Econ Consulting to Data Analytics or MS Data science?

Apr 4 11 Comments

I want to switch to the tech industry.

I pursued a math and econ major in my undergrad. I have research experience from my undergrad, data science internship at a tech-healthcare startup and have been working as a research associate for the past 1.5 years doing Economic Consulting.

I am an international student with H1B. I have gotten into the NYU MS Data Science program. I am wondering if I should apply for data analyst roles and then try to switch to DS? Or should I go to NYU MSDS program?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

#data #dataanalytics #datascience

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TOP 11 Comments
  • Meta
    Kuph85

    Go to company page Meta

    Kuph85
    Agreed. If you’re coming from NERA then you can apply straight for ds at tech companies. Consider analyst roles after that. Don’t waste time on a Masters.
    Apr 4 2
    • Do you have any advice on what kinds of roles I should go for? Most DS roles need ML, which I don't think I would be qualified for.
      Apr 4
    • Meta
      Kuph85

      Go to company page Meta

      Kuph85
      It’s more nuanced than that. Most tech companies value stats and inference more than ml for a data scientist. It also depends on the company and how they’ve defined the role. Read job descriptions carefully and do your research to figure out what they care about.

      In general
      1. Experimentation - look for ds product analyst
      2. Causal inference and statistical modeling - research scientist. Usually needs a phd.
      3. Machine learning - ai scientist, applied scientist, mle. Some companies hire ds for this skill set and just use them as cheaper, less proficient mle.

      If you’re really worried about machine learning then just read “intro to statistical learning” or “elements of statistical learning”. “Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow” is helpful as well.

      The things that will most likely prevent you from landing a job are the lack of a phd and lack of practical experience with experimentation for internet product’s
      Apr 4
  • You probably could go straight into applying for jobs with your background
    Apr 4 2
  • Thank you this is very helpful!
    Are there any roles at meta which you might refer me for?
    Apr 4 2
  • New
    x33x

    New

    x33x
    I used to work at NERA and switched directly into DS, and I know many others who have made the same switch without a masters. So definitely recommend directly applying to data analytics roles. Feel free to DM me
    Apr 4 0
  • Grab
    testacc6

    Go to company page Grab

    testacc6
    As someone with a masters in econ and a ds currently, a masters in cs with an ml focus is much better than msds
    Apr 4 0