What PhDs do wrong (and right!) when applying for Data Science jobs
If you’re fortunate enough to have a quantitative PhD, you may have thought about applying for an opening in data science. After all, it’s an exciting and well paid field and a lot of fun too. Drew Harry recently wrote on this topic. As a PhD himself he should know. Here are a few of the observations from his article.
Nearly half of people working as data scientists today have PhDs, though they make up less than 2% of people in the US over 25, so your academic training will command some attention:
Unfortunately, there’s a gap between the rhetoric pushing PhDs to industry jobs and what is necessary to actually get those jobs. I’m going to try to close that gap here by describing what great PhD applicants do, as well as some of the common mistakes we’ve seen.
Make Your Case
The one thing that is non-negotiable for newly minted PhD students is write a cover letter!
With a short employment history that most definitely doesn’t include the title “data scientist” on it, the cover letter is your one chance to sell someone on why you could do a job you haven’t done. Be concise, but address the major questions someone might have about you:
Data science is an interdisciplinary field that requires frequent translation between engineers, product managers, marketers, and executives. The cover letter is your best opportunity to demonstrate your sophistication as a communicator.
Source: Data Science Central