5 The search: Identifying the right job for you

 

This chapter covers

  • Finding open jobs that might be a good fit
  • Decoding job descriptions to understand what the roles are really like
  • Picking the jobs to apply for

You’ve got the skills, and you’ve got the portfolio; all you’re missing is the data science job! You should expect the job search process to take some time, though. Even successful job applications usually take at least a month from applying to getting an offer, and more commonly several months. But by laying out some best practices in this chapter, we hope to make the process as painless as possible.

In this chapter, we focus on how to look for data science jobs. First, we cover all the places where you can find jobs, making sure that you won’t unknowingly narrow your options. Then we show you how to decode these descriptions to find out what skills you actually need (spoiler: not all of them) and what the jobs might be like. Finally, we show you how to choose the ones you’re best suited for, using the knowledge you’ve gained about data science skills and company archetypes in the first four chapters.

5.1. Finding jobs

5.1.1. Decoding descriptions

5.1.2. Watching for red flags

5.1.3. Setting your expectations

5.1.4. Attending meetups

5.1.5. Using social media

5.2. Deciding which jobs to apply for

5.3. Interview with Jesse Mostipak, developer advocate at Kaggle

What recommendations do you have for starting a job search?

How can you build your network?

What do you do if you don’t feel confident applying to data science jobs?

What would you say to someone who thinks “I don’t meet the full l- list of any job’s required qualifications?”

What’s your final piece of advice to aspiring data scientists?

Summary

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