PsychologyData Scientist
Institution-verified. An institution or employer email domain was confirmed for a step claimed in this pathway.Starting conditions
- Institution
- Regional Public University
- Major
- Psychology
- GPA band
- 3.8-4.0
- Graduated
- 2018
- Location
- Austin, United States
- Non-target school
The sequence7 steps
- Coursework1 yr 1 mo
Took statistics and programming courses as electives
Took statistics and programming courses as electives. This took 13 months and was slower than expected.
- Research1 yr 3 mo
Ran quantitative analysis for a faculty research lab
Ran quantitative analysis for a faculty research lab. This took 15 months and was slower than expected.
- Project6 mo
Published three analysis write-ups publicly
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
Evidence for this step - 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.
Evidence for this step - Setback5 moPivotal
Rejected from every data science role for lacking engineering depth
Rejected from every data science role for lacking engineering depth. This took 5 months and was harder than expected.
Obstacle
The plan stalled here, and it was not obvious it would recover.
How it was resolved
Asked the people who rejected me what the specific disqualifier was, then fixed exactly that instead of everything at once.
- Job1 yr 9 mo
Took a data analyst role deliberately as a stepping stone
Took a data analyst role deliberately as a stepping stone. This took 21 months and was slower than expected.
Start this earlier than feels necessary.
- Pivot3 moPivotal
Moved internally into data science
Moved internally into data science. This took 3 months and was slower than expected.
Evidence for this step
Outcome
Data scientist offer
Reflection
Would repeat
- Starting the outreach earlier than felt comfortable.
Would skip
- The first application cycle, which I entered underprepared.
Biggest obstacle
Underestimating how long the prerequisite work would take alongside everything else.
What was luck
- One person answered a cold email who did not have to.
Estimated cost: Roughly $15,000 across the whole transition.