The greatest proof that we as ‘humans’ are the most advanced species on this planet is the fact that we adapt to adversities. Why am I opening my story with this statement?
Because it reflects my story and my journey, you will get to know it in a bit. Read further to learn more about my journey with Great Learning’s PGP Data Science and Business Analytics Course.
I come from Guwahati, Assam. Having completed my BE in Production Engineering from Saurashtra University and my MBA from IBS Hyderabad, I settled for a Sales job through my campus. I always thought Sales was the coolest job where you earn and get to travel and meet a lot of people. I have always managed to achieve my targets. But even after achieving, that sense of fulfilment was never there. I thought to myself maybe I was in the wrong sector and decided to change sectors. I tried everything but was not able to find the answer until last year when the pandemic struck. I was in the middle of a job change, resigned from my current job and was about to move into the next one when the lockdown happened. I kept waiting for my new joining, but it never happened. My new company changed the entire offer and offered me a role which I would have never accepted. So here I was with no job at hand, with bills to pay and with no direction in life. I felt completely lost and defeated. But as the saying goes, when life knocks you down hard, you have to get back up twice as fast. Everywhere there was a lockdown, and Salespeople were the last to be recruited. It was then my wife suggested that I look for other options and career paths. I was like, ‘What!!!’. I am 30, and now a career change? For four months, I researched and finally found something that made sense to me – I liked Sales because I got to play with numbers. I got to tweak them and put them into presentations to make sense out of them. So I did a bit more research and found that there was actually a field called Data Analytics that deals with numbers. This excited me, but I didn’t know how to code. Whoa!!! I had to start from scratch.
I spoke to a few representatives and finalised on Great Learning because they were prompt in replying to my query, and in the first call itself, Piyush explained everything to me in detail. I enquired a bit more about the course from others and got a positive response. Now I knew what to do, but the road ahead was still hazy. I took that leap of faith and invested the last amount of savings into this course. Apart from knowing that Python is a reptile, I didn’t know that it could mean anything else. Well, now it means a programming language that I will be using extensively from this time onward.
The lectures started from basics, and slowly I started to get the hang of it. The weekend sessions with our mentor Mr Surya gave that much needed human touch to the course where we could actually interact and get our doubts cleared. Slowly and steadily, my confidence grew. Having loved maths, Statistics was my favourite module. I got to learn how we made ‘business’ sense with data. I treated it like a full-time course (remember, I am still unemployed!!). Each day I would spend 9-10 hours studying and exploring new materials related to that week’s topic.
My mentor was also instrumental here in telling us what other resources we could refer to apart from the video lectures and materials provided by GL. Being from a non-coding background, I usually had more doubts, but he would answer them very patiently. Then there would be the project submissions for each module which I believe is one of the cornerstones of this course. After all, data science is all about how we build insights from our data and help businesses. These projects nailed it. Giving us real-world business case scenarios to solve not only helped us build context but also boosted our confidence. There was hand-holding at every stage of the course, and this proved very helpful for students like me. The industry sessions were equally beneficial as they became more relatable. Actual people working with Analytics day in and day out would share their experience about how Analytics is changing lives for real. My love for this field grew so much that by January 2021 & I topped my batch. This gave me more fuel to perform and pursue. My first practical exposure to coding came with the Hackathons that GL conducted. In this, we all compete to build models and solve the business problem at hand. You get to know where you stand.
The next thing I had to work on was my Resume. GL’s resume review section was very useful, and I got important feedback with regards to my resume, which helped me in getting my CV shortlisted by the companies. Career Mentoring session where we can book a one-one session with Industry veterans and get a chance to pick their minds was also very helpful. I got to know how people in Analytics think and what interviewers are looking for in a candidate.
Nine months into the course, I got shortlisted by TheMathCompany, and after three technical and 1 HR round, I finally got the offer to join them as an Associate Data Scientist. The GLs placement team would equip us with every bit of information and knowledge that would help in cracking the various rounds. The knowledge imparted was so practical and relatable that it is bound to make an impression. It would be a crime if I did not mention my Program Manager Deekhsa Narang who was very helpful and accommodating with us.
Data Science is not a destination but a journey. Enjoy every moment of it. There is a huge community out there; join it and keep learning. Keep yourself updated with the latest trends and happenings in the industry. Try to form that business sense- How do we help businesses with our findings? Last but not least, learn to believe in yourself as I have done. If I can do it, so can anyone.
