After being in the mechanical design engineer domain for 8 years, Sathish K S wanted a career transition for further growth. Hailing from a non-coding background, he was initially skeptical of whether a data science course would be a good idea. But finally, he gave in to his growing passion for data science and enrolled for the Global Certificate in Data Science (GCD) program at Accredian.
In this interview, let’s take a look at how he envisions his career in data science and how his experience has been at Accredian.
Question 1: Which program & batch are you part of at Accredian & tell us more about your current work profile?
Sathish: I am part of the Global Certificate in Data Science (GCD) program, July 2020 cohort. I work as a mechanical design engineer and have a little bit of experience in electrical hardware design as well. I have 8 years of experience. I come from a non-programming background and this is my first leap into coding and an attempt in career transition.
Question 2: Walk us through your career journey & what got you interested in Data Science & Machine Learning?
Sathish: I am a B.Tech graduate in mechanical engineering. I always wanted to get into the core domain of mechanical design and I was lucky enough to start my career with that. And ever since then I have been working in this same profile in the semiconductor domain.
But lately, I realized that I am not having the growth that I expected in this field and the work that I do is restricted to the same repetitive pattern, maybe with a few small changes. So, one of the reasons for me to get into data science and machine learning is, of course, career growth.
And, to be honest, I am not a very tech savvy person. I always used to hear from my friends about their career growth in the technology domain and how they are getting paid.
So I wanted to go for a career transition but was skeptical about completely shifting to programming from design. Data science is something that I wanted to be in as this would give me the liberty to not be a core programmer.
Question 3: What all tools and packages in Data Science & Machine Learning have you mastered in your Data Science & AI program at Accredian so far?
Sathish: I would not say that I have mastered the tools in Data Science and Machine Learning as it has just been three to four months. I’m just taking baby steps on how we use Python and its several libraries, etc.
I started revising statistics again which I probably studied in my +2 in school. I am also trying to do a self-study of the SQL to have a better idea of the complete lifecycle of data.
Question 4: What were some of the initial challenges when you got started on your Data Science journey and how did you overcome it?
Sathish: My biggest initial challenge was trying to learn something new for a total career transition from a non-programming domain to a programming one. I am pretty comfortable in mechanical engineering as it doesn’t require me to constantly keep myself updated about new or the latest versions of software as the core concepts remain the same.
But in data science and machine learning, keeping tabs on the development of new tech is key. After I started the course, I realized that I was somewhat fine in statistics but programming was totally a new thing for me. Thanks to the faculties who helped me take these first steps into the world of data science and thanks to Accredian for the Starter Kits on Python.
Question 5: Who is your favorite faculty at Accredian and what did you learn from him the Most?
Sathish: My favorite faculty is Mr. Deepesh. I was always fascinated by his teaching methods. He took Term 1 & 2 sessions where he gave a personal touch through writing notes using pen and paper. The way he used to explain the concepts was commendable. I really enjoyed his classes.
Question 6: What is the goal of Data Science?
Sathish: I think the goal of data science is to make life easier. Initially, I used to get scared of the depiction of computers taking over the world in sci-fi movies. But when I actually started my course at Accredian, I understood what data science is all about and I am confident about a career transition.
So, Data Science is something that helps people save a lot of time and effort through the automation of repetitive tasks. Currently, there are multiple arenas in which automation is required, and definitely it can augment the overall value both in terms of money and quality.
Question 7: In your view, how has Data Science evolved in the last few years?
Sathish: As I have not been too tech savvy in the past and didn’t follow any technology related blogs, I wasn’t aware of the field of data science until two years ago. I talked to one of my friends who had done a data science course and is a data analyst now. And, he told me about data science.
Curious and wanting to know more, when I started reading on data science and traced its origin, I found that data science actually boomed in 2010. Mostly because before that we had limited computation power and data availability. But, right now, in the digital era, not only more data is available but we have the means to extract a lot of it.
So, I think that’s why data science has flourished so wonderfully in the present times and in the next few decades it is definitely going to rule.
Question 8: What is your advice to anyone wanting to start a career in Data Science?
Sathish: My advice to somebody who is going to start a career in data science or want a career transition in it, especially who is a non-coder, is to take that first step and not be worried about coding and programming.
To pursue a career in data science you need not be an ace programmer or coder. Just get enrolled in a good institution like Accredian where there are excellent who can help you and make your data science journey a lot easier. Self-studying is also one of the best things that I did and I would like to advise the same to my friends.
This was a conversation with one of our GCD students – Sathish K S.
For more such wonderful student interviews, check out Accredian Spotlight.
