I am Sandeep – a Decision Science consultant in Fractal Analytics Pvt Ltd. I have to combine technology, mathematics, business, and behavioral science to help clients make better realistic storyboarding, thus providing a framework for decision making. Currently, I am in Technology Team, where clients include GPAY and others.
I am an ardent football fan with a zeal for learning. I did my graduation in Economics. After my graduation, I wanted to do something in the field of data science, but because of my lack of any technical experience/degree, no one would hire me. I thought of doing MBA in Business Analytics. Coming from a lower-middle-class family, I could not afford the hefty MBA college fees, so I had to drop the plan for later. Initially, to support my family, I joined BPO as a customer care executive in Hinduja Global Solutions. After working for 3 months, I joined Tech Mahindra as a Contractual Employee working in document verification. 5 Months into the TechM, Covid had hit the world, and fortunately, I was able to WFH.
Covid really changed my life. Working from home, I was able to save more money from my monthly salary amidst all this. The dream to do something in Data science was always there. After 5 months in Covid, I was able to save enough money to buy a Laptop, so I bought a Laptop and Started self-learning. I learned advanced excel, SQL, and some other tools on my own, but this was not enough. I could not find Entry-level jobs in any of the job portals. Even if I could find one, I won’t get shortlisted though there was a demand for data science roles. By now, I had done a lot of research in the Data Science field. I realized it’s literally impossible to get into Data Science by just self-studies as there was no structure, and also, I did not know what exactly the recruiters wanted. There are like hundreds of professional learning platforms these days, and choosing one from them is a task.
I really liked the curriculum of Great Learning, although others were providing similar courses for much fewer fees and in lesser duration, but I realized I could not cover so much in 3 or 6 months, and it was not worth it. Also, GL had a great alumni network and placements. So finally, after 2 years of deliberation with the help of my father, I resigned from Amazon (I was working there as an SPS associate) and enrolled in great learning, and it changed my life. I was working in Amazon Development Center India as a VCC Selling Partner support Associate. Almost every day was a challenge as I was talking on the Phone with Angry Sellers and customers on a daily basis. I have mentioned this in the first question. I always knew I could do better.
The great learning team really made it smooth. Everything was organized so I could concentrate on the Interview only. Every day new requirements would be published on a great learning job portal. Post shortlisting, there would be interview prep sessions that become really helpful.
You start getting jobs opening post 70 % of course completion. I also started getting the same; 7 months into the course, I got shortlisted for some roles, some I could not clear. Finally, I was selected by Fractal Analytics Pvt. Ltd. There were 4 rounds; the first was the quant and SQL test. After that, there was a technical round followed by a managerial and later HR round. I got the offer the same day.
I was happy with the role, so I did not look further and settled. Great learning has a great curriculum and study materials. The Mentors were always available to help with any doubt; the Program manager took regular follow-ups. This really helped me concentrate on myself. Apart from this, you have to keep practicing what you learn. I took help from Kaggle for this. And keep your self-motivation and not lose hope and work hard. The curriculum is made as per the current requirements of the industry. There are frequent sessions by Industry experts from different domains. Even if you are a beginner like me and have minimal technical Knowledge, everything is taught from scratch, so you won’t face much difficulty, although it would be advantageous if you have a good understanding of Statistics which, fortunately, I had, which made life much easier. The curriculum also allows working professionals to keep learning without quitting.
Also, since this DSBA course is so perfectly spread out into 11 months that you get enough time to dwell and understand concepts that you had never heard before and practice with quizzes and different Datasets. At the end of each module, you are evaluated with assignments and a final Capstone project at the end of the course.
You get a Mentor from week 1 who takes a live session at the end of the week to explain the concepts and clear your doubts. You can also share doubts at any time of the week as well. They always answer them in real-time. Also, the mentor guides you with your career as well. One of the pieces of advice my mentor gave to me was to practice and participate in competitions on Kaggle, which really enhanced my learning.
I feel happy in the new role and have finally started doing what I always wanted. My family is happy and proud. Don’t lose hope. Keep learning and working hard. There is no substitute for hard work, and eventually, hard work pays.
