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Corpuscule
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I would like to start a thread discussing the opportunities for Physics PhDs in the field of corporate Data Science.
This emerging filed is briefly explained in the following article:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/infosphere/data-scientist/
I have heard on a number of occasions that Data Science is a rapidly growing market, and employers in this area are currently willing to hire suitable candidates with Physics/Math PhD background and some programming experience due to the scarcity of qualified and experienced Data Scientists.
I will be updating the opening post as I research these opportunities further and come up with ways to increase the chances of breaking into the corporate Data Science field. So far I have found a few advices here: http://www.quora.com/Data-Science/How-can-a-physicist-get-into-data-science#
This is one of the posts from the link above:
Please feel free to contribute to this thread if you (or somebody you know) have moved (or are in the process of transitioning) from Physics/Math PhD into Data Science.
This emerging filed is briefly explained in the following article:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/infosphere/data-scientist/
I have heard on a number of occasions that Data Science is a rapidly growing market, and employers in this area are currently willing to hire suitable candidates with Physics/Math PhD background and some programming experience due to the scarcity of qualified and experienced Data Scientists.
I will be updating the opening post as I research these opportunities further and come up with ways to increase the chances of breaking into the corporate Data Science field. So far I have found a few advices here: http://www.quora.com/Data-Science/How-can-a-physicist-get-into-data-science#
This is one of the posts from the link above:
1. If you have or are finishing a PhD, consider doing the Insight Data Science Fellows Program. This is essentially a networking/job-placement program that could make your career switch very easy, but getting a slot in this program is competitive.
2. If you can't get into (or don't want to do) the Insight Program, use the list of companies that they recruit for as a starting place for your job hunt. If your resume is less than stellar, look for positions at smaller and less prestigious companies. There is no shortage of data scientists applying to big name companies like Google or Facebook.
3. Do an (paid) internship. It's a lot easier to get your foot in the door for a few months than to get a full time job offer. The internship also shows that you have invested some actual effort into your career path.
4. Network. This one is pretty obvious, but the best way to get a job offer is through a referral. It's also a great way to find out about jobs you might not hear about otherwise.
5. If looking for a place to learn on the job doesn't work, you may need to actually learn the skills on your own to prove your programing and statistics chops. Take the coursera course on machine learning. Do well in a Kaggle competition. Make an interesting big data demo (link to it on Hacker News). Put some code on GitHub. Contribute to an open source project.
Please feel free to contribute to this thread if you (or somebody you know) have moved (or are in the process of transitioning) from Physics/Math PhD into Data Science.
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