Episode 138

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Published on:

3rd Dec 2024

138: Steven Tran’s 3-Month Journey to Becoming a Data Analyst

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Steven Tran went from tech support to analytics pro in just three months, and he's spilling the tea on how he made it happen.

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👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:37 Meet Steven Tran: From Tech Support to Data Analytics

02:30 Steven's Career Transformation Timeline

06:29 Financial and Career Growth

07:52 The Importance of Projects and Passion

16:57 The Importance of a Portfolio

18:34 Growing Your LinkedIn Presence

24:42 Interview Experiences and Job Success


🔗 CONNECT WITH STEVEN TRAN

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentran96


🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

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Transcript
Speaker:

All right.

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Very excited for today's episode.

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It's actually an interview I did with one

of my students, Stephen Tran, who is a

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member of the data analytics accelerator.

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Um, I, or.

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I've already published this.

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You guys have maybe heard this before,

but I really just wanted to highlight.

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How incredible Steven's journey was.

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And for those of you that are

new to the podcast, you might

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not have listened to this one.

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Um, because it was

quite a bit a while ago.

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So, um, And we just kinda went

through Steven's whole story of

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how he actually landed a data

job kind of step-by-step and.

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I thought this was a great episode.

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I just wanted to reshare it with

y'all if you haven't heard it.

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So, uh, let's get into today's episode.

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Welcome back to the Data Career podcast.

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I'm super excited for two.

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Today's episode, I'm doing an interview.

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With one of our DCJ Data Career

Jumpstart members, Steven Tran.

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And I'm super excited to have him

here and tell us about his story.

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Welcome to the Data Career Podcast,

the podcast that helps aspiring data

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professionals land their next data job.

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Here's your host, Avery Smith.

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So Steven, welcome to the podcast.

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Thank you, Avery.

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I love that you invited me on the podcast.

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Cause I don't know if you know

this, I've listened to every

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single episode of your podcast.

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Have you really?

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Yeah, it's actually helped me

a lot making my LinkedIn posts.

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So we'll talk about that.

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Awesome.

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Well, now you, I guess this is one

of the episodes you won't listen to.

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You don't have to listen to this one.

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I guess you can just, you can just be

in it and you can just talk about it.

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So super excited to have you.

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So let's start with, we're gonna

start with the big picture.

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Okay.

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So for those of you who don't know, which

is probably a lot of you guys, Steven.

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What was your title

before your current title?

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It was technical support analyst.

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Okay.

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And what type of company was that for?

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It was for a mortgage company

called Ellie May and they were

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acquired by ice mortgage technology.

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So that's what they're known as now.

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Okay.

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So you were kind of working in this like

mortgage company doing a little bit of.

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Of it work.

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Is that right?

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Or yeah, I, I just call it a

glorified tech support job.

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Okay, sweet.

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So like, was that like making sure people

like had PowerPoint working correctly

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or like, what was like a daily task?

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Yeah.

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So it was a little bit more than that

because what I was doing, I was giving

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like API support, so we have our program

called encompass where people can, our

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mortgage loan officers can go through and

manage their loans and stuff, but we also

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we allow them to create their own code.

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So I would help debug that

code for them basically.

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So I would have tickets and whatnot that

I'd have to go through and follow up and

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you know, and all that stuff like that,

but yeah, basically a tech support role.

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Okay.

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So from a tech support role

to now, I think you're.

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Title is, I'm going to read this,

Senior Associate in Analytics, right?

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Yep.

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That's correct.

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Okay.

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At Dentsu, which is like a, like a

big media marketing company, right?

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Mm hmm.

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That's right.

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Okay.

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So basically you transformed your career

from this tech support role into this, you

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know, senior associate in analytics role

in like less than six months, correct?

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Absolutely.

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Yep.

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That's right.

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Okay.

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So to give the people a timeline,

you are at this non data job

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and then got this awesome data

job in just a couple of months.

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What were the timelines on that?

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Like, when did you start your data?

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So in data journey overall, I

finished my degree in business

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administration back in December.

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So I was looking into jobs of data or like

how I can gain the skill set in November.

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It's been a very recent pivot.

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Cause I was kind of like, Oh

no, I'm going to graduate soon.

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What am I going to do?

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You know, I'm working this,

this dead end tech support job.

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I don't want to do this forever.

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I want to be a data analyst.

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What is it going to take to become one?

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Okay.

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So I didn't realize that.

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So this is November of 2021.

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You're going to graduate from

your degree, which was in business

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administration in December.

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And, and that's when I guess

you spoke or to a mutual friend

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of ours, I guess your cousin.

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Is that right?

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That's right.

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Okay.

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Dom, shout out Dom.

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And Dom introduced you

to me and in my program.

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So I think you joined Data Career

Jumpstart, the big course, the

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project camp in November, correct?

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That's correct.

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And then when did you land

your job with Densive?

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So my official start date was February

28th, but they extended the offer

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to me about a month beforehand.

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So January, like the end of January.

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Okay.

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So, so end of January, early February.

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So basically we're looking at November,

December, January, January, three months.

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Yep.

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Three months from, from like,

did you, like how much data

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experience did you have?

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So.

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I had Python classes because I also did

computer science before I transitioned.

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And I also had a single SQL course

that I took, which I did not take

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seriously, so I didn't carry a lot.

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So, not a whole bunch, I would say.

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Okay, but some.

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So that's, that's what

you're referring to.

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Back in college, you originally

were studying computer science and

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then switched to business, right?

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Yep.

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So not like a ton, definitely no

real world experience, you know,

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maybe some college classes and you

were in a tech support role and it

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sounded like there were some, at least

looking at code involved in that.

