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A Student's Guide to Preparing for Data Science Interviews

129 points by rogocopH 9y ago

bllguo 9y ago
Unfortunately there is very little here that isn't just general interview advice. As a new grad that went through the hunt very recently - it was a messy process. Very few places will consider you without extensive experience, or a masters/Ph.D. Of course if you're hiring people to research machine learning algorithms that's justifiable, but plenty of the responsibilities people associate with data scientists don't require advanced degrees. And the number of posts asking for 5, 7, even 10 years of experience... absolutely astounding. As someone uninterested in going back to school, I've resigned myself to getting some work experience and doing personal projects for 1-2 yrs before trying again.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
  Most of these listings have over-inflated experience requirements. A lot of them will entertain you even if you have half the experience they ask for.
  - bllguo 9y ago
    Good to know. As a new grad I couldn't really claim to have any experience, so that wouldn't have helped me. I was just commenting that these requirements were absurd, considering that the pool of people meeting them would be so small. Definitely will take note of that in the future though.
- autokad 9y ago
  I recently graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a masters in computer science after 9 years experience as a DBA and GIS, + 1 year experience working for a social media lab doing natural language processing (co authored on several papers) + 1 year experience working with big data (10 tb in size). applied to ~85 data science positions. I can't even get recruiters to call me for a phone screening, so don't feel down =)
- spoopy01 9y ago
  Unfortunately most people posting data science jobs don't really have good priors on the necessary qualifications for those positions. As someone who has gotten multiple data science positions in startups and larger enterprises, I highly recommend applying to data science jobs through platforms like AngelList, which allow you to speak to employers directly and circumvent many of the bureaucratic processes that tend to discourage people from applying to jobs they are actually well qualified for.
- mindcrime 9y ago
  spoopy01 nailed it. Most of the people hiring data scientists don't really know what data science is, or probably even why they need it. So they inflate the hell out of the requirements to a. CYA and b. hopefully get somebody so experienced they can come in and make up for the lack of organizational understanding of data science. IOW, they want somebody who can "teach us what we don't know".
  - softawre 9y ago
    Teaching me what I don't know is what I want with all of my engineering hires. I want people better than me who will tell me why my architecture isn't ideal or whatever the case is.
    - mindcrime 9y ago
      Yes, but I'd argue that's on a different level from "teach us why we need an 'architecture'" or "teach us how to use this 'data science' stuff". Some people are trying to be buzzword compliant when they don't actually understand the buzzwords. Ya know? Or maybe there's a better explanation for asking for a candidate with a Ph.D. in Statistics to create a linear regression model in Excel. Because truth is, for many companies that's all they need.
      - cat199 9y ago
        I get that it's difficult to get these gigs.. But also recall, that there are alot of people with general computer backgrounds and a whole lot more real-world work experience who could pick up the basics of data scicnce stuff as well.. Places where these jobs tend to be needed are often very highly placed and very strategic, with the decisions being made based on the data very critical to the overall company health. Some of what is being requested by requiring this level of credentials is real-world work experience and a certain level of maturity/professionalism that is often implied by this as well.. If the level of skill is basic enough that any other regular employee could learn it in short order, why wouldn't they and then have the cushy 'sit around and play with numbers all day' job too.. There needs to be enough 'there there' to placate internal politics as well.. Further, having a more advanced person would also likely need to be taking leadership roles in picking and rolling out solutions with long term costs associated with them, training other employees, etc, which also comes with the professionalism/experience part..
- huac 9y ago
  I just graduated undergrad as well. The biggest factors assisting me in getting a DS position were: 1. Previous internship in data science 2. Experience developing R packages and putting them on GitHub 3. Really having statistical theory down pat You don't need an advanced degree to be a data scientist but you need a strong understanding of stats and how to work with data. Having an advanced degree is a good indicator that you can do that. But it's not a prerequisite for an undergrad: Github, internships, TA-ships can make that up. I think one advantage is that while PhD's are typically very good at the research process and the techniques used in their research, undergrads could be more flexible and adaptive to different situations.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
minimaxir 9y ago
So I've been interviewing for data analyst/science positions since leaving Apple in April. I may do a postmortem on my search later, but speaking from my experience with many, many interviews over the past couple months, the TL;DR is that the conventional interview wisdom on Hacker News/the cscareerquestions subreddit/this article is wrong and out of date. Interviews for such positions require a different set of skills than just reading Cracking the Code Interview (and ones that you can't get at a data bootcamp).
- cbcoutinho 9y ago
  If you had to summarize into three points?
  - minimaxir 9y ago
    I have one notable observation: On Hacker News, every time an interview thread pops up, there is a discussion decrying the use of technical screenings before an onsite, and often suggest practical work experience instead using a homework assignment (which this article does not discuss). Most of the companies I've talked with for data analyst/science roles have given me both a homework assignment and a technical screen before the onsite. And often a prescreen test before both of them. There have been a number of occasions where I easily passed the homework screen but failed the technical screen (without any feedback as to why). And it's beginning to get annoying.
    - FlyingLawnmower 9y ago
      Did you find another job yet? If not, what type of opportunity are you looking for? Data science is also a wide, somewhat poorly defined domain.
      - minimaxir 9y ago
        Still looking. Mostly for any role with a data analyst/data scientist title (i.e. I am not applying for the machine learning/NLP roles which require a PhD and the authorship of several papers since there is no point).
booleandilemma 9y ago
How many data scientist jobs are actually out there? I can understand data scientist being a position at one of the big 5 tech companies, but are they really in demand elsewhere? I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist.
- likelynew 9y ago
  And in some consultancies too.
- bllguo 9y ago
  Well, there's a job post on HN right now looking for data scientists :)
- tomrod 9y ago
  We exist. I just presented at a firmwide Data Science Forum for a very large financial firm.
- gipp 9y ago
  Ad-tech, fin-tech, marketing analytics firms all hire data scientists in huge numbers. Media companies as well, increasingly. This is probably NYC-biased.
- ellisv 9y ago
  > I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist. You could probably say the same about a lot of job titles. I've never meet a sanitation worker but my trash gets picked up once a week nonetheless.
- tegansnyder 9y ago
  Manufacturing, finance, areospace, automotive industry, and medical industry are a few other places hiring data scientists.
- reader5000 9y ago
  Technically anybody who uses Excel is a "data scientist". Just got to get the right buzzwords.
mcrad 9y ago
Analyzing the Analyzers, free eBook. Assuming the student is sharp on technical skills, this look at the human side could be helpful to prepare. https://www.amazon.com/Analyzing-Analyzers-Introspective-Survey-Scientists-ebook/dp/B00DBHTE56 https://www.amazon.com/Analyzing-Analyzers-Introspective-Sur...
reader5000 9y ago
"Data science" is a field with so much conceptual churn and fads that interviewing for it is a completely ridiculous notion.
denzil_correa 9y ago
The thing is : Data Science requires ... "scientific" rigor and thought process. A lot of people who hire often forget that science is integral to data science: it's right there in the name.
- rogocopH 9y ago
  I think this was posted earlier. But some companies really just want a statistician. Very few companies are actually using their data scientists as scientists. From my experience.Except for when I worked at a large hospital. We had a research board, and had to be certified to study Humans CITI. But beyond that..
  - gaius 9y ago
    But some companies really just want a statistician In what way is what statisticians do not "scientific"? Setting up and rejecting (or not) the null hypothesis is the very definition of the scientific process...

