Would You Data Scientist‪?‬ Wendy Gannon

Take two. This week, Data Scientist and Founder of KIZO Agency, Niklas Fischer joins Wendy on Would You Data Scientist to talk about his passion for data in sports, General Assembly,  bootcamps, how people can actually learn to code, neurodiversity in data, and his advice for anyone looking to pivot or get started in data.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Niklas’ favourite piece of tech ever is the internet, not just for the amazing communication skills but because it’s become the home of open sourced data.Niklas wanted to work in sports data science and studied in Barcelona, where as part of his masters degree he was able to work with FC Barcelona. After this he went on to work at DAZN, the Netflix of sports.Students often ask “what does an employer want to see”. Niklas advises that you demonstrate something you’re passionate about, whether it be what he did with sports or even using AI to predict which character said which line in Star Trek. As long as you’re passionate about it you will work harder on it and can talk about it in a much more engaging way.Be well prepared. If you’re planning on doing a data science bootcamp then find out what you’ll be doing on the course. If you’ll be using Python, then refresh your memory in the weeks before you start.There are more data engineer roles than there are people to fill them. If you’re more engineer minded then you should consider going down that path for a better change of employment.Data science was called “the sexiest job in the 21st century” which has attracted people who aren’t as interested in the job itself, more the salary. If passion is your motivator you will be more employable. BEST MOMENTS
‘I finished my masters at FC Barcelona, which was a dream’
‘You’re going in there to learn and you’re going to learn hard’
‘Python is the 2nd best language for every problem you can encounter’
‘Nobody can learn by looking at someone else code’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Niklas on LinkedIn
General Assembly
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they’ve faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of life to access their dream career.
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Would You Data Scientist, Wendy is joined by Nikolay Bashlykov, an expert in data science and machine learning. Find out Nikolay’s tips on getting into data and why he thinks that machine learning should not be the be all and end all of your skillset. There’s also Wendy’s usual deep dive into ethics, diversity, and the challenges you may face when you pivot into data.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
 
Nikoley’s favourite piece of tech ever is around encryption when processing data. The technology allows you to analyse the data without actually seeing what the data is, this is very good for privacy, especially in the medical fields where you can’t break confidentiality.The real challenge in data is explaining why your machine learning model worked and getting your client to understand that in a simple way. You need to make sure you actually solve the customers business problem, rather than just talk tech at them.If you’re getting into data then it’s important to gain experience as early as you can, especially if you can show the initiative to get stuck in yourself. The more you get to work with real data taken from real sources and the more you can speak to and learn from people within the industry, the better your applications will look.When you learn something new, actually put it into practice. If you don’t do the things you learn, then you will probably forget it and won’t be able to demonstrate that you have done it. Once you’ve learned something new and done it, that then becomes the neck brick in your foundations that you can build on top of.Be persistent. Every year the industry grows and the technology develops. There will be opportunities in data for people who keep going. 
 
BEST MOMENTS
 
‘Machine learning is not the Holy Grail’
‘Learn something new, start applying it straight away, and build on top of it’
‘I think machine learning will merge with software engineering’
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
 
https://practicum.com/
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
 
ABOUT THE HOST
 
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
 
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
 
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they’ve faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of life to access their dream career.
 
