There’s no typical example of a data scientist these days. With the field still relatively young, people from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences — including an academic one, like mine — are finding their way to a data science career.
At Faire, we recognize the value of hiring data scientists with diverse backgrounds — both traditional and non-traditional. While we do hire interns and people who have specifically studied data science, that’s not the only profile we look for. Our team currently includes former academics from economics, physics, psychology, and more (and we’re hiring!). As someone who earned a PhD in Chemistry before finding my way to data science, I wanted to share my story for anyone else considering making the jump. I’m so glad I did — here’s how it all went down.