Data Science
Why I Decided to Become a Data Scientist
Story of a former SAP consultant morphing into a data scientist
One year ago, if you have asked me the definition of data science, my answer would be something as plain as “using data for scientific purposes”.
Back then, I was working in enterprise consulting for corporate clients, solving their ERP problems with SAP supply chain products. I had been in this world for 4 years, recently promoted as a senior consultant.
Fancy titles or promotions were never my priority, neither was I interested in working from fancy offices. I became a consultant because I like being at the forefront of exploring while applying those learnings to solve real-world problems.
It was also icing on the cake if the work implied any positive impact on our world.
Lately, I was neither learning nor observing any impact, and it was becoming harder to keep my motivation.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein (or someone else)
I felt that it was perhaps time for a change.
I initiated this change by moving to a place I long desired to live. A small town called Kas, where the mountains meet the Mediterranean, cocooning a perfect home where I can equally nourish my mind and my body.
Then, I began exploring other potential areas that I could work in by revisiting my experience from college years to remember the things I used to love.
I studied Industrial Engineering because I have a passion for applied math and knew the discipline to be extensively using math in solving real-world business and industrial challenges.
I liked topics like probability and statistics so much that I even took on a teaching assistant job focusing on optimization problems in stochastic models.
I have always been naturally very curious and often found myself analyzing everything around me. Observing seemingly mundane situations as a bundle of inputs, outputs and their clear connections makes me feel creative as opposed to other more traditional definitions of creative. My eyes widen with joy and excitement when I see something otherwise invisible.
I decided to put these new revelations to good use by analyzing my existing skills, work experience and the idea of fun and joy; the startup ecosystem, being home to most exciting innovations, seem to be a good thread to follow.
Meanwhile, my father had tasked me with building him a web site for his small wine-making business. Being the curious me, I decided to explore some coding skills, rather than using off-the-shelf web site builders.
Perhaps due to a mild case of procrastination, or that my father did not need the web site too urgently, I found myself reading about Codecademy paths and got immediately hooked with the data science one.
As I progressed along with the learning material and exercises, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. This was the field that ticked all the boxes for me. Moreover, it was a treasure chest of infinite depth for a curious mind!
By the time I am writing this self-reflection, I am a self-taught data scientist, 6 months into the journey!
I am already feeling productive, especially that I am sharing with and contributing to the very same community that has generously been helping me grow.
I feel like the reach and impact I achieved in 6 months of learning, growth, writing and community engagement has surmounted to more than I had in 4 years in my SAP consulting career.
Of course, contrary to being dragged across the world to end up in unproductive meeting rooms, working from a place I love helps, thanks to the borderless nature of data science community and startup ecosystem.
And yes, I did hear about the popular phrase; “the sexiest job of the 21st century” soon after I embarked in this journey. If I were to write that article today, I would probably name it “the most creative, impactful and sexiest job of the 21st century”.
Thank you for reading my story, I would love to hear yours and motivations to become a data scientist in the responses or on Twitter!
