How are you? I hope things are going well for you.
Working from home should be quite an experience so far. You are probably wondering why did you even go to the office before the pandemic. It is because the world, imo, is accustomed to old ways that are still comfortable (not necessary working). For instance, in the Industrial age where factories and processing lines galore, everyone needs to be at their station else the production line does not move. Thus born the need to be in your office.
Let’s talk about another question that is decades-old, Experience VS Qualification. During the Agricultural Society, experience counts a lot because of how much the farmers produced, his livelihood, depended very much on his learning and experience. Once we move to the Industrial Age, where the demand for laborers is very high, there is a need to ensure people are qualified before they can start work, thus qualifications were born. For example, workers needed to be qualified engineers so that they are (believed to be) equipped with the necessary knowledge to build strong bridges, airplanes that can fly.
We are now in the Knowledge Economy. What is more important is the value that the grey matter between your ears brings. How good are you is determined by how you can bring together the skills and knowledge to create an impact. Qualifications do not provide that, but experience does. It seems like we have come back in a circle!
Data Science or being a Data Scientist, is someone who solves problems for their employers through data. You need to be a problem solver and solving problems requires us to have vast experience, to see how other problems are solved, then bring together the relevant parts to solve the current problem. Being qualified is just not enough anymore!
If you want to be successful in the Data Science field you need to strengthen the following:
1 - Thought process in solving problems
3 - Mathematics!
Your qualifications itself is not enough to get you a job, you need to showcase your problem-solving skills. Take this time now to work on your project portfolio. It will benefit you tremendously because by itself it is a learning experience too. :)
Thank you very much for your kind support. If you found the newsletter to be useful, do share them with your network. If there is any feedback, feel free to give me a Tweet or message me on LinkedIn! If you have some time on hand, do visit my website when it is convenient! :)
Stay home, stay healthy and take care!
Posts since the last newsletter:
1 - Data Science Myth (2) - It is a Magic Pill!
2 - Lex Fridman Interview - Christof Koch
Books I am reading now:
A World Without Work: Technology Automation and How We Should Respond