Hello friends,
Let me share a little secret about Data Science:
💛 If you want to make your Data Science dreams a reality, the best two things you can do are:
- Work smart on your dreams.
- Find someone who can guide you and believe in your dreams, especially when you cannot.
Let’s take a look at what it means to work smart on your dreams.
1. Work Smart on Your Dreams
It is kind of obvious that if I work smart on my dreams, I will create a version of what I envision for myself.
And, for me, working on my DS dreams smarter meant:
- Learning one DS-related skill every day, week, or month. Whatever fits in my calendar. -> Don’t try to learn everything all at once. When upskilling, it’s better to add new knowledge and practice it progressively.
- Before starting to learn, I must clarify what topics I like in DS. If not, I might end up with many online courses unfinished and many hours dedicated to a topic I don’t really like.
- If I don’t know what topics I like in DS, the recipe is to get into explorer mode. What that means is being open to the many possibilities in data science (machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, forecasting, LLMs, etc.) and start exploring one by one. Just look globally at what that topic/area means, what skills are usually required?, what are the typical data sets in that topic?, and how quickly it is evolving?. Get into the mindset of an explorer trying to find clues without compromising hours and hours of your time.
2. Find someone who can guide you and believe in your dreams, especially when you cannot.
Now, here you might ask:
Where do I find someone who can believe in my dreams?
And to answer that question, let me share a little story about Rebecca.
👩 Rebecca wanted to get into Data Science.
But she was lacking confidence and direction. 🤔
And, in her own words: “The idea of accomplishing a personal project felt so daunting because I didn’t have any data science project experience.”
Nowadays, let me tell you, her life has changed hugely:
- 📊 She learned how to execute a personal data science project from start to finish and how to present the results in a meaningful way.
- 🎥 She was featured at the 2024 WiDS conference at Stanford University.
- 🎓 She got accepted to graduate school for Data Science in the fall (this is a major accomplishment; more details on her end are coming soon).
- 👩💻 And, in her own words: “I am more capable than I think, and there is someone out there who recognizes and encourages my capabilities!.”
How did these happen, and how can you, too, change your life in such a huge way?
Rebecca worked on her dreams while I guided her. But something really important is that I not only guided her to acquire the technical knowledge but also provided a space to encourage her to feel confident and believe in her capabilities.
⭐ In some way, I was holding her dream as a real possibility while she was catching up on believing it ⭐.
Because you can gain the technical knowledge, but it will only make a difference if you feel confident enough to send the resume, attend the interview, or send the grad school application.
You won’t believe me if I tell you how many women I’ve met with all the required skills and who are ready to shine in data science roles but are afraid to send their resumes because they don’t feel ready.
Something around the edges of: “I just need to learn how to _____(insert here any data science-related skill), and then I’ll feel ready“.
For me, that only means that upskilling is just part of the process, especially in the midst of switching careers.
🌞 So, if you want my help to hold your dream as a reality and be the next success story, check the work with me section to learn how I can help you 👇
Lina Marieth xx
Quote of the week
The right time is always now. Because that’s the only time there is.