Main Question: I got an offer from the Insight Data Science Fellow for the coming Fall. I have been interviewing with companies (a few big ones) but no offers yet. Should I keep applying and expanding my applications to smaller companies (incl. startup)? OR join the Insight Fellow (without pay) and restart the job hunting in a few months? Thanks in advance for any advice! Background: I am leaving academia to get a job in software engineering / data science / ML. Have a few years of post-PhD research experience, writing science codes mostly (CFD, linear algebra, cuda, etc). I have done a few side projects (mobile, webapp, ML) and was able to get interviews from MS/Google/Amazon etc (so I think my resume is fine). Related Question: Is applying/joining startup companies (probably ML related) a good idea (in terms of career growth / exposure to the industry etc)? would they expect much less time to ramp up and therefore not hire people who are transitioning from other field? PS. Looking for jobs in Boston area.. PSS. Referrals welcome, e.g., Spotify, Hubspot, Facebook, etc
Why didn't you get offers if you got interviews? I don't see much benefit from insight if you're already getting interviews.
Maybe I have not applied enough jobs. I got onsites from MS/Google. I didnt even get phone-in from (relatively) smaller companies like Akamai/Wayfair in the area. Maybe they are more "conservative" regarding software roles. I think Insight will help my data science portfolio and networking. I agree I dont need them technically...
Did you apply for SWE or data science at Wayfair? Because I'd try for both in your case - the two are looking for drastically different things. Also, what about consulting? Plenty of folks become consultants after an academic career.
Always leetcode