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So not like the furthest away,

but also not the closest, right?

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Yes, exactly.

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Okay.

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So basically just, just to give people

an overview in three months, you went

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from tech support role to this new job

in analytics, and I guess, tell people

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a little bit about your current job.

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Like, are you in the office or no?

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Nope, it's completely remote.

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Completely remote and like, do you like

what you do more than you did previously?

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Oh, absolutely.

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100%.

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It's, it's so much fun.

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I'm learning so much every day.

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I mean, it's stressful with

all the projects that are going

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on, but it's, it's good stress.

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You know, it's something that I

can work on and learn more of.

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Okay.

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And like, so, okay, now

you're working remotely.

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I guess you're still in California, right?

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Yes, that's right.

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Okay.

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So you got to stay where,

live where you want to live.

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The people, the, the company

density is pretty international.

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Where do they have offices?

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I don't even know.

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They have a lot of

offices on the East coast.

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I, one of their main

offices is in New York.

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So a lot of my team is in New York.

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Do you have to like wake

up early for calls then?

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No, actually they've been pretty nice.

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Even though I'm the only West

Coast person, they've been trying

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to schedule all our meetings like

later on in the day just for me.

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So it'll be in the afternoon for

them, but like in the morning for

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me, which I don't mind at all.

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So they've been really nice about that.

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That's awesome.

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Okay, so you get to be where you're at.

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You're a West Coast guy.

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You're working from home.

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What, what about financials?

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Like, like, are you, if I've been

going to as much detail as you want,

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but like, do you feel like you're

better financially at this place

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than you were at the other place?

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Yes.

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100 percent in a better place.

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I wasn't struggling before, but

I definitely not struggling now.

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It was about a 15 K increase,

which is I'm super psyched about

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because this is something that,

you know, I like living on my own.

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I want to keep living on my own.

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So I've am able to do that still.

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Okay.

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So, wow.

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So basically.

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You like essentially in three months, you

gave yourself a 15, 000 raise basically.

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Yeah.

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I would say that.

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And, and the cool part, I think about

analytics and data in general is it's

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like, you're not, it's not dead end.

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Like you can keep progressing

on and on for a long time.

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So it's like, you know, it's

15, 000, you know, at the jump.

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And then, and then, you know, maybe

five years down the line, it's another,

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you know, 20 or something like that.

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Who knows, but it's like,

you can keep progressing.

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Right.

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Isn't, I think that's

one of the coolest parts.

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Yes, that was one of the biggest

things for me because one of the

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things that I asked for when I was

interviewing was that, do you have a

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way for me to become a data scientist?

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Because that was a really big thing

for me because progression is huge

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for me because I need that motivation.

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I need to be able to progress

upwards and you know, it's not

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just from a money standpoint, it's

from, I just want to build myself.

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You know, I just finished college

and it's still fresh for me.

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I want to get into the workforce

and I want to build my reputation.

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So let's now, now, now that people

understand, you know, your journey.

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So from tech support, graduating

college in business, maybe taking

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one, one or two programming

classes to within three months.

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Landing this job at a pretty big

international, you know, marketing

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company, getting that 15, 000 raise,

being able to work, you know, where

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you want, let's talk about kind of

the, the, how, how you got there and

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what you thought was, was important.

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So you started by joining

Data Crew Jumpstart and.

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You know, took some of the lessons there.

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Do you feel like you

were learning quickly?

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Like what, what was the first thing that

you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm getting this.

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I like this.

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Like, what was the first time where you're

like, this totally is something I want to.

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Yeah.

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So definitely the biggest thing that I

love about DCJ, and this is one thing

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that I talk to a lot of people about

is I like the project approach rather

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than the, here's a homework assignment.

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It's due next week kind of approach.

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And also the, the shorter videos, the

bite by bite, 10 to 20 minute videos.

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I don't know about you, but I feel like.

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I just snore an hour,

two hour long lecture.

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Like I don't retain anything,

you know, and a lot of these

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things, they are hands on.

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You can follow along,

but I just get so bored.

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I'm gonna have to pause it here.

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When I come back, I'm

gonna forget where I was.

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So I love the little bite

sized videos that you have.

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And that's just one thing that was able

to keep me to do like, Oh, maybe I'll do

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two videos today or three videos next day.

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So I can just do something every

day, you know, it keeps it fresh.

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Yeah.

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I think that's something I've

really tried to do with most of

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my courses and trainings is like

projects, projects, projects.

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Projects, projects, projects.

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And I remember, I think you

latched onto that pretty quickly.

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I remember, you know, one of the hobbies

that you have outside of data, right?

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But outside of work is,

is weightlifting, right?

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Do you want to tell the people

a little bit about what you do?

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Yeah.

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So I'm a competitive power lifter,

which means I try to lift as

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heavy as I possibly can in the

squat bench and deadlift category.

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So that's a little, fun thing that

I do outside of work, outside of my

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nine to five, outside of my studying.

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So I, you can typically find me at the

gym, maybe two to three hours a day.

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Okay.

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But don't, don't be humble.

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Tell the people how you did

in the last competition.

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Yeah.

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So I ended up getting a gold medal

first place in my last competition.

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So that was really fun.

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And how was it?

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Come on, give us the details.

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So squat, my heaviest lift was 457 pounds.

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Let's see.

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Bench was 270 pounds and

the deadlift was 500.

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2 pounds.

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Sheesh.

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That is crazy.

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Yeah.

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I don't know if I've done that, that

much weight, like in all of my years

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combined of, of going to the gym.

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So anyways, you, you love weightlifting.

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You went through a pretty big fitness

journey in your life too, right?

