One of the books I am releasing this year is How To Become A Data Scientist. My inspiration for this book comes from my experiences transitioning into data science and all of the things that I wish I had known along the way. I aimed to make the book a comprehensive guide from starting the transition to landing a data science position.

Why Mid- to Late-Career Professionals

During my time becoming a data scientist I realized that many of the existing resources are mostly for audiences that have just entered the job market and are much earlier in their career. I wrote this book with mid- to late-career professionals in mind, because I found that many of my experiences were different from those who wrote from the perspective of someone starting their first career. Data science was not my first career, nor was it even my second, or third.

I became a data scientist in my late thirties; I transitioned into the field from academia. I was at a turning point in my career. I had been working as a data scientist without the title or benefits. The support and encouragement of my family and friends helped me make the jump into data and I haven’t looked back since.  

I landed my first position with Common Application, Inc. Although I knew my technical skills were not quite what they were looking for, the hiring manager offered me the position anyway. Even though a strict reading of the position description indicated that I was not necessarily the perfect fit I, like many mid- and late-career professionals, offered a full range of other characteristics and attributes that were appealing to the hiring manager. This range of skills, abilities, and expertise that comes from being an established professional is a topic that I write about in the book.

If you have been in the workforce for some time then you have these skills too. I believe its fair to say that you possess some combination of intelligence, ambition, resiliency, and other similar attributes. You have been tested and know how to problem solve. I find that mid- to late-career professionals often do not fully realize how valuable these skills are from a hiring manager's perspective.

Available on Amazon.com here. Also available at Barnes & Noble here.

Takeaways

After reading this book I believe you will have a clear understanding of not only your strengths as a mid- to late-career professional but also the technical portion of transitioning to data science. It may have been some time since you have had to submit application materials and standards have probably changed. I take you through step-by-step:

• how to prepare your resume, portfolio and cover letters
• how to gain more technical experiences to add to your portfolio
• how to prepare for an interview

I even included examples and templates in my book bonuses section to help you apply what you are learning to your own materials. I tried to take as much of the struggle and guessing out of making this transition as possible.

The middle and late portion of a person’s career can be the most exciting portion of their career. You may think having major accomplishments is a young person’s game. Perhaps you collected a few impressive accomplishments yourself at the beginning of your career. You can continue to have that flavor of success today, too.