Stay-at-Home mom with zero qualifications to Junior Data Scientist in a year!
A journey of motherhood intertwined with career
“I’ve learned never to underestimate the power and ability I have…”
Changing diapers, feeding, bathing, teaching, playing and snuggles. This was my daily routine for 3 years straight and I cherished it. “Single mother”, that’s a term most would use to label me, rather, I prefer the term “Mother”- plain and simple Mother. Because that is what I am, regardless of my relationship or marital status. I have to care for this young human being as I am, alone or not, I’m the mother and that is enough.
I come from a background of an impressive High School Diploma (if I may say so myself) excelling in Mathematics and Computer Technology, so I found myself in University studying a BSc in Computational and Applied Mathematics at a renowned institution here in South Africa. A dream come true you may think? Well, sort of, a year and a half later I made the decision to leave studying and explore what life had to offer. Charity work, marriage and travelling the world were added to my Resume of Life. Perhaps some may refer to this as an “Existential Crisis” of some sort, and I wouldn’t disagree.
6 years later, here I am — a widowed young woman with a 3 year old son. With his adorable chubby cheeks and innocent large eyes glaring at me I thought to myself, “now is the time, I need professional skills under this tight motherhood belt I’m wearing. I need to provide financially”. Needless to say, for a then 19 year old and now 25 year old, I have been through a lot of life’s difficulties in my youth to say the least.
In came Explore Data Science Academy!
I came across Explore through a young woman-in-tech friend of mine who lives in Ghana, Jamila Farourk. I wrote an online assessment test, made it through to the 2nd round, then the 3rd, then an interview! And just like that, the golden door of opportunities opened and I entered the grueling yet exciting path of Data Science. I was accepted in the Academy, me - Zaheeda with 3 years of mommy-brain (mothers can relate) and no formal University qualification. I was floored.
I went from teaching my son the ABCs to being able to code in SQL and Python in less than a year. Team collaboration, Database management, Data Analytics, Data Visualization and Dashboarding, Professional Communication, and the crème de la crème - Machine Learning, Model Building and Deep Learning, became my day-to-day life. All on top of dealing with a then 2 year old (cute) tantrum prone child.
At Explore Data Science Academy we tackled projects such as:
- Exploring the Cape Town Water Crisis using Data Analysis
- Building a South African Stock Market Predictor through Regression
- Creating a Personality Predictor through Text Classification
- Solving the Cape Town Traffic Problem using Unsupervised Learning
Some Achievements
A few months ago I participated in a BCX Insights Hackathon for Text Classification where I won 2nd place; and a Zindi Competition where I placed 13th out of 50 world-wide participants for another Text Classification Challenge.
I’m also pleased to say that I was elected to be the Office Representative of 100 BCX interns during my Explore Data Science Academy learnership.
I am now at a stage where I have completed a Data Science Internship with BCX Insights and I am being made offers by companies to be a full-fledged Data Scientist, a Junior Data Scientist and a Junior Analyst. Regardless of my lack of formal education.
Out of everything this past year, I’ve learned never to underestimate the power and ability I have within myself, the importance of resilience and pushing through no matter how daunting things may seem. I learned that I, Zaheeda mother of Hamza, can be a force to be reckoned with. I can be an asset to the corporate/start-up world while given the opportunity to hone and master my skills.
I am bright, I have strong leadership qualities, I communicate well, I have newly found technical skills — I am a Data Scientist.
The only thing that holds us back at times is our own selves, our own vices, our self-doubt, our desperation to seek validation from others. With support from family and friends, I realize the power I hold as I am. I did it, and I am continuing to do it!
All thanks to the Almighty Allah.