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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And I remember you made a project

about it, if I'm not mistaken about.

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You know, kind of your weight loss

journey, your, your weight increase

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and like being able to lift.

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And for me, that was when I

was like, all right, I see

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big things coming from Steven.

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I was like this, when you're able to take

something in your life that you enjoy and

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apply it and tie it into data, I'm like,

okay, that person's going to succeed.

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Absolutely.

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That's one thing that I talk to a lot

of people, a lot of people that have

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been reaching out to me through LinkedIn

is just don't just do these projects

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that people are telling you to do.

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Learn those skills and apply them to

things that you're passionate about.

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Because I had so much fun

making that dashboard.

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Like, I don't know about you, but

like, if someone told me I had

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fun doing dashboards, I would be

like, You're just a nerd, dude.

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I don't want to hear this, but I

had so much fun doing that project

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because it's personal to me.

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It's something that I care about.

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And I just wanted, it was my baby.

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You know, I wanted to make

it as best as I could.

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And people loved that dashboard,

especially during interviews.

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Yeah.

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So, okay.

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So you're in DCJ.

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We're doing projects.

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So we start off with the

screen time project, doing

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a lot of data visualization.

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Then, then we have a project

about fitness as well.

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So we dive, dive into Python and those

are kind of the, the two, the two

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things that probably you had done before

applying to jobs, is that correct?

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That's correct.

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Yes.

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So it took you about.

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Two months to do those more or less.

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Is that right?

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More or less.

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Yeah.

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About two months.

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Okay.

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And I guess another aspect of

DataCrew Jumpstart is it's not

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only technical skills, but it's

also, you know, personal skills and

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soft skills and networking skills.

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So whole section on LinkedIn, whole

section on finding jobs when you were

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applying to jobs, what was your strategy?

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And then what ended up working?

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So when I was applying to

jobs, a lot of it was just.

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Going on LinkedIn, looking for

data analysts, whether I was, I

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was filtering by remote because

my last job was remote also.

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And I was like, I don't want

to go back to office anymore.

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I can just leave and go for

a walk whenever I want to.

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So I made sure remote was one of those.

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And then I also did easy apply.

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I know it's not like the best way to

go through jobs, but for me, I needed

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to do job applications as easy as

possible because it's really draining

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to do job applications, especially

if you have to email like three

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different cover letters or whatnot.

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So Easy Apply was really good

for me because I can literally

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just lay in bed, watch Netflix

and just apply, apply, apply.

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Okay.

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I get through like 50 or

so applications a night.

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You know, just chilling,

applying that way.

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And yeah.

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Did you have any luck

with the easy applies?

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I'll be honest.

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Not really.

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I had one company get back to

me, but that's because I had

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experience in the mortgage company.

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So that one company got back to me

and I did interview with them as well.

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Okay.

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So a couple of things, a couple of

things that I think you said, one

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is like you're applying to like

data analyst positions, correct?

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Yeah.

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Two.

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Yes, that's correct.

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Okay, so one thing I like that Stephen

just mentioned, he doesn't have, he's

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never been a data analyst, he doesn't

have analytics experience, he's never

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been a data scientist, but he's applying

for these entry level, you know, data

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analyst jobs, but where he had success,

I think is really important here, Was

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when he applied to a mortgage company.

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And some people are like, Oh, I don't

have any experience being a data analyst.

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And you know what, that might be true.

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That might not be on your resume,

you might not have actually crunched

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that much numbers, but you definitely

have some sort of experience, whether

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it's in teaching or whether it's

in mortgage or something like that.

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I think it's important to really marry

those at the beginning, especially

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when you're trying to get interviews,

because like, There's data in every

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industry around the world, right?

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If you've been, you know, it's, if

you've been an athlete, there's,

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there's sports analytics jobs.

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If you've been in business,

there's business analyst jobs.

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Like I think Steven did a really

good point there of like leaning

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in on his, you know, background.

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I think that made him more

attractive to, to employers and

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recruiters and stuff like that.

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And also a lot of perseverance right

there, you know, cause, cause I'm sure you

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got a lot of projections and, and didn't

hear back from a lot of those, right?

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I'm still getting those rejection

emails and I'm like, I'm good, man.

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I'm almost three months into this job.

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I don't, I'm good.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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You're like sucks to suck.

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I already have a job.

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Thank you very much.

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So let's talk about that.

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So how did you find this job

or how did they find you?

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And what was that process like?

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Sure.

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Yeah.

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So I actually saw through the DCJ discord,

you know, Ellie, I absolutely love Ellie.

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She's one of.

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My mentors and Avery, you're

also one of my mentors.

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I want to make sure that that's clear

like You have an amazing community that

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you've built here and the people that are

giving back even though they're not We

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talked about this which is really funny.

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Yeah, and I wanted to message her on

linkedin, but she did not allow People so

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I had to get in mail and to get in mail I

had to get the was it called the LinkedIn

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premium Yeah, I literally paid 40 just

to get LinkedIn premium so I could send

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her a message and say hey, I'm interested

about this job Can you look at my resume?

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Can you talk to me?

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Let me know like would I be a good fit?

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What do I need to look for?

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To learn to be a good fit.

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:

And we scheduled a phone call

and we talked about all of that.

396

:

And she actually helped

me rebuild my resume.

397

:

She helped me highlight some

words and stuff like that.

398

:

I would, I would go as far to say that

she did, redid my whole resume for me.

399

:

She was giving me tips at first

and she was like, you know what?

400

:

Just send me the, send me the word file.

401

:

And she, she redid my whole resume for me.

402

:

So she's absolutely amazing.

403

:

She's a star.

404

:

Senior manager of analytics

in Dentsu as well.

