaning of impact as data scientists. Use the little you have, build something and execute with simplicity.