Five Things I Learned from my Transition to Data Science.
A few years ago, I began my professional career as a Teller in one of Nigeria’s top Banks. This was an opportunity I grabbed with both hands because I am very passionate about not starving to death😁. Although my undergraduate degree in Industrial Chemistry had nothing to do with banking, I enjoyed my job role and worked hard at being excellent. As much as I worked diligently on my job, I did not find career satisfaction for some reasons. I was not certain about what career I wanted to pursue, but I certainly knew I did not want to be in that role for a long time.
A few years later, I landed in my career of choice after two banking jobs, and here are five things I learned along the way that may be of help to those looking to switch careers.
Know what you don’t want: I heard this first from an inspirational speaker back in my university days and it stuck with me because I seldom knew what I wanted out of life. But I was certain about what I did not want. This is a scenario that is common among ‘millennials’ and ‘Gen Z’ just starting after university education.
My first job as a Bank Teller gave me corporate experience, a strong work ethic needed to survive in the bank amidst daily pressures, and a steady paycheck. But I did not want that role for some personal reasons. So I actively searched for opportunities to leave that role for a ‘better’ role in a ‘better place offering ‘better’ returns. Please bear in mind that the meaning of ‘better’ is subjective. As I kept on applying for new roles within and outside my organization and getting many regret mails, one thing became apparent to me as I was gradually leaving entry-level classification: I did not have any marketable skill. It was at that point I decided that I would get a valuable skill no matter what it would take me.
This leads me to my next lesson.
Explore your options: If you are like me and, you don’t know what you want, you have some time to work with and earning some money, then exploration calls for you. My exploration began in the digital marketing space as I began taking up courses along those lines. I knew with the rise of the internet and more businesses looking to leverage the internet for business success that digital marketing would be very much needed. After several learnings and connecting with other digital marketers in the space, I soon found out it was not my thing.
How did I find out? I soon realized I did not enjoy spending much time on it whether for work or pleasure. Then I entered into software development and started getting my hands-on learning programming but again it did not work out. Whether I did not put enough work into my learning or it was not just my thing, I don't know… It just did not work.
In winter 2019, I attended an MBA and master's fair from schools abroad in Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria. It was there I knew of such a course called Business Analytics. I have always been a curious fellow and analytical thinker so the analytics part resonated with me. I began researching on the course and discovered the field of data science and all its branches. As usual, I began taking free courses on data science on Edx and Coursera. By free I mean, I audited the courses for the knowledge because I could not afford to pay for the courses. But I could afford Udemy’s courses, so I got from there as well. And there was/is plenty of free stuff out there.
The more I learned, the more I felt my exploration was paying off. Finally, I had discovered what I wanted to do. 🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻 Now you are ready for my next lesson.
Focus On It With Everything: From that moment, I consumed any and every content that had anything to do with data science and analytics. I signed up for anything that had “learn data science for free”. During this time, I moved to another bank, for a higher role than my previous but I still was not satisfied. So I kept learning and studying with every free moment I got. The bank is highly demanding as it requires your everything including weekends. So I did not have disposable time but I had to work extra like sleeping late many nights because that was when I had time to work on myself. For me taking the stress to improve my skills with a focus was cheaper compared to not improving myself and staying in my then-current role.
I only had one choice and it was to build myself with relevant skills and do it well. I kept at my tutorials journey and many times suffered imposter syndrome as I would learn the same things many times. This was because my learning was self-arranged, without structure and the plethora of information online did not help my matter.
During the covid lockdown period, I began to plateau as I thought I was not learning anything and was close to quitting. Then I discovered a secret that made all the difference. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Get a Mentor: I have learned that mentorship is necessary for winning in any sphere of life. Mentoring is about learning from someone who has traveled the path you want to travel successfully. It saves you from many of the pitfalls they suffered and makes your journey smoother. It was at the point of throwing in the towel that I connected with a mentor who coincidentally was a childhood friend. Adaugo Okafor (you can connect with her on Linkedin) revived my fire for my journey and made me realize that I was making progress.
My mentor made my learning structured and I could now measure my progress. She gave access to her course materials, gave me tasks to complete, and persuaded me to begin doing data science projects. This was a defining point in my learning journey. The more projects I did, the more my learning became concrete and I was excited that I was gradually building a portfolio to show to a potential employer. The need to begin doing projects as it relates to your field of interest cannot be overemphasized. They not only cement the knowledge you think you have acquired but they make you ‘show’ ready. You know the saying that “Learning comes by doing”.
Yes now I was ready to conquer the world, or so I thought…🙃😌
Be Patient: I had gotten my skills right, I had my projects right, I had my Resume right but I was not getting the job offers as a data analyst after several applications. I would tweak and design my resume to help me stand out in the process, but yet it was not working. I hoped for internal movement within my organization but it also was not coming through. Then I was forced to be patient. Oftentimes in life, you will put in the work and sweat, make the sacrifices and still not get your expected end.
At this point, life is calling you to be patient because success cannot be hurried. This is the point you have to trust in God to open doors for you. It is also important to state that you must still be excellent at your current role and seek to offer more value than you are receiving. Jesus teaches that faithfulness is a key to getting more. While waiting, keep learning and making necessary adjustments that will help you land your first role in your career switch. Usually, the first one is the hardest, but once you break through that ceiling the sky will be your starting point.
If you have read up till this point, thank you very much and I hope you picked up a thing or two from this. No matter the stage of your career, a switch is still possible. It certainly not going to be easy, but it is worth the try as long as it is what you want to do.
Please share your thoughts in the comment section and don't forget to share as someone in your network may need this information.
