I remembered that I joined one of the WeCloudData meetups in 2016. I was not quite sure about making the career switch yet. It changed when covid came. As one of the eldest students, I proved that there is room for everyone. Never too old to learn. We all worked hard and respected each other.
I am so grateful to have all the support from WeCloudData and accepted a senior data engineer job offer lately at a large Fortune 500 company.
From Manufacturing to Marketing and now Big Data
Graduating from a good engineering school and business school helped me to work at large companies in the US, Canada, Singapore, and Indonesia. With an interest in coding, it helped me to increase productivity to deliver automated assembling and 3D modeling to help factories and sales. But when the pandemic hit, it was a wake-up call to go beyond my comfort zone. I found that data science complemented what I did in the past.
Job Growth in Data
Since last year, data engineers have replaced the long-standing petroleum engineer as the top spot for highest-paid engineering jobs. Look at Netflix and Amazon for example. We have seen 90% of the entire data in the world now was just created in the past 2 years. In the US the demand for DS and DE are the same in 2021. Canada needs more DE now. In my previous cohort, 15% got DE jobs; in my cohort, it was almost 50%.
Data Science at WeCloudData
Learning Data Science here is all about getting a job, fast. I believe no other private colleges or even university-level programs can match. It has 3 months of intensive SQL, Python, Machine Learning, and Big Data. Followed by 3 months of client projects and six months of career support.
WeCloudData has its own dedicated team for each. Every faculty member is capable of seeing the broader picture as well as going into deep technical detail.
Strong Academic and Job Support
To meet everyone’s expectations, it is necessary for students and the faculty to work hard equally and mutually. It could be frustrating but it’s rewarding. In my cohort, we had a mix of knowledgeable students in data/coding to those with very little programming experience. WeCloudData meets the needs of everyone no matter what your level of experience is. Also, time commitment from each student may vary but teaching assistants, class instructors, job mentors, and client project managers are always there to help.
Online Classes
I had an online learning experience before when I completed my engineering license. Due to the limited number of students, my classes were only conducted online. Being online helped me to avoid having to commute, which allowed me to spend the hours I got back doing more meaningful things such as writing new code.
It would be difficult for some students but teaching assistants were always there to help. They were always available during the entire afternoon.
Online Challenges
Some students may be worried about classes being entirely conducted online. Everyone has experienced slow internet connection, noisy neighbor lawn movers, or tended to multi-task (cooking, studying), but overall it was not a big deal.
But I would suggest also thinking about how most data jobs now would be 100% remote as well even after the pandemic. Learning online requires discipline, maturity, and commitment. Students who have succeeded to study online would prove themselves ready for the job market.
Project Management
A large part of WeCloudData’s program is all about client projects. I liked the videos from Simon Sinek explaining hard skills and human skills. Client projects are also more than just project management – for example, how do we manage conflicts, deadlines, and deliverables?
Some projects could be less demanding than others. In my experience, the faculty, client project manager work hard to help all of us to succeed professionally.
Making a Good Resume
I remember I created my own resume before I met my mentor. I customized it a lot to suit each job posting. I spent too much time and didn’t get many calls for interviews. My mentor spent at least a dozen times with me to revamp a resume to hit DA, DS, and DE roles. I remembered that I had two versions, with and without my MBA. I volunteered to take on a lot of projects when the faculty announced them. In fact, I bagged more client projects than anyone which allowed me to write a good resume.
Acing the Interview
It is more than just your skills. In my case, I already had a good resume. I was still/just invited as those recruiters also wanted to learn from me. Finding the right fit was not an easy process. As they conduct a lot of research on us, we have to do equally the same amount of research on them.
Positive thinking was an important part of this process. Rejections would come continuously. Never give up and stay healthy with your heart and head.
The Diploma Program
When I joined WeCloudData’s immersive data science program, there were only a few choices. Now they have diversified into more. WeCloudData Data Science is still the best.
Switchup ranking, 90% former student employment rate 6 months after graduation, strong connections, job referrals are some examples of this diploma success.
The alumni network is very strong. The school is pretty new but has strong enthusiasm to evolve and take advantage to be agile to adapt to the job market.
Imagine the World without Data
Data Scientists, Data Analysts, Data Engineers, Machine Learning Engineers, and DevOps Engineers are currently shaping the job market. The demand will keep going up.
WeCloudData is the pioneer in this ecosystem. If you are considering a career switch, thinking to improve your current skills, they have all the alternatives. There are successful and less successful stories. But with strong efforts, positive energies, data passions there are many opportunities to stay busy with data roles.
