By @scottwebb from Unsplash
I am a regular graduate student. I get up every day, hoping my work will influence someone’s life in a small way. Maybe it’s my own life. Recently I don’t feel of any use to others or to me. I have had this tiny voice inside my head telling me to get out, now this voice has gotten louder and louder. Don’t get me wrong, I have had some wonderfully smart and kind professors at the multiple universities I have had an opportunity to attend.
Recently, it takes me inhuman mental strength to write a legible paragraph. My words are awkward, my sentences are jumbled … I just can’t seem to get out of my head or be my authentic self. The only mental refuge I find is self-teaching/learning. It’s like my brain takes a walk in an isolated forest for hours and my anxiety shuts down for a long time. It’s nice and quiet there. I am trudging through front-end development nanodegree from Udacity and a data science course from Bertelsmann. This got me thinking if I can ever become a data scientist? I am reluctant to rush a resounding “No” to that questions. Something inside me whispers I can do anything and become anyone I want. So I walked over to Herman Wells Library at Indiana University (IU) and checked out Data Visualization books by Katy Borner, a professor in the School of Informatics at IU. I haven’t looked much at them, because my impostor syndrome berates me for being an amateur and looking at textbooks like that.
Last night I studied statistics a little bit. I thought, this is not too bad, why do people make it to be one of the most difficult subjects? To be fair, I am just starting out. I don’t even have a maths background. I need a Master’s degree in Data Science, I decided. So I started looking at different colleges that offer such degree. Aside from the cost and time, I will need immense efforts to catch up with the discipline by studying algebra, statistics, etc. I have neither funds, nor time, nor effort. Besides, I am about to get my second Master’s degree, what am I collecting these degrees for?
In the midst of my research, I stumbled upon this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2016/07/29/4-reasons-not-to-get-that-masters-in-data-science/#7c758a7940c0
It talks about the reasons not to get a Master’s in Data Science:
- You don’t need a degree to get into the field
- You are probably academically not prepared (that’s me)
- It doesn’t pay as much as you think as opposed to the hype (not my primary concern)
- You are putting off job search by going back to school
I honestly did not need that much convincing. The first point was enough for the tiny whisper inside my head. It holds on to small positive key moments, fleeting ideas, and piece of motivation. I am going to listen to the whisper. With the vast amount of knowledge, number of free online classes, hundreds of strangers in the same boat as me, I think I can become a data scientist. I have my schedule, my study roadmap and nothing to lose. Now I only need to work really hard and never give up. Those are just 2 things.