Data Analyst? That Wasn’t the Plan
Five years ago, if you had told me that I would be training to become a Data Analyst, I would have laughed you out of the room, my parents would have joined in for good measure. I come from India, southern India, and in my circles, you have two options. Do you want to be a doctor or an engineer? “Neither!” replied my rebellious a**. I was drawn to the creative and visual arts from a young age, paintings and drawings are my passions and I pursued my undergraduate degree in visual arts. SQL, Tableau, and Alteryx would have all been alien words to my 20-year-old self, so what am I doing here at Data school you ask? Well, let me take you on the journey to how I got here…
The Move That Changed More Than My Address
Like many aspiring students, I came to Australia in chase of a more valuable education and independent life experiences. However, life seldom goes according to the plans you set forth, the expectations of my master’s level education left me feeling unfulfilled, it was less about the application of colours to canvas and more about communications and theory of designs. The direction I was on appeared to have very to do with the application of creative endeavours leaving me feeling lost. While I was contemplating my decision to continue pursuing this path, I got introduced to the world of Data through my cousin. He works as a data analyst and was working on a tableau dashboard, which to me looked like a large canvas on which he had used a combination of texts, images and graphs to display complex information.
I had previously dismissed the IT field as too benign and bland. This was new to me, and it sparked my interest to explore how complex numbers and data was able to be conveyed in a visual manner. My cousin introduced me to tableau public, and I lost myself to the creations of several data artists around the world. My newfound appreciation of breaking down very complex information into easy to consume Vizzes caused me to take pause of my career aspirations. After some deep self-reflection I decided to change from my communications master’s to Business Analytics Stream.
Who Even Am I at This Point?
As I was winding down my degree, I was filled with a touch of anxiety that great, now I was a Visual design artist, then a communications major for a while and finally an Analytics graduate, but at the end of all that, what am I? A Confused Student. I had the drive, the passion but once again no direction. I had developed a diverse palate of skills but unsure of the application. As I was sharing my thoughts with my family, both my cousin and a family friend Insisted that I look into Data school Down under.
As I looked through the journeys of past students and the selection process, I was very Impressed. I was in the middle of applying to professional analytical roles and it involved several application processes, emphasis on your CV and the need for prior relevant experience. Here was an organization that’s throwing all that out the window and asking its prospective applicants just one thing: “Show us your love for data, show us your passion for Vizzes and tell us your story”. They cared more about the individual and their journey rather than relevant past experiences.
What the Application Process Is Really Like
If there’s two things that I can leave behind for future aspirants wanting to come here it is perseverance and learning through the process. I want to be clear while the DS process is different, it is by no means easy. It is sleepless nights, skipped meals and missed events. The Application process goes like this:
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- Select a dataset that speaks to you and something you can develop a story on (this is very important for the next steps!)
- Create your viz using Tableau Public and send it in at least a week ahead of the deadline. The earlier the better!
- If they can see the spark and the passion (this is why it helps to have a dataset that you are passionate about) they will invite you to a video interview.
- Present the dashboard in action and show off! The best candidates of this stage will be invited to the final round, which will be a three-stage process. Dashboard, Presentation and Interview.
- Cancel all events, gatherings and if possible, take time of work too! Not absolutely necessary but highly recommended.
- Applicants have 2 weeks to develop a dashboard based on a curated dataset from DS. This dataset is huge, do not take it lightly. As before, if possible, send it in a week earlier for some quick feedback!
- Present your dashboard to the DS panel in person, followed by a personal interview.
Setback? Yep. Comeback? Absolutely.
For my first attempt during DSAU27 I managed a very late submission just hours before the deadline, the coaches were still very kind and gave me some additional time to improve my submission and provide feedback. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight of the 7 steps outlined above and I crashed out after the presentation. However, I can honestly say I have not wanted anything more than getting into this program at this stage. After a short break to clear my head, I dove right back in to find a dataset and story that was truly compelling for me. I was determined and disciplined, I applied all the learnings from my previous shortcomings to put my best foot forward and cracked it! The key in my experience was to persevere and keep learning.