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Head of Data Science & AI at Sia Partners, Simon Hessam Hessami joins Wendy this week on Would You Data Scientist, not just to talk about his career in data but also to discuss being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. As it's Pride Month, it's important to talk about how to make sure LGBTQIA+ people aren't facing any challenges in the workplace, especially those challenges that can be easily avoided with a little understanding. There's also all the usual questions on how to get into data, the applications of technology, and evil billionaires. 
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Simon believes that through doing a masters degree you will gain value from any internships you do and it can be a good path to getting into or pivoting into data science. When you're working with clients or customers you need to keep in mind that you're solving their problems for them using data. You need to understand their needs and bring their needs into your solution to actually answer the question they want you to answer. There's more people skills needed in data than you might think.When you are yourself and embrace who you are, you're more comfortable in any environment. Simon feels like society is changing towards LGBTQIA+ issues and the conversations he has had with people about it would not have been possible 20 or 30 years ago. When you are LGBTQIA+, it can feel like you need to come out again every time you start a new job. Also you might have to face the challenge of people using the wrong pronouns for you. Wendy's tip is to not assume anyones pronouns, if you're in HR, ask what they prefer and introduce them to the team as that. If you don't know, they/them are always safe to use. Translating from technical to non-technical is so key for data. You need to be able to explain what you're doing, why you're doing it, and most importantly what the result is. If you can't convince someone that your solution is the best solution, they're not going to use it. 
BEST MOMENTS
‘Working for a non-profit balanced out my Karma' 
‘You need to understand their needs and bring all this together in your solution' 
‘Love yourself and express that to everyone in your circle' 
‘Every time you start a new job it's like you have to come out again' 
‘For data science experts it's important to deliver the message well, it's more important than having the best model' 
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Simon on LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
“Turning ideas into real data solutions & services. As a mathematician & data scientist, I aim at making data understandable by giving them an analytical spirit. My background in mathematics and statistics helps me to develop tools, models and machine learning algorithms with strong predictive and analytical capabilities.
With over ten years of academic & industry experience in data science and business. I have solid experience working in developing AI-powered solutions in different services and industries such as marketing, finance, supply chain, healthcare, and pharmaceutical. I also founded a non-profit tech platform to facilitate personal data sharing with academic institutions to support impactful research. I am also very interested in Metaverse and data privacy.
Today, I am the Head of the UK & Ireland AI Center of Excellence in Sia Partners. Sia Partners is a next-generation management consulting firm and pioneer of Consulting 4.0, offering a unique blend of AI and design capabilities across multiple industries.”
 
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
 
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they've faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of li

Head of Data Science at Intechnica, Tom Matcham joins Wendy this week on Would You Data Scientist to talk about his work, how he got into data, the difference between C and C++, and video games. Find out Tom's advice for dealing with frustration, how to get hired in data, and how a degree in data might not actually be as helpful as you'd think. 
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tom's favourite piece of tech is the programming language C. He doesn't get much of a chance to use it anymore but he loves the responsiveness and simplicity of it. It's like being as close to the hardware as you can be. Tom had a dream to start a business for video game designers so they could make adaptive experiences via pre-built machine learning tools which he started while he was doing his masters. He entered a competition through Imperial College for funding and won. As a hiring manager Tom doesn't believe that you need a masters to pivot into being a general data scientist. If you want to go into something highly specialised having one in that topic would be an advantage, but for more broad jobs it's not a necessity. A data science degree could even be detrimental to your development according to Tom. He believes the curriculum doesn't focus enough on the problems you face day to day in data. He also believes there is far too much of a focus on statistical distributions that just don't make sense in the real world. Tom recommends the textbook  Statistical Consequences of Fat Tails: Real World Pre Asymptotics, Epistemology, and Applications by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. 
BEST MOMENTS
‘You don't make the same mistakes twice' 
‘It took me of 5 years of bashing my head against a wall' 
‘9 out of 10 businesses that hire data scientists, so not use them in any capacity'
‘There's nothing scientific about data science at all'
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Statistical Consequences of Fat Tails: Real World Preasymptotics, Epistemology, and Applications
Jai programming language
Tom on LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
Tom is an experienced data scientist with considerable expertise in commercial research and data analysis. Extensive knowledge of consumer analytics for apps, websites and video games; developed novel algorithms for the analysis of event data. Wide range of skills that covers every step of the data science process - from collection, ingestion and cleaning to advanced analysis, modelling, low-level optimisation and deployment. An adept programmer with considerable knowledge of six programming languages and expert level knowledge of Python, R and C. Three years' experience bootstrapping data science startups to revenue-generating software.
 
