How Rashikh Shaik Re-entered the Melbourne Workforce as a Data Science Professional and Enhanced Her Long-term Career Trajectory
With a background as an IT and ETL developer, Rashikh made a bold decision to completely change the trajectory of her career through our Data Science & AI part-time program. She was determined to re-enter the workforce after a long career gap from maternity leave.
The changes in technology left Rashikh feeling as though her skills were outdated, and this propelled her towards a course that could upskill her and provide the necessary practical skills needed to fill the gaps and get her back into the workforce with confidence. What attracted her to the Data Science & AI program the most was the personalised 1:1 career coaching and mentorship provided throughout.
For 6 months, she worked hard to adopt the necessary skills and set herself up for a successful career in Data Analytics and Data Science. Rashikh first found employment as a Data Analyst with CPA Australia in Melbourne, before moving on to another role with Tata Consultancy Services as an IT Analyst – all within her first year as a data scientist. The success she’s achieved whilst balancing work and family commitments is commendable.
Read her story here:
You have a background in IT and Data. What motivated you to upskill and pursue a career in Data Science and AI?
“I have experience working with ETL and BI tools such as Informatica, MSBI, Tableau, PowerBI, and Azure technologies. After working with data and looking into changes in technologies, I felt I needed to upskill my knowledge in advanced analytics. I started as a volunteer data scientist at Redcross Australia. I also started looking into free online videos and attended webinars related to Data Science and AI. After all this, I felt I needed to do a professional degree where I would have guidance and a systematic approach to learning. I did research many online courses before finding the Institute of Data. What attracted me was the one-on-one guidance and interaction that I would be able to receive in a real-time experience. After a few classes within the program, I felt I had made the right decision in choosing the Institute of Data over other programs.”
How many years of industry experience did you have before joining the part-time program?
“I had 6+ years of industry experience before I joined the program.”
What was the most challenging aspect of completing the course and what did you enjoy the most?
“When I joined this course, I was not working which gave me extra time to look into the topics discussed in class whilst balancing other family and personal commitments. After a few months of studying, I received an offer from CPA Australia as a Data Analyst where it became more challenging to manage everything. But my mentor Ammar Mohemmed explained the topics very well and guided me on which topics I need to spend more time on. Ashish Ahuja was also a great help, guiding us in labs and explaining everything very patiently. Choosing a part-time course helped me manage both my job and studies.”
What were your career goals before upskilling to data? How has your outlook changed?
“After a long gap in my professional life after maternity leave, I decided to start my career again. I found it very challenging to handle my twin boys and attend the interviews. When I started my career again, I saw so many new technologies had come up, which made it harder to get a job. This is why I decided to upskill in data science. I wanted to upgrade my skills to fit into a data analyst and as well a data scientist role.”
You’re now working as a Data Analyst and Science professional – Congratulations! How did you get a job in the industry after completing your training and what guidance would you give someone applying for jobs after upskilling?
“While completing my course, I started looking into jobs as a data analyst. It helped give me an idea of how I can showcase my skills, and helped me to fit into Data Analyst and also Data Scientist roles. While I was upskilling, I found it was also a good idea to work as a volunteer which gave me industry and real-time data experience.”
Tell us about your capstone project! How did you come up with your topic?
“I was able to come up with my data science project from my experiences volunteering in a previous charity organization. This course helped me in how to handle unsupervised datasets for the project.”
What did you enjoy the most about the capstone project?
“This project experience has given me insight into what real data looks like and how to use it. There were lots of challenges to make the data structured. The course and trainers helped me learn a lot of new things.”
What tips would you give someone preparing for their Capstone project during the data science & AI program?
“I would encourage people to pick up a project topic where they are not comfortable. This is where you learn the most.”
Now that you’re trained with in-demand skills and working in the industry, what tools, techniques or processes do you hope to experiment with going forward?
“Data Science is a vast subject. After completing the course, I’m confident that I can use the right methods and algorithms in my career from what I have learned.”
Do you have any advice for professionals making a career change and entering the field of data science?
“Data Science is becoming one of the mainstream professions in many companies. I am sure there will be a lot of demand for data scientists and I encourage professionals to up-skill if they have an interest in this area.”
Connect with Rashikh on LinkedIn here.
If you are interested in learning more about data science jobs in Melbourne and want to boost your career prospects in 2022, schedule a consultation with a Data Industry Career Consultant today.