Kick start your career in Data - Tip#3

So as being an explorer and knowing how to take an advantage of facilities in Universities there is one more very important aspect which is – “Seek, Network and Showcase”

So here we go with Tip#3

Kick start your career in Data Tip#3

Seek, Network and Showcase – Seek for groups/people, connect with people [University and beyond], showcase your talent/interest

Another very important aspect of getting into  field that you are interested in is “Seek for same passionate people, network and showcase your talent/interest”. It’s hard but long and continuous process, needs to happen parallel with your education.

One aspect of networking within university we already talked about, but I will elaborate on that part a bit in this blog.

As universities hold and organize lots of technical events it’s important to connect with people participating in the event. Not required to connect with everyone but important to initiate communication and showcase your passion.

Lots of employers visit the university campus to present their case studies, kind of work they are doing in their industry, it’s important to meet and greet them, ask questions if you find something interesting to your area, and discuss your thoughts on it.

Sometimes universities short list the profiles and take some students to show work culture of couple of employers, there too it’s important to show courage, present yourself with confidence and build relation.

Apart from University activities there are other ways to do networking and connect with people. Like you can join technical meet ups in data [ there are lots of available in every area], show up there, interact with people, ask them what they are working on, and show what you can do contribute. There are couple meetups run specifically to collaborate and work on Kaggle competitions, it’s a great way to form group and work.

If, sometimes you don’t want to go for technical meetups, you can go for non-technical meets ups as well like gaming, hiking, movie clubs, Sunday brunches, those connections can turn into good and gives you more knowledge about area you are trying to build your career in.

Apart from meet ups, there are conference like Open Data Science, Machine Learning, Robotics and AI, Other university events – like MIT, Harvard etc. If you are not able to purchase the ticket, advantage of being student is these conferences promote students and provide them discounts on tickets or you can join them to volunteer. That way you can again listen to and connect with lots of leaders and learn about their work in Data.

Participating in hackathons – This also gives you an opportunity to learn more creative work and allows you to participate and show your talent too.

So, what I feel is there are many ways you find, only thing you require is to seek always what you are looking for. It’s important to approach people and ask questions. Always keep in mind, no question is right or wrong, may be sometimes it can be easy one or hard one. But never hesitate to find answer by yourself or to ask someone. Never fall for finding any purpose talking to any person, you never know that contact can help you further in your career change. So, please “Seek, Network and Showcase”.