Transformation success!
Why the Shift?
I was not honest with myself. I did not know what I wanted to do back in college. I couldn't see my personal and career goals aligning.
I was not honest with myself and convinced myself that I loved what I was doing for the past 2 years as a mechanical engineer. The long hours, constant breakdowns of machinery, and lack of creating original or my own was burning me out. The reason I stayed for more than 2 years was due to my co-workers that was like my second family and drinking buddies.
I did not know what I wanted to be. It stems from my decision back in college. Looking back at it now the only thing that interested me in high school and college was my HTML, C++, Matlab subjects so it was obvious that I should have picked an IT or Computer science degree. Then why didn't I picked a CS degree? Well, I didn't care much for my future back then, Yolo! :D Also, there was a misnomer coming from parents that Engineers are sure to find success in their work (Maneeh). But what a scam that was. I've realized that degrees don't ensure success, Dedication and Passion do. Liking what you do and being excited to do and learn more in your field is nothing short of being successful,
My personal goal and career goal were not aligning. My goal was to start my own business early on. It was close to impossible to start a business while working as an engineer because all of your time is invested working at the company and the engineering business is very high on capital. I found the convenience and free time I was looking for in data science. Also, I liked the idea of doing freelancing on the side. It's like your building skills at work and in freelancing and as an end result you can easily translate these skills in making your own firm or service.
But most importantly I like Analytic work. Being able to drive innovation and show hard cold facts that make me prove something is worthwhile. Also, I'm quite a Viz Junkie :)
How did I make the shift?
December of 2020 I built my own PC because I was into taking online courses regarding engineering back then. Then I stumbled upon a promo for Microsoft Data Analyst Certification. I knew what a Data Analyst is back then because I use TIBCO Spotfire for Engineering work and was taught basic ETL and Visualization by my peers. So back to the promo, the cost was reduced to $15 from $165. I thought it was a great deal and scheduled my exam right away. I took the self-paced learning course provided by Microsoft and learned the concepts for about two months. I made mock-up dashboards and reports to practice what I learned. I scheduled my exam in march and luckily, I failed :D . As I remember I was 25 points short of passing the exam. But it didn't stop me from pursuing data analysis because the self-paced program Microsoft gave was an eye-opener. I wanted to practice and be proficient in data analysis more than ever.
After failing the exam I looked for scholarships or free courses to learn more. I found Project Sparta, an initiative by the data professionals in the Philippines to teach Data professional pathways. Luckily I got a scholarship for Project Sparta and took the Data Analyst Pathway. The course was heavy in data analysis concepts, Excel, and research. While taking the Sparta courses I also practiced using Tableau just to explore and try new things. After a few months of learning from Sparta, I applied what I learned to work and made templates and excel dashboards, which was a good boost in my engineering work. February of 2021 I resigned from my first job and got hired for the same Engineering position in a different company. I still did data analytic work to boost my performance at work while learning new concepts in my new job. After a few months at my new job, I was slowly feeling burnout from work. But it was not solely from work but also family health problems. Mix in the pandemic, and voila the new depressed and burned-out me. I decided to resign from my 2nd job and looked for work that is of a work-from-home set-up. This is to address the family health problem that was adding to my worry, Finding a Win-Win situation for all. I ramped up on self-training focusing on making a portfolio and accumulating skills specifically on SQL, BI Tools, and Python. Youtube was my best friend at this point in time. I thank Alex the Analyst, Guy in a Cube, Ken Jee, SQL belle, Art of Visualization, and many more for the free and quality knowledge you impart.
I've created my portfolio and was confident enough to apply for a Data Analyst position. I tried my hand at Freelancing as a Data Analyst, but it still eluded me until now. I'll make an update if ever I get my first client in Upwork :D So after hundreds of ignored applications. I was lucky to be interviewed by a total of 6 companies (Not the same time period or month). Most of them I should have gotten If I was legitimately Good on SQL. I think 4 of them had a SQL Exam. So if ever you're planning to apply, make sure you are confident in your SQL skills. The two opportunities on the other were somehow a blessing to me. They were hiring Junior Data Analysts. The first one only needed Excel and the second was purely an interview. For the first one, I got an offer, I passed their Excel exam and the common interviews. The second was quite a shock to me because it was a Big company and I got an offer with just one panel interview and nothing more. They said the interview was impressive enough that the Manager did not need to interview me again. So what was impressive about the interview? They said I was the only one to have the initiative to present my portfolio and explain it live in my interview. Normally their candidates just state their proficiency but it was hard to gauge it without actual results at hand. There is also that I was applying at a Junior Data Analyst Position so having knowledge in different platforms and software is quite a plus. My point is just go Plus-Ultra! Then the rest is history, I am now professionally a Data Analyst :)
Summary of what I did
- Learned a BI tool and SQL query informally for my engineering work
- Tried self-paced training from Microsoft and failed their exam
- Got a formal form of education in Data Analytics via Project Sparta
- Practiced Making Dashboards on Excel, Power BI, Tableau
- Practiced SQL
- Watch a lot of youtube
- Burnout :D It's okay not to be okay
- Built my resume with a portfolio
- Believed in me even though I was all internet trained
- Communicated passionately about what I want
What's Next?
Getting my hands dirty with machine learning and predictive analysis
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