“By learning the foundations of data science, I increased my odds of getting a job much faster than I thought I would,” says Lyvia Cardoza. In today’s ever-changing environment, upskilling is key to moving ahead in your career. Read further to learn more about Lyvia’s journey with Great Learning’s PGP Data Science and Business Analytics Course in her own words.
I am a Computer Science Engineer by qualification. Having completed my engineering in Computer science I embarked on a professional journey that took me to different places in different roles spanning from the Middle East to South Africa and finally in India as a Java developer, Sap Developer, a reporting analyst finally culminating in my role as a business analyst and now a Group Manager at WNS India.
There have been many pivotal moments in this journey that have shaped my career and choices. From my marriage to the birth of my daughter to finally pursuing my passion in data science & business analytics, I have always made sure that I make the right decisions. Hence, I chose GL to enhance and supplement my career in DS
We belong in a world where women represent the largest marginalized demographic in various walks of life including professionals. The most common issue that I have faced is the second-guessing of recommendations despite a stellar track record which may be attributed to a change in the professional landscape that our society is coming to get a grip on i.e women at work. While there is progress in the right direction, there is still a long way to go to normalize this situation.
Personally, I have used my commanding personality to assert myself which along with my capabilities as a consultant has been well received by colleagues and clients alike.
Yes, I have had two career breaks, one which coincided with the birth of my child, the other to support my husband for his higher studies. However, in both cases, I was able to get back to the professional setup with little apprehension and difficulty as I always kept myself updated through continuous learning and education. This is however an exception and not the norm as I have seen and heard from many women especially mothers who find it difficult to get back to work. There are multiple reasons – some intrinsic and some external. while we can train women to deal with the intrinsic insecurities, external support is very crucial be it from the family or society to help women get back to fulfilling their potential as a professional
Growing up, I have always been a hands-on person with the urge to know the underpinning of the end to end of every task and process. And it was this quality of mine during my tenure as a business analyst that got me to take the plunge in the world of data science as at that moment, I was primarily dealing with only data analytics. In the process, I interacted with data scientists who gave me a taste of how they build data models which aid in solving critical business problems. With this newfound interest in DS, I had a quest to have a combined knowledge of data science with the existing skill sets that I already had to add more value to my credentials
As with most technical and engineering professions, men tend to form a large proportion of professionals who take the plunge. There are multiple reasons for this. but eventually, as seen in the IT world, women do catch up and in some cases fare better than their male counterparts.
Unlike when IT started, data science as a field and profession can learn from the lessons learned during the IT revolution to upskill women and give opportunities thereby normalizing faster than how IT did.
Further, Women need to understand what opportunities are available to them, research on what those opportunities involve, and what the quality of life looks like for someone in this role. There is a huge gender gap and this needs to be closed. Also, the focus should be about empowering women already who are in the field of DS, recognizing their efforts, and reminding women interested in DS that skill proficiency isn’t based on gender.
We are in the age of the gig economy where young professionals have the liberty to restart their careers in different fields multiple times as long as they put in the work with the right discipline and attitude.
In the same way, I would suggest young women give DS a chance to see if they truly see a profession they can pursue. If they choose to do so, it is definitely worth investing time and money on a course that will either give you a deep dive or at the least enroll in online courses or on various ed-tech marketplaces to get a taste of what DS has to offer. Then after building enough fundamental knowledge, you can then start reading or watch videos for more refined and advanced coverage of data science concepts to see if it interests you
I have a passion for numbers and data visualization. Having decided to pursue a course in data science, a promising field, I did my due diligence and research by checking within my network for options to pursue my education with the option of working at an opportune moment while the course continued. While there were many good options, it was GL that stood out as an obvious choice with its strong and diverse faculty from the industry, the curriculum, structure, hands-on learning, and experienced cohort.
The other students came from diverse backgrounds and learned together in groups, understanding their thought processes, and their industry experiences have contributed immensely to my learning journey.
Managing a family, career, and pursuing a course is hard, but when you stay focused on your long-term goals, and never lose confidence in your ability to prevail, you will make it to the end.
Well for me, it took a certain amount of discipline and commitment to pursue the course despite having a family to care for and other personal commitments.
The most important factor however is the support I get at home and work.
Also, I ensured I don’t miss the class as much as possible, go through the learning materials and take care of project submissions. Managing team members efficiently, work together as a group is a new skill that I learned along the way which helped me manage my team members back at work.
I have built a network, learned time management, and gained interpersonal skills, values that I will own for a lifetime. By learning the foundations of data science, I increased my odds of getting a job much faster than I thought I would.
I am a Group Manager at WNS India and it’s been just over a month since I joined while I am still pursuing the course.
While being a data scientist is a long-drawn process that needs years of education and experience, this course has helped me understand and speak the language of DS. The business models at work are being built by data scientists and the dependency of my consulting deliverables is negated as I am able to draw insights, understand the intricacies and tell a more compelling story.
What’s more – DS is a new addition to my credentials and this was instrumental in my transition to a new job. The best part of learning a new skill is feeling that sense of achievement. The entire process of learning is interesting and rewarding in itself and got great insights into my own character and capabilities.
The best part of knowing how to build models is when I am able to use my DS knowledge to build regression models for personal use such as home buying recommender system (to predict housing price based on predictors such as a number of rooms, square ft, pin code, etc), although just an estimate.
