I belong to the capital city of Rajasthan where I started my career journey. I am a B.Tech Graduate in Computer Science and have done my MBA in Marketing & Sales. I have been working as a Data Analytics Associate and have a cumulative experience of 7.5 years to date. Recently I got the career transition that I was aiming for and finally earned the opportunity to work as a Lead Consultant in Data Science Domain at a US-based Multinational Company.
I was associated with a Reliance Company in the capacity of a Manager in the Operations Department. A major part of my job demands my bandwidth to solve Data Analytics problems. Due to the challenges faced in my day-to-day assignment, I decided to upskill myself and get the required skill set to solve even complex problems with greater efficiency.
Earlier I was using Primitive Software to solve Data Analytics problems and the major challenge I faced was the Data Size complexity as that software is not designed to handle much volume of data. This, in turn, renders the process very slow and repetitive. At times, it was frustrating when Management wants a piece of information quickly and you must run several iterations on the data which obviously will take more time to produce the deliverables. On top of it, I lacked skill in predictive analytics and hence I had to say no to several work assignments of that nature which, in turn, will narrow my growth perspective in the organization.
I have taken online courses before, and I must say that I was not a promoter of Online Learning until now. Since the majority of the courses were Self-Paced Learning videos with no mentoring sessions or projects. Some of them had mentoring sessions once in a while. I never felt confident even after completing those courses. I did not complete some of the courses even.
Over here @ Great Learning, one of my friends was taking the course and I just expressed my will to learn Data Science in front of him. He told me about Great Learning, and I told him about my thoughts and experiences with online courses. He assured me about the program and told me it is not like other programs which provide a passive learning structure to the learners. On the contrary, GL has a very active learning structure wherein one topic is covered via Learning Videos, Practice Assessments, Time Graded quizzes, One Mentoring Session, and One Monthly Project. It compelled me to at least think about taking this course since these many revisions on a single topic will definitely result in firm learning. With great dilemma, I have taken this course and now I am delighted that I took that step.
I would say that mentoring sessions were the most important part of the learning process as they were the only interactive platform wherein a dialogue could happen. Another thing which I like the most is that the batch size did not exceed 15 learners which provided an excellent platform for everyone to be vocal about his doubts and any other apprehensions for that matter and get a real-time solution directly from the horse’s mouth.
I would endorse such mentoring sessions to all because of the following reasons: –
a) Rich Content but at the same time no information overloading,
b). Structure of the Sessions wherein not only Theoretical Topics but Practical Hands-On sessions were covered,
c) Mentor who is already having relevant professional experience,
d) Last but not the least- Q&A sessions towards the end of the session.
I would definitely like to take this opportunity and thank Prithi Peter for being an excellent mentor throughout my journey. She had a pivotal role in shaping my skills to the desired level from which I can launch myself right into real-world problems. One of her characteristics that I personally admire is that she is very patient, and I can say that because I have never seen her agitated despite us posting similar doubts over and over again. It would have been possible without her support, and I owe this to her.
Once I was through with 75% of the course, I started applying for jobs in the data science domain as I have acquired enough confidence in my abilities. Fortunately, I was able to get into one of the reputed US-based multinationals as a Lead Consultant and have been working here ever since. Also, I have started working on real-world Data Science Projects as well. A major credit for this success goes to the Great Learning Program which has provided me with numerous tools in my kitty.
If I were to sum up all in one word I would say – ‘’Consistency”. Nowadays, Data Science is such a fancy term, you would hear it everywhere on social media platforms. Everyone would fancy their chances in this domain but one or two months down the line they would not consider it their cup of tea. As an aspirant, you need to understand that this is a very long and everlasting journey and once a wise man said that when you have a longer path don’t run fast but run consistently. To translate this in simpler terms that there is no overnight Data Scientist, one should not bury themselves under loads of information too soon and then think it is too technical or I am not meant for this. Rather you should take your time and take one step at a time, but it has to be consistent, and trust me you would yourself feel that change in you 6 months down the line and it will become a habit to evolve even more.