129 points by rogocopH 9y ago

Unfortunately there is very little here that isn't just general interview advice. As a new grad that went through the hunt very recently - it was a messy process. Very few places will consider you without extensive experience, or a masters/Ph.D. Of course if you're hiring people to research machine learning algorithms that's justifiable, but plenty of the responsibilities people associate with data scientists don't require advanced degrees. And the number of posts asking for 5, 7, even 10 years of experience... absolutely astounding. As someone uninterested in going back to school, I've resigned myself to getting some work experience and doing personal projects for 1-2 yrs before trying again.

kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
Most of these listings have over-inflated experience requirements. A lot of them will entertain you even if you have half the experience they ask for.
- bllguo 9y ago
  Good to know. As a new grad I couldn't really claim to have any experience, so that wouldn't have helped me. I was just commenting that these requirements were absurd, considering that the pool of people meeting them would be so small. Definitely will take note of that in the future though.
autokad 9y ago
I recently graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a masters in computer science after 9 years experience as a DBA and GIS, + 1 year experience working for a social media lab doing natural language processing (co authored on several papers) + 1 year experience working with big data (10 tb in size). applied to ~85 data science positions. I can't even get recruiters to call me for a phone screening, so don't feel down =)
spoopy01 9y ago
Unfortunately most people posting data science jobs don't really have good priors on the necessary qualifications for those positions. As someone who has gotten multiple data science positions in startups and larger enterprises, I highly recommend applying to data science jobs through platforms like AngelList, which allow you to speak to employers directly and circumvent many of the bureaucratic processes that tend to discourage people from applying to jobs they are actually well qualified for.
mindcrime 9y ago
spoopy01 nailed it. Most of the people hiring data scientists don't really know what data science is, or probably even why they need it. So they inflate the hell out of the requirements to a. CYA and b. hopefully get somebody so experienced they can come in and make up for the lack of organizational understanding of data science. IOW, they want somebody who can "teach us what we don't know".
- softawre 9y ago
  Teaching me what I don't know is what I want with all of my engineering hires. I want people better than me who will tell me why my architecture isn't ideal or whatever the case is.
  - mindcrime 9y ago
    Yes, but I'd argue that's on a different level from "teach us why we need an 'architecture'" or "teach us how to use this 'data science' stuff". Some people are trying to be buzzword compliant when they don't actually understand the buzzwords. Ya know? Or maybe there's a better explanation for asking for a candidate with a Ph.D. in Statistics to create a linear regression model in Excel. Because truth is, for many companies that's all they need.
    - cat199 9y ago
      I get that it's difficult to get these gigs.. But also recall, that there are alot of people with general computer backgrounds and a whole lot more real-world work experience who could pick up the basics of data scicnce stuff as well.. Places where these jobs tend to be needed are often very highly placed and very strategic, with the decisions being made based on the data very critical to the overall company health. Some of what is being requested by requiring this level of credentials is real-world work experience and a certain level of maturity/professionalism that is often implied by this as well.. If the level of skill is basic enough that any other regular employee could learn it in short order, why wouldn't they and then have the cushy 'sit around and play with numbers all day' job too.. There needs to be enough 'there there' to placate internal politics as well.. Further, having a more advanced person would also likely need to be taking leadership roles in picking and rolling out solutions with long term costs associated with them, training other employees, etc, which also comes with the professionalism/experience part..
huac 9y ago
I just graduated undergrad as well. The biggest factors assisting me in getting a DS position were: 1. Previous internship in data science 2. Experience developing R packages and putting them on GitHub 3. Really having statistical theory down pat You don't need an advanced degree to be a data scientist but you need a strong understanding of stats and how to work with data. Having an advanced degree is a good indicator that you can do that. But it's not a prerequisite for an undergrad: Github, internships, TA-ships can make that up. I think one advantage is that while PhD's are typically very good at the research process and the techniques used in their research, undergrads could be more flexible and adaptive to different situations.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