405

:

We don't work on the same

team, unfortunately, but we

406

:

still talk from time to time.

407

:

And she's an amazing asset

to have in this industry.

408

:

So I think, I think there's a lot

of really interesting things there

409

:

because part, part of the reason I

made DataCrew Jumpstart, and I haven't

410

:

really, I haven't really talked about

this since I launched the course.

411

:

I've kind of, I've kind of forgotten

about this, but one of the reasons

412

:

I launched it was because, you know,

I, I broke into data science, like.

413

:

Like seven years ago.

414

:

Right.

415

:

And when I was doing it, I mean, it was,

it was still pretty popular, I think, but

416

:

definitely not as popular as it is now.

417

:

And there definitely was not

nearly as many resources.

418

:

And I was super lonely.

419

:

I was like, I don't know if anyone knows

what I'm doing or like, I don't know if

420

:

anyone else is on the same journey as me.

421

:

A shout out to Ellie.

422

:

Ellie is totally awesome.

423

:

Very helpful to the community

and aspiring data professionals.

424

:

And you connected with

her, but, but hold on.

425

:

I, what I love here is that like.

426

:

There was a, there was a

something to yet overcome.

427

:

You like couldn't figure

out how to message her.

428

:

That's okay.

429

:

Cause cause you paid the 40 bucks.

430

:

You got the LinkedIn

premium, sent her an email.

431

:

What was that cold message?

432

:

Like, like, just like, Hey, I

saw you posted in DCJ discord.

433

:

About a job opening, you know, I've

been, I've been an Avery's program

434

:

and learning something like that.

435

:

It was 100 percent just like that.

436

:

It was just, yeah, I've

been working in DCJ.

437

:

I've been, I've done with most of it.

438

:

Can you look at my resume?

439

:

What can I change or what should I learn?

440

:

What should I focus on basically?

441

:

Yeah.

442

:

And I love, I love that also

because you had a portfolio.

443

:

That's, that's something.

444

:

That that.

445

:

Okay.

446

:

So I have a lot of DMS.

447

:

I get a lot of DMS every day.

448

:

People, people asking me for

advice, people asking me for jobs.

449

:

I get a lot of jobs.

450

:

It's, I think one out of a hundred

DMS that I've ever gotten have

451

:

had a portfolio attached to it.

452

:

And guess what?

453

:

Guess who I hired as the one

person I've ever really hired is

454

:

the person who had a portfolio.

455

:

Having a portfolio just proves that

you like are for real and like you can

456

:

do the things that you say you can.

457

:

Here's the evidence, right?

458

:

And I know Ellie really liked that

about you that you had the portfolio.

459

:

That like you had evidence, she's

a big fan of data visualization.

460

:

You had awesome data visualizations,

for instance, from, from data career

461

:

jumpstart and also just like your fitness

journey and stuff like that as well.

462

:

Had some, had some pretty

cool data visualizations.

463

:

So I think that played a big role in

you, like catching her attention and

464

:

her being willing to help you out

was just like, you were for real, you

465

:

know, that portfolio made you for real.

466

:

Yeah, I was gonna say portfolios are very

undervalued right now because I, I also

467

:

get a lot of DMs, especially now with all

my posts going viral or whatnot, but a

468

:

lot of them, they don't have portfolios.

469

:

Like they don't send me, I ask them,

I always say, Hey, I can help you.

470

:

I know you're looking, send me your

resume, send me your portfolio.

471

:

A lot of them don't have any portfolios.

472

:

And I just keep telling people

like, how do these companies

473

:

know what you've been working on?

474

:

Sure.

475

:

You got the SQL skills.

476

:

You got the Python skills.

477

:

Data visualization, but they need to

see something needs to be tangible.

478

:

They need to be able to picture you

in their role before they hire you.

479

:

Yeah.

480

:

That's one thing that I try to promote.

481

:

Yeah, for sure.

482

:

And let's, let's go ahead

and talk about your LinkedIn.

483

:

So I'm actually, I'm actually

going to go ahead and I'm going

484

:

to go to your LinkedIn right now.

485

:

Cause I want to, I want to get

some live, some live things.

486

:

All right.

487

:

So I'm going to linkedin.

488

:

com.

489

:

We'll have Steven's LinkedIn

in the show notes down below.

490

:

I'm going to go to your page.

491

:

Let's see.

492

:

I just lost it.

493

:

There we go.

494

:

And I want to check something.

495

:

So currently right now, you have

3, 831 followers on LinkedIn.

496

:

Okay.

497

:

Yeah, I want you to go back to

November, six months ago, okay,

498

:

not even half a year really.

499

:

How many, how many connections or

followers did you have on LinkedIn?

500

:

So I had zero followers cause I didn't

allow followers and connections.

501

:

It was probably like 20, like 20 people.

502

:

So basically you've grown your LinkedIn,

like who knows how many times since,

503

:

since you joined DCJ basically.

504

:

And, and, and more specifically.

505

:

So you went from, let's say, let's

say from:

506

:

has like connections and followers.

507

:

It's kind of confusing.

508

:

I'm just going to call them followers.

509

:

So you had like 20 connections.

510

:

And now you have 3, 831.

511

:

Now let's, let's talk about

specifically how you gained those.

512

:

So you've been posting, I know

a big part about DCJ is posting,

513

:

posting, posting, posting, posting.

514

:

And recently, let's see a couple of

days ago, you had a post go super viral.

515

:

Five days ago, it has 3, 194

516

:

reactions.

517

:

95 comments, 57 shares,

and it's three sentences.

518

:

That's right.

519

:

So did most of the followers

come from that or before that?

