A senior business analyst with 17 years of experience, Sisther Thangaraj has always worked with data and enjoyed it. And to dive deeper into the world of analytics and data science, she enrolled for data science course of the Global Certificate in Data Science (GCD) program at Accredian.
In this interview, let’s what she thinks about the evolution of data science and how her learning experience has been at Accredian.
Question 1: Which program & batch are you part of at Accredian & tell us more about your current work profile?
Sisther: I am part of the Global Certificate in Data Science (GCD) program, September 2019 batch. I am a Senior Business Analyst at Cognizant in the Learning and Development Department. I have an overall experience of 17 years. I am from a non-technical background so my knowledge in coding is negligible. Currently, my job involves responding to RFPs and providing solutions for learning and developing plant requirements.
Question 2: Walk us through your career journey & what got you interested in Data Science & Machine Learning?
Sisther: In my career I have extensively worked with graphical representations of data. At the same time, I have handled medical data as well. To extract insights one has to understand and interpret raw data first. And, I have always found this to be quite interesting. As data science is also the latest trend, I thought of giving it a try through Accredian’s data science course.
Question 3: What tools and packages in Data Science & Machine Learning have you mastered in your Data Science & AI program at Accredian so far?
Sisther: The data science course was quite challenging and I loved every bit of it. The instructors are excellent and I practiced everything that was taught in class.
Question 4: What are some initial challenges when you got started on your Data Science journey, and how did you overcome them?
Sisther: Being a professional myself, it was difficult to balance work and study, and keep up with the sessions. I also had difficulties in understanding statistics and probability and took a lot of effort in understanding their basics. I even referred to school math books to refresh my memory. Gradually, with a lot of practice and effort I got better.
Question 5: Who is your favorite faculty at Accredian, and what did you learn from him the Most?
Sisther: My favorite faculty is Suchit. He is very patient and explains every concept really well. Without him I would have given up on the Tableau session.
Question 6: What is the goal of Data Science?
Sisther: The goal of data science is to derive insights from raw data which, in turn, help both seasoned and new businesses to grow.
Question 7: In your view, how has Data Science evolved in the last few years?
Sisther: Earlier information was stored as hard copies and later in Excel in the form of tables and graphs. Right now, data science itself has become a career that offers the most sought after jobs in the world. In fact, from exploring to handling data, now we have multiple tools and programming languages to execute them in a snap. So, indeed, within the last decade, data science has evolved exponentially and data science course has become necessary for professionals.
Question 8: What are the current trends in Data Science that you are most excited about?
Sisther: I am really excited about Artificial Intelligence and its applications.
Question 9: What is your advice to anyone wanting to start a career in Data Science?
Sisther: First and foremost, have an open mind. Be prepared to learn something new. Also, practice the fundamentals of statistics.
This was a conversation with one of our GCD students – Sisther Thangaraj.
To read more such interesting student interviews, go to Accredian Spotlight.