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
 
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they've faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of life to access their dream career.
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Edgell, Lead Data Scientist for the UK's largest hotel brand Whitbread joins Wendy on Would You Data Scientist this week to tell you about his career in data. As it's mental health awareness week, Wendy and James also have an open and honest conversation about depression, loneliness, burnout, and stress. If you find yourself struggling with any of the issues raised please see the help links in the resources below. 
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
James joined Whitbread, the company that owns Premier Inn, as an analyst with the goal of becoming a data scientist. His role now focuses on customer data science relating to optimising marketing activities and working with the brands contact centre to ensure they don't lose customers who have complaints. While at University, James lost someone close to him causing depression to trigger and took a year out. Taking this year out allowed James to remove the pressure of University while dealing with depression and when he went back he was able to succeed to the level he wanted to. Covid was actually really good for Wendy, it allowed her to spend time resting and recovering from burnout and if it hadn't happened then she wouldn't have had the time to stop. There is a stigma around taking antidepressants but all it's doing is balancing the serotonin levels in your brain to a normal level. We wouldn't judge someone taking iron tablets if they had an iron deficiency. As a hiring manager, James looks for someone who can demonstrate a passion for learning. He describes data as a marathon, where you need to keep going and keep learning because new things will always come up. You can't just run the race. James both does and doesn't think that you need a masters degree to get into data. He feels the communication side he was taught has been so valuable, not that it can't be picked up on the job, but it will take longer. On the other hand it's not something he actually considers when hiring candidates.  
BEST MOMENTS
‘I'm so happy when I find someone a job they love' 
‘Comparing yourself to other people is just not helpful' 
‘You have a health check up, why not have a mental health check up'
‘I'm getting to work with really cool data science techniques and learn new things everyday' 
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Ripple suicide prevention - https://www.ripplesuicideprevention.com/
Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/
Want to check out the meditation app Waking Up with me? You'll receive free unlimited access for 30 days. https://dynamic.wakingup.com/shareOpenAccess/da0b6d
James on LinkedIn 
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
 
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
 
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they've faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of life to access their dream career.
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest Sayali Sonawane has just been promoted to Data Science Manager at Sykes Holiday Cottages. Sayali joins Wendy this week to talk about how she got into data, how she found working in data at a time when businesses didn't even know what to call it, and the usual chat about ethics, diversity, and Apple. 
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Sayali's data career began at Manchester University. She initially planned to study computer security, but during induction week she attended some of the data science courses, although it wasn't called that back then, and realised that she wanted to do that instead. The biggest challenge Sayali faced was returning home after her scholarship and finding that there weren't many data science roles. When she did manage to get a job doing that, her job title wasn't data scientist and she had to ask to have it changed to that. The scholarship Sayali received is applied to by about 30 or 40 thousand people, and only about 5% are accepted. Having a good network and even a mentor can be so helpful for finding the right role for you and developing your skills. That's one way going to University can help you, a good professor will mentor you. Three ways to reduce bias are: 1. Choose representative data. 2. Choose the right learning model for your company. 3. Know that no company is trying to make a bias data group, so test it out in the real world, and if it has flaws, then try again a different way. 
BEST MOMENTS
‘You need to get the value out of the data to help the business' 
‘There was only one company where it wasn't 50/50 with gender' 
‘The real skill is if your models can be used in the real world'
‘Do not underestimate the power of networking and mentorship'
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
linkedin.com/in/ethicalrecruiter
qwerkrecruitment.com
@qwerkrec on socials
Sayali on LinkedIn
 
ABOUT THE HOST
Wendy Gannon started Qwerk Recruitment in the middle of the Covid Pandemic to disrupt the recruitment sector with ETHICAL data recruitment and treat everyone with love, dignity and respect. Avid Music photographer of 15 years.
 
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Interviewing successful Data Scientists to find out about their journey into Data Science and any struggles they've faced to help next generation Data Scientists from all walks of life to access their dream career.
This show was brought to you by Progressive Media


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.