520

:

I would say most of them came from

that, but I wanted to make sure

521

:

that I was still posting after that.

522

:

Because I feel like when you get

that exposure, it only lasts so long.

523

:

So the biggest thing I wouldn't

say stressor for me was like, Oh,

524

:

what's the next post going to be?

525

:

It's definitely not going to be as

good, but I need to show these new

526

:

followers, you know, the type of

content that I want to put out, the

527

:

kind of things that I want to set.

528

:

So it was a little bit

of a time crunch for me.

529

:

Yeah.

530

:

Okay.

531

:

So then the next one was three days later.

532

:

And, uh, it ended up getting 872

likes, 82 comments and 25 shares.

533

:

Yeah.

534

:

Yep.

535

:

That was the things you can do

to break into data analytics.

536

:

Okay.

537

:

And then the next one

had 1, 437 reactions.

538

:

85 comments and 163.

539

:

That's right.

540

:

Okay.

541

:

So gone pretty viral

recently on, on LinkedIn.

542

:

People are asking you for advice.

543

:

What, what advice do you give people who,

who said they want to go into analytics?

544

:

A lot of the time I will ask what their

background is because a lot of people,

545

:

I, you don't necessarily think that you

need a background in data analytics.

546

:

You can literally get started today.

547

:

Like look up SQL, look up some

Python, learn some data viz.

548

:

But a lot of the times.

549

:

They're, they're asking like, what

can I do or what can I learn, but some

550

:

people are just straight up asking

me for a job and I'm like, I mean,

551

:

I'm just a, I'm just an associate.

552

:

Like, I can't, I can't give you

a job, but some, actually some

553

:

people ask me like, Oh, do you

have any projects I can help on?

554

:

Those people, I value their

comments a little bit more because

555

:

it's not asking for a handout.

556

:

I don't want to sound vain, but it just

seems like it's not mutually beneficial.

557

:

beneficial to either of

us, you know what I mean?

558

:

So I like those messages that

people are asking like, well,

559

:

what are you working on?

560

:

Or what, what can I help you with?

561

:

Things like that.

562

:

It's, it's, yeah, I totally agree that

whenever, whenever you're, you know,

563

:

cold messaging someone or, or even like

talking to someone, it's a, The first

564

:

message should always be, how can I

provide this person value in their life?

565

:

How can I help this person?

566

:

Because, you know, obviously, you know,

I have a substantial LinkedIn following

567

:

and when I have posts that, that go

viral, it's like a mad zoo in there.

568

:

It's like very, it's very crazy.

569

:

And to be honest, I don't read like

half of them probably at the end of

570

:

the day, it's just, it's just too

much, but I try to find the ones

571

:

that like, Oh, this is interesting.

572

:

Or this person's different.

573

:

Or this person is saying, thank you.

574

:

Like this person doesn't

want anything from me.

575

:

They're just saying thank you.

576

:

And yeah, maybe it does seem vain,

but that's like human nature.

577

:

Like we, we don't trust people until

they prove their worthiness, you know?

578

:

And most of the time people are just

asking for stuff and it's, it's kind

579

:

of annoying because unfortunately.

580

:

I can't spend, you know, we

can't spend our whole lives and

581

:

our whole time helping people.

582

:

We can help a few people, but when

it gets to such a big, big number, it

583

:

gets a little bit difficult because

we got to put food on the table.

584

:

Got to pay the bills.

585

:

Yeah.

586

:

So let, let me actually, let me, let me

read this, this viral post that you had.

587

:

So let me pull this up here.

588

:

The one I really liked was things you

can do to break in a data analyst.

589

:

Learn your hard skills

in order of importance.

590

:

I am a SQL Excel.

591

:

Python, statistics, data

visualization, Tableau, and Power BI.

592

:

Learn your soft skills.

593

:

Tailored resume, online portfolio,

answers to basic data analytic questions.

594

:

And then don't forget to apply.

595

:

Okay, so talk about one of those

points that you find that's like really

596

:

valuable that other people maybe, maybe

don't see the same way that you do.

597

:

So, um, Yeah, this, this post was

definitely built on my experience trying

598

:

to get a job in data analytics, which

I feel like my individual experience

599

:

would also apply to a lot of other

people, which a lot of people have been

600

:

sending me messages like, hey, I've

been in the exact place where you are,

601

:

except I haven't gotten that job yet.

602

:

But the biggest thing that, the main

reason I wanted to make this post This

603

:

post was the just because you don't

satisfy the job requirements part.

604

:

There was actually a podcast that I

listened to you and someone said this.

605

:

I'm sorry.

606

:

I'm forgetting the name of

the person that you talked to.

607

:

I think they were a data

freelancer, a data freelancer.

608

:

They were talking about that.

609

:

Just make sure that you apply.

610

:

Like a lot of these job requirements are

just like, they're not even minimums.

611

:

I don't think they're

like the ideal candidate.

612

:

And that really resonated with me

because when I was applying to jobs,

613

:

um, A lot of the time, I wasn't even

looking at the job requirements.

614

:

I was just applying, because

like, because in my head, I'm

615

:

just like, if they considered me,

then they fit me as that profile.

616

:

So if, if I might as well

shoot my shot, right?

617

:

For sure.

618

:

So that was, that was the main

thing I wanted to nail home.

619

:

It's just like, these are like, if you fit

50%, 60 percent of that profile, do it.

620

:

Why not?

621

:

What do you have to lose?

622

:

Yeah, especially if it's if it's only

time I mean, and time obviously is

623

:

valuable but at least it's not money you

know what I'm saying like you can apply

624

:

and definitely like I think, I think

the requirements have to be honest so

625

:

I obviously I try to help people find

jobs and so one of my one of my main

626

:

jobs is to try to help my students,

especially inside data career jumpstart.

