2013 B.C. (Before Coursera)
When I graduated from college, I joined iNautix in September 2013. During my time there, I trained on mainframes. I’m passionate about programming and loved working on hands-on projects, but I was not completely satisfied in my role.
I kept reading about data science — one thing led to another. I found my new love: machine learning. I decided to enroll in the Machine Learning Specialization from the University of Washington and shortly thereafter, I added the Deep Learning Specialization from deeplearning.ai.
Machine Learning: What’s That?
I really didn’t have a clue about machine learning before I started these two Specializations. They helped me understand core machine learning concepts, and now I’m able to pick up new algorithms easily and apply them to the real-world problems. Completing both Specializations helped me stand out from the crowd of eager new data scientists like myself.
Here’s my course list:
- Big Data Specialization by UC San Diego
- Data Science Specialization by Johns Hopkins University
- Statistics with R Specialization by Duke University
- Machine Learning Specialization by University of Washington
- Deep Learning Specialization by deeplearning.ai
A Door Opens
After a year and a half of learning on Coursera, I felt confident enough in my abilities to start applying for jobs. I reached out to many senior members of HSBC, mentioning that I’m an aspiring data scientist that wants to practice machine learning. I also highlighted all the certifications and courses that I completed. A few of them replied back quickly, and others connected me with more relevant contacts within the company. I never thought I’d get that kind of response from so many high-level people at a company like HSBC. Eventually, a promising door opened for me: Virendrasinh Gohil, Head of Big Data in the India office and leader of India’s Innovation Lab, asked me to meet him the very next day after I contacted him. This represented a turning point for my career.
Fortunately, a data science role opened up in December 2016, and Virendrasinh recommended me. After I interviewed, I was put on the project. I’ve been a data scientist working in Global Markets at HSBC ever since. I’m pretty sure that without Coursera, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Interested in becoming a data scientist, or learning more about what it takes to succeed in the field? Find your path with the Coursera Data Science Academy.