A career in data science: what is it, who is it for and how do you get into it? - with Nicholas Cifuentes of WorldQuant University

Change Work Life

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#179: Nicholas Ciufentes-Goodbody transitioned from a career in teaching to becoming the Chief Data Scientist at WorldQuant University. He explains what data science involves, what a career in data science looks like, and why it’s such a popular field to work in.

What you’ll learn

• [1:45] What WorldQuant University is and the types of programs they run.
• [3:42] How a free university is possible in America.
• [4:13] The motivation for a hedge fund to run a free university.
• [4:50] What data science is and how it’s used.
• [6:03] The biggest employers of data scientists.
• [8:21] What a typical day as a data scientist is like.
• [10:12] The different specialities within data science.
• [12:08] What it means to be an AI engineer.
• [12:40] What qualifications you need to become a data scientist.
• [14:43] The level of education you need to become a data scientist.
• [16:27] Character traits that successful data scientists share.
• [18:10] The amount of nerds working in data science.
• [20:08] Why musicians become data scientists and doctors.
• [21:15] How to transition your career to become a data scientist.
• [27:37] What you need on your resume when applying for a data science role.
• [29:07] The best ways to learn the skills you need to become a data scientist.
• [30:29] How to edit your CV when applying for a data science job.
• [31:55] How to find a good data science boot camp.
• [33:51] The base knowledge you need prior to joining a data science boot camp.
• [36:30] The income potential of a data scientist.
• [38:17] The career path of a data scientist.
• [39:28] The impact AI will have on data scientists.
• [42:12] The ever-changing nature of data science.

Resources mentioned in this episode
Please note that some of these are affiliate links and we may get a commission in the event that you make a purchase. This helps us to cover our expenses and is at no additional cost to you.

• DataCamp
• Kaggle
• openAFRICA
• Coursera
• Udemy
• An Introduction to Statistical Learning, Gareth James
• Hands-on machine learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow, Aurelien Geron
• Fluent Python, Luciano Ramalho
• Mathematics for Human Flourishing, Francis Su

For the show notes for this episode, including a full transcript and links to all the resources mentioned, visit:
https://changeworklife.com/using-chatgpt-to-supercharge-your-career/

Re-assessing your career? Know you need a change but don't really know where to start? Check out these two exercises to start the journey of working out what career is right for you!