627

:

Find jobs that fit them well.

628

:

And so I spent a lot of time

talking to CEOs, a lot of times

629

:

speaking to recruiters and try to

match make the process basically.

630

:

And so now people kind of send me jobs

and say, Hey, I'm looking for this.

631

:

Do you have anyone like that?

632

:

And recently I had a guy reach

out to me, a CEO of a company.

633

:

I will not say which, but it's

anyways, it's, it's a big business

634

:

and they, but they've never actually

had a data analyst or data scientist.

635

:

So I guess not that big.

636

:

I guess it's a midsize company,

actually probably small compared

637

:

to everything in the world.

638

:

It probably has like.

639

:

100 employees.

640

:

And he wanted to hire a data,

data analyst or a data scientist.

641

:

And he's like, I'm going to

write the job description and

642

:

let me know what you think.

643

:

And he came back to me and it was

this, it was a data analyst role,

644

:

but like all the requirements were

data scientists, like requirements.

645

:

And I was like, bro, this

is a data scientist job.

646

:

And he's like, well,

what's the difference?

647

:

And so sometimes the people, you

know, writing the job, hopefully

648

:

this isn't always the case.

649

:

Like, I don't know.

650

:

I hope, I hope this is an exception,

but like, he didn't even really

651

:

know what he was talking about.

652

:

And that's, that's why

he was talking to me.

653

:

But sometimes, sometimes, especially

smaller companies, they don't

654

:

know what they want, or they're

listing like 100 things and they

655

:

don't really need those things.

656

:

They need, they need two

out of the hundred things.

657

:

So you never know, it can never hurt.

658

:

But, but one of the things I think is,

is most valuable that you did was you're,

659

:

you're leaning on your networking,

you're leaning on the people, you know,

660

:

you know, you're, you're in the data

career jumpstart discord, you're talking

661

:

to DMing people, you know, who, who

know me, like you're, you're leaning

662

:

on the community around you and using

the network that ended up landing you

663

:

the, you know, the, the awesome job.

664

:

And a lot of the times I think, you

know, applying online does work,

665

:

but if you can figure out how to

like, Talk to a human instead of

666

:

having to go through the system.

667

:

I would always choose

talking to human 10 times.

668

:

Absolutely.

669

:

Absolutely.

670

:

I 100 percent agree every job I've

ever had, and I've had six or seven

671

:

jobs or because I knew someone that was

working there already every single job.

672

:

So networking is another

undervalued skill.

673

:

I mean, I don't, I don't want to say

it's undervalued, but people don't

674

:

practice it the way that you should.

675

:

It was making those connections and

building your skills based on those

676

:

connections is just, I don't know.

677

:

I would, yeah, undervalued . I think

especially on LinkedIn because like, I

678

:

don't know about you, but like I do not

necessarily enjoy networking events.

679

:

Like where, well, okay I take it back,

but like for instance, like socials,

680

:

like where you like just have to like

go up to someone and introduce yourself.

681

:

I'm not very good at that as an introvert,

and I know maybe you guys don't believe

682

:

me, but I'm super introverted and like

I'd much rather have like a topic, so like

683

:

for instance, if they posted on LinkedIn.

684

:

I would love to comment on their post,

or, or maybe they'll come on my post

685

:

if I post like I like having like a

vehicle, where our conversation flows

686

:

versus just like meeting in person

and, and also like on the internet.

687

:

I can tell, I know exactly who you

are, off of your LinkedIn profile.

688

:

If we go to a real life like mixer.

689

:

I'm just like judging your appearance

to like, hopefully know what you do.

690

:

And like, I know that I went to the

Silicon slopes conference, which is like

691

:

a pretty big tech tech conference in Utah.

692

:

And like, I was like, how

do I maximize my time?

693

:

I'm going to like meet some random

people and like, you just walk into

694

:

people and be like, Hey, what do you do?

695

:

And it's like, Oh, like I make potato.

696

:

Like machines, and it's

like, okay, I'm sorry.

697

:

I'm not really interested in that.

698

:

And I can't relate versus on LinkedIn.

699

:

I can be like, oh, this person, you know,

works for a marketing analytics company.

700

:

That's super interesting.

701

:

Let's start a conversation there.

702

:

So I just feel like I feel like

LinkedIn is still underrated

703

:

for the networking aspect of it.

704

:

I don't know.

705

:

Yeah, I think events like that, they kind

of force this genuine connection when you

706

:

can't really force something like that.

707

:

Especially at those events, you're, you're

expected to ask people what they do.

708

:

You're expected to be asked what you do.

709

:

Whereas in LinkedIn, you can choose that.

710

:

You can choose to let anyone know as much

as you want to, but also, you know, you

711

:

have your profile and all that stuff.

712

:

But yeah, it's just, it

just lacks that genuineness.

713

:

Yeah.

714

:

And who knows, maybe, maybe,

maybe I do like in person events.

715

:

So maybe Maybe I was just that too

broad of an event and maybe like,

716

:

like, for instance, I have enjoyed the

data conferences that I've gone to.

717

:

So maybe it was just too broad but anyways

I like LinkedIn because it can be really

718

:

like I'm much better on one on one versus

in group so big big fan of LinkedIn.

719

:

Okay, so, With that, I'm just

going to rehash your story.

720

:

You're working for this mortgage company

as a tech support, graduating college,

721

:

join, join DCJ, start posting on LinkedIn.

722

:

You know, you're by the way, your

LinkedIn profile looks really good.

723

:

I love, love your cover photo.

724

:

That's one of the things that we go over

in DCJ and no one uses the cover photo.

