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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 proce

by 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.

by bllguo 9y ago

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.