How I Found Data Science

A friend talked to me about Data Science and General Assembly. She is a very successful Data Scientist, and taking the GA Data Science Immersive course was one of the main advantages she had when looking for a job. This is not to say that taking the course worked like magic. She clarified that the results depended very much on the amount of time and work she put in herself during her time with GA, not only the extra hours invested in assignments, but also the time invested in networking and looking for a job to get a new successful career started.

Her story inspired me. Given my education and employment background in Math and Computer Science, and my passion for numbers and coding, I became confident that DSI is the right course for me. This led me to enroll and become a GA DSI student.

Data is not new to me. I have worked for a data tech company for almost 10 years. In the roles held there, I provided product support rather than analytics, and did not have a lot of opportunity for coding, which I started missing more over the years. Furthermore, after a career of almost a decade, I became a stay at home mom, and had to shift gears from being career oriented to navigating the many challenges of being a first time parent.

Having my daughter shifted my focus for a few years, but I found myself learning about Data Science on my own, and becoming increasingly more interested. Udemy, CertSchools, GA workshops, and other online resources became my go-to places during down time. Teaching myself was fun, and provided me with the intellectual stimulation I missed for a long time, however, I felt I needed a more structured environment that would allow me to learn faster. GA provided that environment through their DSI course.

My goal is to become an excellent Data Scientist, and work for a great company that appreciates their employees. As I am going through each week of the course, I can see how my skills are improving, and I am very excited about applying these skills to answer questions, bring forward exciting insights, and solve complex problems.