725

:

In a good way.

726

:

A lot of people don't anyways.

727

:

So love it.

728

:

Love your profile picture.

729

:

Great, great headline on your LinkedIn.

730

:

Posting good things.

731

:

You're using the featured

section, which is another thing.

732

:

Your first thing is your portfolio.

733

:

Next few things are cool

graphs and viral posts.

734

:

So you're nailing, you're

nailing the LinkedIn thing.

735

:

Land a job through networking,

you know, 15k increase.

736

:

In, in salary, you know, you're

working remotely, which is awesome,

737

:

enjoying life, have room to grow.

738

:

So that's, that's kind of the Steven

story that we want to shout from the

739

:

rooftop rooftops and let everyone know

that you can, you know, you can go

740

:

from, from, I don't want to say nothing

because you are definitely something,

741

:

but, but non non data jobs, non data

jobs to a data analyst role or associate

742

:

data analytics role in three months.

743

:

Yeah, absolutely.

744

:

Crazy journey I've been

on and still going on.

745

:

So I just want to give you all the

biggest props because there's people

746

:

inside of data career jumpstart.

747

:

Who have been in there, you know,

like how long has it, I guess we

748

:

started in September, September,

October, November, I guess like eight

749

:

months who are still struggling.

750

:

And one thing I think you did

really well is one, you took

751

:

the content really quickly.

752

:

You built and like fell in love with

your portfolio like you're like my

753

:

portfolios is where I post stuff

you documented stuff really well.

754

:

And then you networked.

755

:

I mean, those are really like, honestly,

that's what data career jumpstart is.

756

:

is all about.

757

:

It's like those three things.

758

:

It's like, can you work fast?

759

:

Can you make projects?

760

:

And can you network?

761

:

And you did those three things well.

762

:

I think that's why it led to, you

know, your success so quickly.

763

:

You know, I think, I think at the end of

the day, that's, that's pretty much, you

764

:

know, how you got to where you're at.

765

:

And now, now you're helping other people.

766

:

Now you're learning more.

767

:

I know you've, you've been mentioning,

you've been SQL on the job and,

768

:

and that's the whole point, right?

769

:

Yeah.

770

:

Like, I think I told you this straight

up, because we had a call before

771

:

you joined Data Career Jumpstart.

772

:

I said, I don't really want to take

you from being nothing to the best

773

:

data scientists on planet earth.

774

:

I want to help you get your first

job, get your foot in the door,

775

:

so you can get paid to learn.

776

:

Absolutely.

777

:

And that's what you're

going to do now, right?

778

:

And hopefully, I mean, tell, tell the

people what you're, what you're learning

779

:

and then what your, what your goals are.

780

:

So yeah, definitely.

781

:

I, During the interview process itself,

it was actually very conversational.

782

:

We never talked about anything that I

wasn't, I never had to say too many times.

783

:

It was very good.

784

:

I loved talking to, I had basically,

so I had three interviews back

785

:

to back to back from I think

nine o'clock to twelve o'clock.

786

:

In the morning, but it

was I wasn't sweating.

787

:

It was like the most genuine So I got to

interview with my director who I currently

788

:

direct our report to right now a senior

manager and then another a senior Director

789

:

too, which who all work on my current team

and they were they're absolutely amazing

790

:

people and I love them And one thing I

want to shout out about my director and

791

:

why I love So I've only been working

there for a little over two months.

792

:

And we have flexible time off, so FTO.

793

:

And she's like, Stephen, you've

been working here for two months,

794

:

you haven't taken time off.

795

:

You should take some time off.

796

:

I've never worked for a company

that told me, Hey, you need to

797

:

just, you know, you might burn out.

798

:

Just Take a break, take it off.

799

:

And I was like, okay, that's cool.

800

:

But yeah, anyway, that's awesome.

801

:

Yeah, it's, it's been an absolute journey.

802

:

So they, they have been

teaching me a lot of things.

803

:

So that was one thing that they made

sure of in the interview process.

804

:

Have you been exposed to SQL?

805

:

Have you been exposed to Tableau?

806

:

Have you been exposed to Python?

807

:

So I only had one technical question

during that whole interview, which was,

808

:

so here's a table and then she described

the columns and here's another table.

809

:

She asked her, how would you join

these or what join would you use?

810

:

And I was.

811

:

Able to, I actually had a, a definition

of all the joins, cause I, I kinda

812

:

knew that they might ask some join

questions on one of my screens.

813

:

I have three screens, basically.

814

:

So I had, on one of my screens, I

had, I had, oh, what a full join was.

815

:

I was like, oh, full join sounds

like something I would want to use.

816

:

She was like, yeah, that's,

that's what you would use.

817

:

And I was like, cool,

that's about all I know.

818

:

About SQL besides, you know, the main

definitions select from where group by

819

:

all that kind of stuff, but yeah, they're

basically giving me SQL lessons right now.

820

:

And I've just been

learning, I know Python.

821

:

It's just learning pandas,

sqlearn, sklearn a little

822

:

bit more and stuff like that.

823

:

So it's definitely the ideal situation

of getting paid to learn and knowing

824

:

from the get go, what the expectation

was really made it easy for me to

825

:

transition into it, and I'm really

excited to learn more because one

826

:

thing I want to talk about is like, So

many people are asking me for advice.

827

:

They're saying like, oh, you know,

so much about data analytics.

828

:

I'm, I'm literally the first rung on the

ladder of data, but like the way I think

829

:

about it is there's a, there's a big

gap from the floor to the first rung to

830

:

like, you know, the, the ladder of data.

