When To Upskill

Good Morning Data Scientists,

I’ve had some nuanced takes on upskilling recently.

The common trend is for data scientists to

1. Apply for jobs

2. Not get any responses

3. Think the solution is doing more courses

But the reality is different.

First, most of these data scientists already have the skills needed to find a new job.

They just need to show them better.

Secondly, I’m actually pro-upskilling.

I just disagree about when you should do it.

Don’t do it when you’re desperate for a job.

Upskill when you’re comfortable in your current job.

This gives you

1. New skills to use in your job

2. Exciting projects to talk about for future job searches

3. A Love for Data Science which isn’t dampened by the stresses of a 9-5

I definitely focused too much on getting other people data science jobs the last year.

And not enough on my own career.

But that’s changed.

The last couple of weeks, I built a chatbot on my journal entries

And I won’t like, it’s hardly the most sexy or complex tool in the world.

But it’s better to aim for something simple, actually build it and then develop it.

Than it is to aim for perfection, get overwhelmed and never build it.

So if you’re a data scientist in a 9-5:

What are you doing right now to develop your skills?

God Bless,

Albert