minimaxir 9y ago

So I've been interviewing for data analyst/science positions since leaving Apple in April. I may do a postmortem on my search later, but speaking from my experience with many, many interviews over the past couple months, the TL;DR is that the conventional interview wisdom on Hacker News/the cscareerquestions subreddit/this article is wrong and out of date. Interviews for such positions require a different set of skills than just reading Cracking the Code Interview (and ones that you can't get at a data bootcamp).

cbcoutinho 9y ago
If you had to summarize into three points?
- minimaxir 9y ago
  I have one notable observation: On Hacker News, every time an interview thread pops up, there is a discussion decrying the use of technical screenings before an onsite, and often suggest practical work experience instead using a homework assignment (which this article does not discuss). Most of the companies I've talked with for data analyst/science roles have given me both a homework assignment and a technical screen before the onsite. And often a prescreen test before both of them. There have been a number of occasions where I easily passed the homework screen but failed the technical screen (without any feedback as to why). And it's beginning to get annoying.
  - FlyingLawnmower 9y ago
    Did you find another job yet? If not, what type of opportunity are you looking for? Data science is also a wide, somewhat poorly defined domain.
    - minimaxir 9y ago
      Still looking. Mostly for any role with a data analyst/data scientist title (i.e. I am not applying for the machine learning/NLP roles which require a PhD and the authorship of several papers since there is no point).

booleandilemma 9y ago

How many data scientist jobs are actually out there? I can understand data scientist being a position at one of the big 5 tech companies, but are they really in demand elsewhere? I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist.

likelynew 9y ago
And in some consultancies too.
bllguo 9y ago
Well, there's a job post on HN right now looking for data scientists :)
tomrod 9y ago
We exist. I just presented at a firmwide Data Science Forum for a very large financial firm.
gipp 9y ago
Ad-tech, fin-tech, marketing analytics firms all hire data scientists in huge numbers. Media companies as well, increasingly. This is probably NYC-biased.
ellisv 9y ago
> I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist. You could probably say the same about a lot of job titles. I've never meet a sanitation worker but my trash gets picked up once a week nonetheless.
tegansnyder 9y ago
Manufacturing, finance, areospace, automotive industry, and medical industry are a few other places hiring data scientists.
reader5000 9y ago
Technically anybody who uses Excel is a "data scientist". Just got to get the right buzzwords.

mcrad 9y ago

Analyzing the Analyzers, free eBook. Assuming the student is sharp on technical skills, this look at the human side could be helpful to prepare. https://www.amazon.com/Analyzing-Analyzers-Introspective-Survey-Scientists-ebook/dp/B00DBHTE56 https://www.amazon.com/Analyzing-Analyzers-Introspective-Sur...

reader5000 9y ago

"Data science" is a field with so much conceptual churn and fads that interviewing for it is a completely ridiculous notion.

denzil_correa 9y ago

The thing is : Data Science requires ... "scientific" rigor and thought process. A lot of people who hire often forget that science is integral to data science: it's right there in the name.

rogocopH 9y ago
I think this was posted earlier. But some companies really just want a statistician. Very few companies are actually using their data scientists as scientists. From my experience.Except for when I worked at a large hospital. We had a research board, and had to be certified to study Humans CITI. But beyond that..
- gaius 9y ago
  But some companies really just want a statistician In what way is what statisticians do not "scientific"? Setting up and rejecting (or not) the null hypothesis is the very definition of the scientific process...