831

:

So people are asking me so many things

and I, I'm trying my absolute best and

832

:

I'm, I'm a people pleaser by, by nature.

833

:

So I try to answer every DM, try to

answer every comment and it's, it's

834

:

starting to burn me out a little bit.

835

:

So I'm not forcing myself too much,

but it's just crazy to me that

836

:

people are, Relying on me or like

trusting me with helping them in

837

:

their career when I'm literally

just the first rung on that ladder.

838

:

So it's been super humbling and

it's been super great to help out

839

:

the community any way that I can.

840

:

Yeah, totally.

841

:

Well, I think, I think in order

to be like a teacher or like a

842

:

mentor, you really only have to

be one step ahead of the people.

843

:

You know, that you're teaching.

844

:

So I think, I think that's,

that's totally fine.

845

:

And, and at the end of the day,

we're, we're all still learning.

846

:

You never will know everything in data.

847

:

So it all, it all works out in the end.

848

:

And I think, I think people talking

to you is a good thing for them, but I

849

:

totally understand the burnout aspect.

850

:

That's one of the reasons why,

you know, before, before I did

851

:

data career jumpstart, when I was

still working my nine to five at

852

:

Exxon, I did a lot of mentorship.

853

:

I did a lot of live calls.

854

:

I did a lot of DMing and it got

to a point where I was like, okay,

855

:

I'm at my absolute cap for what I

can do, you know, at this point.

856

:

And that's why, one of the reasons

why I started Data Career Jumpstart.

857

:

But awesome stuff.

858

:

I'm stupid.

859

:

I'm, I'm not stupid.

860

:

I'm super stoked for you and your, your

journey, the way I see you, like your

861

:

next, your next, you know, couple of

years, like, you know, you're going

862

:

to nail a bunch of SQL right now.

863

:

You're going to learn a

bunch of SQL on the job.

864

:

Get really good at SQL.

865

:

Um, you know, do really

learn the business.

866

:

Cause I think marketing something that's

new to you, it'd be new to me as well.

867

:

Like really learn your domain.

868

:

And then, you know, maybe, you know.

869

:

I guess you started in February

or, or March, you know, maybe six

870

:

years down the road, or not six

years, a year or two down the road.

871

:

You know, maybe you, you switch to a

different team, or, or maybe you go

872

:

into like a, a data scientist role

and you do that for two to three

873

:

years and then, you know, all of a

sudden you're, you're like an expert,

874

:

you know, data guy in marketing.

875

:

You combine those two things.

876

:

That's a huge niche.

877

:

I, I, I see such a bright

future for you, man.

878

:

I'm, I'm super excited for you

and couldn't, couldn't be more.

879

:

More happy for you also couldn't

happen to a better person.

880

:

So congratulations on all your success.

881

:

You know, just, just to recap 15 K new

job has way more, you know, place to

882

:

expand 3000 followers on LinkedIn in

like, in like four months, basically.

883

:

That's crazy.

884

:

And I think it goes a huge testament

to who you are as a person.

885

:

Right.

886

:

Thank you so much, Avery.

887

:

Yeah.

888

:

I just, like I said, you're, you're one of

my mentors in this data journey and you've

889

:

been an absolute huge help in everything.

890

:

So I love everything that DCJ has

been able to let me do and grow.

891

:

It's still, it's still helping

me even after I finished, you

892

:

know, most of those projects.

893

:

So looking forward to that

sequel part when that comes out.

894

:

Oh, it's, it's coming out.

895

:

It's coming out soon.

896

:

So yeah, looking, looking

forward to that as well.

897

:

And yeah, great stuff.

898

:

Any, any parting words you'd

like to leave the people with?

899

:

Yeah.

900

:

So it's, it's going to be

a tough road, but like, I.

901

:

I don't want to say that because

of my skills I got to where I am,

902

:

but I, one thing that my brother,

I've heard my brother say is that

903

:

luck favors those who are prepared.

904

:

So I, I want to say I'm very blessed and

I'm very lucky to have meet the people

905

:

that I have met and also to get to be

in the position that I have, I am in,

906

:

but the thing is you got to be prepared.

907

:

You know, you got to put the work

in, you got to study, you got to

908

:

learn and like when luck, when luck

happens to you, you're prepared.

909

:

So that's just one thing I would say.

910

:

For sure, for sure.

911

:

I like that.

912

:

Well, Steven, it's been

an absolute pleasure.

913

:

We'll have your link to

your LinkedIn down below.

914

:

And yeah, we'll see you more on LinkedIn.

915

:

We look forward to more posts.

916

:

I hope you enjoyed that episode.

917

:

And if you did, I'm going to

have an awesome free masterclass

918

:

that I know you're going to love.

919

:

We're going to talk about a lot of

things this episode talked about.

920

:

You can get it absolutely for

free at data career jumpstart.

921

:

com slash training, or using the

link in the show notes down below.

922

:

Hope to see you there.

Listen for free

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About the Podcast

Data Career Podcast: Helping You Land a Data Analyst Job FAST
The Data Career Podcast: helping you break into data analytics, build your data career, and develop a personal brand

About your host

Profile picture for Avery Smith

Avery Smith

Avery Smith is the host of The Data Career Podcast & founder of Data Career Jumpstart, an online platform dedicated to helping individuals transition into and advance within the data analytics field. After studying chemical engineering in college, Avery pivoted his career into data, and later earned a Masters in Data Analytics from Georgia Tech. He’s worked as a data analyst, data engineer, and data scientist for companies like Vaporsens, ExxonMobil, Harley Davidson, MIT, and the Utah Jazz. Avery lives in the mountains of Utah where he enjoys running, skiing, & hiking with his wife, dog, and new born baby.