PsychologyData Scientist
Source-linked. At least one claim in this pathway is corroborated by an external source.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Non-target University
- Major
- Psychology
- GPA band
- 3.8-4.0
- Graduated
- 2021
- Location
- New York, United States
- No professional network
Limited exposure to the destination field at the start.
The sequence5 steps
- Coursework9 mo
Took statistics and programming courses as electives
Took statistics and programming courses as electives. This took 9 months and was harder than expected.
Obstacle
Took too heavy a load and the grades showed it.
How it was resolved
Retook the course that mattered most rather than trying to offset it elsewhere.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Research10 moPivotal
Ran quantitative analysis for a faculty research lab
Ran quantitative analysis for a faculty research lab. This took 10 months and was slower than expected.
- Project6 mo
Published three analysis write-ups publicly
Published three analysis write-ups publicly. This took 6 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Application3 mo
Applied to analyst roles as an entry point
Applied to analyst roles as an entry point. This took 3 months and was slower than expected.
- Pivot1 moPivotal
Moved internally into data science
Moved internally into data science. This took 1 months and was harder than expected.
Outcome
Analytics role converted to data science
Reflection
Would repeat
- Starting the outreach earlier than felt comfortable.
Would skip
- The first application cycle, which I entered underprepared.
Biggest obstacle
Having no contacts in the field, which made every early step slower than it needed to be.
What was luck
- One person answered a cold email who did not have to.