Episode 23
How To Break Into A Career In Data Analytics (Without Any Prior Experience) - w/ Sai
In this episode, featured not-expert is Sai Kumar. Sai is the Lead Data Analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.
First moves to steal
- Break Into A Career In Data Analytics (Without Any Prior Experience) - w/ Sai
- Coming from an electrical engineering background, Sai managed to not only get into a top Data Analytics program at University of Connecticut, but also break into his current position without having any prior work experience whatsoever.I believe anybody who is currently in the job market can immediately appreciate what a gargantuan task that is - and Sai breaks down for us his exact strategy using which he was able to succeed.
- Finally, we also cover the exact resources and tools he used to break into his first data position.
- Support the Ready Set Do podcast:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saibysani18/ jobhire.ai sonara.ai Timestamps: (00:00) Intro + Background (01:22) Sai’s meteoric rise to 50k followers on LinkedIn within a year (05:52) Transitioning from Electrical Engineering to Data Analytics/Science (07:42) Curating profile for MS in BA admits using online courses (10:17) Masters experience + Job-hunting journey (12:27) Job Search Challenges and how to overcome them (16:58) Job-hunt regrets and lessons learned (19:30) Interview process for data science/analytics roles (20:55) How to prep for technical rounds in data roles oriented interviews (22:09) Platforms/sites for upskilling + practicing data technical skills (25:28) On having ZERO work experience as a huge hurdle & how to overcome that (29:02) On FAKE job offers 😮 (31:17) Day in the life of Data Lead at BCBS South Carolina (32:19) Relevant tools & technologies for data analytics (34:23) Importance of efficient data cleansing + storytelling (37:18) AI Tools for Job Hunting and Applications (40:09) Giving back to the community + FAQs asked by students/job-seekers (44:08) Importance of mock interviews for technical expertise (46:19) Outro + Gratitude
Transcript-backed moments
A few lines worth stealing before you hand over the full hour.
what is the interview process like for most data science flash data umbrella roles for 2 months I had applied for 700 roles for 2 months I had applied for 700 or 800 applications one or two calls and
or 800 applications one or two calls and then they were like you are an immigrant we can't sponsor you I did my masters in we can't sponsor you I did my masters in Yukon in business analytics and project
Yukon in business analytics and project management with a major in data science it was around 200 AUST 2023 and then right now it's at 50,000 it was very intimidating coming from an electrical
intimidating coming from an electrical background as a fresher as an immigrant to a different country all anybody planning to come to the US for their masters is that uh generally say
masters is that uh generally say recommendation to have at least a year or two of work and do you have a or two of work and do you have a recommendation on which coding platform or tool to use to get better at CER
Show notes
In this episode, featured not-expert is Sai Kumar. Sai is the Lead Data Analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.
Coming from an electrical engineering background, Sai managed to not only get into a top Data Analytics program at University of Connecticut, but also break into his current position without having any prior work experience whatsoever.I believe anybody who is currently in the job market can immediately appreciate what a gargantuan task that is - and Sai breaks down for us his exact strategy using which he was able to succeed. He also shares how he networked effectively, and grew his LinkedIn following to over 57,000 followers in just over a year. Finally, we also cover the exact resources and tools he used to break into his first data position.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the Ready Set Do podcast:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/saibysani18/
jobhire.ai
sonara.ai
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro + Background
(01:22) Sai’s meteoric rise to 50k followers on LinkedIn within a year
(05:52) Transitioning from Electrical Engineering to Data Analytics/Science
(07:42) Curating profile for MS in BA admits using online courses
(10:17) Masters experience + Job-hunting journey
(12:27) Job Search Challenges and how to overcome them
(16:58) Job-hunt regrets and lessons learned
(19:30) Interview process for data science/analytics roles
(20:55) How to prep for technical rounds in data roles oriented interviews
(22:09) Platforms/sites for upskilling + practicing data technical skills
(25:28) On having ZERO work experience as a huge hurdle & how to overcome that
(29:02) On FAKE job offers 😮
(31:17) Day in the life of Data Lead at BCBS South Carolina
(32:19) Relevant tools & technologies for data analytics
(34:23) Importance of efficient data cleansing + storytelling
(37:18) AI Tools for Job Hunting and Applications
(40:09) Giving back to the community + FAQs asked by students/job-seekers
(44:08) Importance of mock interviews for technical expertise
(46:19) Outro + Gratitude