A Few Lessons My Career Change Has Taught Me in 2021 | From Dancer To Data Scientist
I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the past year, and well, ho my god, there’ve been highs, lows, and an annoying amount of middle-ground monotony.
All in all, this year was not as terrible as 2020. While I’m not the type of person to typically make New Year’s Resolutions, I finally named my own tradition: New Year’s Renovations. Life adjustments, if you will. These ‘renovations’ are changes to the way I do things now, so that I can continue to evolve as an adult.
Ok for example: I’m going to try and make my exercise regiment a part of my mornings (instead of procrastinate and complain about needing to do it till the afternoon) on a more consistent basis. That is much easier/more achievable than trying to make some absurd promise like, “I’m going to work out every morning at 6 a.m.”
Considering the unpredictability of our global health crisis, it’s impossible to try and plan for a “better 2022 than 2021”. Nevertheless, the biggest renovation I would like is: my career. At the beginning of The P, I began to career change by retiring as a Dancer, and learning how to code.
I thought Ballet had been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life until I started teaching myself Machine Learning. So far, everything about the journey into a technology career has been true: It’s exciting and fun, but it’s also frustrating, confusing, and comes with the most difficult thing to deal with: job application rejection.
At current, I’ve applied to 287 jobs over the last 6months. It’s resulted in a few coding challenges that I failed, and one contract-consultant job offer that didn’t pan out. Determined not to enter 2022 with the sadness and insecurity of being unemployed, I stared reflecting on the accomplishments I completed this year. In doing so, it helped clarify the reasons why I love coding and the determination I have to keep pushing through till I become a Data Scientist.
January, February, March… Lesson: Consistency
I started 2021 mid-way through the common #100DaysOfCode challenge. My goal for the challenge was to become better at Python. I built the atypical games like Snake, Ping Pong, and Frogger. I dabbled a little bit with Django and Flask by building blogs and single-page websites. The next challenge go around for me is #100DaysOfFullStackDevelopment… I don’t know if that’s a thing but I want to do some web dev projects with Node.js.
My takeaways from #100DaysOfCode Round 1: Python, were:
- Confirmed my excitement about programming, building things, and solving problems.
- Opened my eyes into Data Analysis and Visualization, which motivated me into seeking a Data Science career.
- Offered me structure and diligence, while being stuck at home.
April, May, June… Lesson: Keep Learning!
When the challenge ended I began my next journey towards an IBM Data Science certification. To be honest, I don’t really know what attracted me to DS. I think, in large, it satisfies a rather critical and judgmental aspect of my personality. But nonetheless, I followed my intrigue and curiosity towards Data Analysis and Data Science.
I think the IBM Certification is good, clear, and well constructed. There were a few courses that were quite simple, towards the beginning, but I will admit that I took Machine Learning twice. LOL.
I was inspired to hop onto Udemy and take more courses on Data Analysis, and Machine Learning. And in atypical Data Science fashion, I did some experimenting with Kaggle and am also building my own DS project: studying inflation rates against my grocery spending trends.
July, August, September… Lesson: Persistence & Patience
Summertime hits: fearing the end of unemployment assistance, I started applying to jobs. What a f*&#ing tumultuous, arduous, and frustrating process. Y’all, it was less intimidating and emotional for me to audition with 2,000 other dancers than it is trying to break into tech. It’s a constant gut-punch and kick-in-the-teeth!
There’s a silver lining in everything, though, right? The more jobs I’ve applied for, the more its made me review and update my resume. I keep learning more tricks/tips and ways to stand out. And I have no choice but to keep going because like, life takes money and without money, like, what would I do? And that’s my advice: keep going. It’s also the advice you’re going to assimilate through blog posts (like this one), tutorials, courses, mentors, etc. Keep, going!
My biggest mistake, though, was trying to branch out to a variety of jobs: front-end developer, software engineer, full-stack developer, data analyst, data scientist, data engineer… That’s a lot. It made me anxious, desperate, and crazy! I’m focused solely on a Data job now, and that focus has made me feel a lot more at ease.
October, November, December… Lesson: Join Communities, for real!
During the frustrating process of job applications, I kept feeling overwhelmed, sad, depressed, blah blah blah… then for a few days I followed a trail online which led me to a variety of different sources centered around Data Science.
Kaggle, like I mentioned dabbling with before, is finally a playground for me and I’m excited to keep investigating and participating. Medium, here, is a part of my morning ritual. And of course, I love following people on LinkedIn, and YouTube.
It’s been really easy feeling alone during The P, and I’ve been going at this career change journey mostly by myself. Finding some other voices to connect with is really comforting! The hardest thing for me to learn is that I don’t have to go at things solo. As a dancer I was always taught to focus on my own technique, goals, and work. But, Tech is all about sharing and connecting, and so I’m opening my mind and evolving as I go.
Onto 2022…
I sit here now hunkering down safely in NYC trying to avoid the O-variant creeping around. I’ve been learning throughout the job application process to persevere, be patient, revise my resumes, try new tips and tricks, and keep going. I am eager to begin my employed journey!
I’ve come to realize that my true interest lies within Data Analysis, and Data Science. Refocusing towards one avenue of technology puts me at a lot of ease, but I feel like it had to take me this year to realize that.
Programming is another thing that I’ll never be perfect at but love trying to be: I grew up studying classical music & classical ballet, and took up marathon running post-college. Technical challenges and complex hobbies are my thing. This year made me determined to be a great coder. I’m looking forward to spending more quality time building things in 2022.
This year wouldn’t have been possible without my boyfriend, supportive friends, and family who’ve kept me motivated and encouraged throughout everything going on. Some days I just really need a big hug and a shoulder to cry on! Between my loved ones, my dog, my computer, and my running shoes, I think I’ll be just fine.
Cheers to a Happy New Year!
-mw