ZOD: Experience is transferable
ZOD: Experience is transferable
Zen of Data Science #3
Welcome to issue 3 of The Zen of Data Science!
The Big Idea
Experience is Transferable
When I was on my self-taught coding journey, I actually started by learning web development.
That's what I thought I wanted to do, so I spent 9 months studying like an absolute madman to land my first job.
I built websites and little web apps, and learned JavaScript, HTML, CSS, all with the hopes of landing a job.
The problem?
I hated it.
So when I found Data Science and realized I loved it, I knew I had to change direction.
That was a hard decision to make.
I felt like I’d be throwing away almost a year of studying…
But finally I made the choice to drop web dev and learn data analytics.
Looking back, do I think it was a waste?
Absolutely not.
I was able to get a data analytics job BECAUSE of that prior experience.
Not because employers cared about my web dev experience (they didn't),
But because 9 months of struggling to learn JavaScript made learning SQL a breeze, and I had also developed the habit of coding every day.
Your past experience transfers to whatever you do next.
And I don't just mean learning to code.
My experience with fitness gave me discipline to keep studying when it got hard.
My time in the military taught me how to build a plan and execute on it.
Even my warehouse job taught me valuable lessons.
So if you've been in one career for a long time, and now you're switching to tech…
Know that your life experience is transferable.
You're not starting from zero... you have a whole life of lived experiences to call on.
Identify the strengths you already have, and find a way to apply them to your tech journey.
What I’m Learning
I’m still finishing up my degree so learning is on pause. I’ll be done by the end of August, and I wanna start putting out more content, doing portfolio reviews, and Q&A type content to really answer the questions you have.
If that’s something you’d be interested in, reply to me directly through this email or the comments if you’re using the substack app. I check all my emails, and I’ll add your questions to a list for the first Q&A!
Quote of the Week
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.”
― Carl Sagan
I’ve been reading Carl Sagan’s “The Demon-Haunted World” this week. It’s a book on science, skepticism, and how to think more clearly.
Although Carl Sagan passed away nearly 30 years ago, reading this book makes me feel like I know him, and is one of many reasons I love reading in general.
It’s as the saying goes “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
Something Interesting
Search GPT was recently announced and if you’re a frequent ChatGPT user like me you might wanna get on the waitlist to try the new feature out!
ChatGPT touts this as being the next big thing… an AI search engine that can access the internet in real time to answer our questions.
I’m not convinced it’s going to be all that revolutionary, but I’ll definitely give it a try.
I’m curious what you think as well. Is this the next big thing, or just an overhyped form of Google? Drop a comment and let me know.
Feel-Good Finds
If you ever struggle with perfectionism, this video from Ali Abdaal has great insights on dealing with it:
I love Ali’s channel and the positivity he puts out in all his videos. This one helped me through some perfectionism I’ve been dealing with lately, and hopefully will help you too. Check it out!
Thanks for reading!
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If you enjoy what I write here, I think you’ll enjoy that too.
See you next week! 👋