Mariam: Transition from A Teacher to A Data Analyst
Mariam is a Data Analytics Manager at a digital solutions agency called 31Ten. She has a great interest in quantitative analysis particularly in the form of machine learning. Before she entered the data world in 2020, she was teaching Art and Economic at a bilingual high school. Let's hear more about what she has to say about her experiences here!
Summary
What were you doing before you join Le Wagon? What makes you switch to a data career?
Consider What You Want
I have my bachelor's degree in Art and master's in Economics. When I first came to Shanghai, I was working at a bilingual school and tutoring on the side. Working in Education in China has a lot of benefits, but I found that I was no longer feeling challenged after all the excitement that came from traveling and taking holidays wore off.
After a while, I would start to ask myself what I really wanted to do long-term. "Do I want to become a teacher? If i want to be a teacher, then need to take it more seriously and become certificated". I realized that I wanted to pursue a different path and I started to search for economics related positions. To be honest, I had little idea of what I really wanted to do and "data science" appeared many times in my searches. I started to learn about this new field and decided that this was the one I wanted to commit to. Mariam
Why chose Le Wagon?
Coding Workout with Classmates at Le Wagon
I believe different people join for different reasons. Some people join because they want to work better with their data team at their own company. I participated in the bootcamp as a step to build my career in data science.
Data Science Bootcamp in Shanghai provides a good community learning after COVID Hits. After COVID, many US university courses took place online however here in Shanghai Le Wagon was able to hold onsite classes. Like working out, you are going to exert yourself a lot more when you are doing it with a group of people onsite than you would if you were alone. Also you get the support and help from instructors and classmates. Marriam's Data Science classroom at Le Wagon, with instructor Pavel and classmatesHow was the experience at Le Wagon? Was the bootcamp intense and difficult for you?
Have A Growth Mindset
It depends on how difficult and intense you want to make it. I was honest to myself and knew my weaknesses and strengths. Coming from a non-technical background, nobody can be a data scientist in just two months. Instead of aiming to grasp every detail of the courses, I made sure I understood the fundamental concepts so that I could revisit the content that interested me and dive deeper later on.
Having a growth mindset is very important. Everybody in the classroom came from a varied level of the tech background. It is hard to do sometimes, but you should always focus on how you improve personally instead of comparing yourself with others. Coding and math may seem intimidating at first but with enough time and effort anyone can become a key player. The program also gives a good overview of data science, a quite complex and dynamic field.Mariam at Le Wagon
What position are you doing right now?
I work as data analysis manager for digital agency 31Ten . My job focuses on developing our data departments and providing data science solutions for our clients to grow their business successfully.
Foreign companies are mesmerized by the diverse digital ecosystem that China has to offer. They are interested in creating WeChat Mini Programs and came to us to help them get on the local platform to enter the chinese market. We also do social media marketing for them. The chinese market is quite competitive. You have a lot of talent working around the clock and adapting quickly to the changed. In tech, and particularly here in China, you need to always be learning. Most of the foreign companies have to change their entire strategy to set up.
How did you find the job, was it smooth to get into the China tech world as a foreigner?
Le Wagon's Connection Is Powerful
It is hard even if you are a local. It's about putting effort in including going to network events, making yourself visible in groups, communities. Le Wagon provides me with very good connections. When I went to interviews, most of the interviewers knew about what Le Wagon was or had a direct connection with one of the instructors. Le Wagon certainly has a name in the tech industry here in Shanghai. ClassHow was your transition to the data world? Was it a big step?
Nothing That Is Worth Doing Comes Easy
Of course. Now, I hold a lot more responsibility than the teaching job because most of our clients are big international companies from different industries. My first major project was creating data literacy course for a major fashion luxury brand. There was a very steep learning curve. However, it is rewarding because I learned a lot, not only about data but also about other fields and industries.
Nothing that is worth doing is easy. You have to be proactive, put yourself out there, be okay about struggling and working hard. It is also about managing your expectations because it is simply not possible to become a developer or data scientist in a couple of months. To make full use of Le Wagon, you need to see it as a starting point that can propel you towards your new journey.
Want to know more about the Data Science Bootcamp?
Now we have both full-time and part-time options here in Shanghai
Click the link below to download the syllabus or directly sign up for the course.
10% early bird discount available until April 2nd, 2021!
