#18 - An unconventional path to founding an AI Start-up with Mikiko Bazeley

Chanin Nantasenamat is behind the very successful YouTube channel Data Professor. He is an actual professor with a background in working in academia in the field of bioinformatics. Since the beginning of the pandemic he has started his brand Data Professor and has been taking the data science scene by storm. We talked about his background, how he decided to start his YouTube channel, how he built his YouTube channel to the size it is now, what future plans he has, his role at Streamlit and advice he can give to aspiring data science practitioners. Data Professor YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/DataProfessor Data Professor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedataprof Chanin's Data Science Landscape: https://twitter.com/thedataprof/status/1557407932060663808

Amazon has many services and one of the biggest products they have is AWS. It stands for Amazon Web Services and is a cloud services platform. As part of their cloud services platform, Amazon also has skilled data scientists helping their clients implement data science solutions effectively and efficiently. In this episode, I talk to one such data scientist: Naz Levent. Naz has been with Amazon for more than two years and has been part of some exciting projects in fashion, energy and entertainment industries. She even worked for F1 on a prominent project whose results were broadcast to hundreds of thousands of F1 followers. She shares with us how she got into data science, how she got her first job, what her days look like and why she loves her job. She has some unusual and great advice on how to get ready for a data science career. Take a listen! And don't forget to go check out my courses at soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/roadmap

There are many ways to get a data science job and on this episode we hear a very interesting one!  Khuyen Tran is a student and a data scientist who got her first job before even graduating. On top of other things, we learn how this was possible. She shares her tips on how to stay engaged in the data science field and how to improve oneself by doing hands-on projects.  She tells me all about how she got her first job as a data scientist while still studying, how her writing on Medium brought a lot of opportunities to her foot, what resources she used to gain new skills and more! Khuyen's is a great story to understand what to focus on when aiming to become a data scientist. She has some great advice on how to approach the whole data science field and how to think about learning new concepts. Do not miss this episode! Khuyen's medium account - khuyentran1476.medium.com/ Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course (previously Master the Data Science Method) - soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods  Free Pandas cheat sheet - soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/pandas-cheat-sheet

Communities all over the world are on the rise. People want to connect with others that they have shared values with. People in these communities help their fellow members with hard times, follow each other's journeys and are there for each other through challenges. One such great community is Women in Data. Its goal is to increase diversity in data careers. But it’s more than a community. It “provides awareness, education and advancement to women in the tech industry - specifically in analytics, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence” in their words. Behind this organization is Sadie St. Lawrence. And she has a very interesting story on how this all got started. Being the only woman in her studies, Sadie felt the need for a community and built one from the ground up to help others who felt like her. Now, in just 5 years, Women in Data is active in 11 countries. Sadie is a data practitioner herself who has a background in data science and consultancy. In this episode, we talk about: Her journey into data science, how to approach getting into a data career, her advice for aspiring data scientists, what programs Women in Data has for aspiring data scientists, how to get in touch and become a part of the organization and much more! Don’t miss this awesome episode! Women in data website - https://www.womenindata.org/ Women in data YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwMkDNVrU2Vzc0dlJSdl7ww  Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course

Yes, government agencies use AI too! When you think about it, with the gigantic amount of data they have, no wonder they need machine learning solutions to deal with their problems. And if you're passionate about working for the government or at least supporting it, this could be a great alternative for you! This week on the show I have Nicole Janeway Bills. She works for Atlas Research, a consultancy firm that specializes in providing technical support to accomplish strategic transformations, improved performance, and enhanced service delivery for federal organizations in the US. After realizing her passion in data analytics, Nicole followed her heart and started the journey that brought her to where she is today. Currently, Nicole's work involves Natural Language Processing and the latest technologies in AI which she admits to really enjoy. We talk about how she decided to become a data scientist, what qualifications she went through, how she landed her first job, the future of AI and much more. Nicole has some great advice for anyone who is thinking of jumping into a career switch. Don't miss it! Here is Nicole's medium page where she writes about her learnings and current state of AI: https://nicolejaneway.medium.com/ Nicole's article on Python (from 30:07): 10 Underrated Python Skills Hands-on Data Science: Complete Your First Portfolio Project course: https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/mdsm

This week on the show I have Mikiko Bazeley. She is currently busy co-founding Sidewalk.ai, an AI based solution for residential real-estate.  Her path to founding a company hasn't been very straightforward though. She has worked in many different companies, in many different domains before she got to where she is today. Her story is a great example of trying on different things and learning from your experiences to build yourself a life and a career that fulfills you.  We talk about sidewalk.ai, her story of becoming a data scientist, the projects she's involved with and the future of AI. Mikiko also shares her advice for aspiring data scientists on how they can turn their career around in the direction they want. --- Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course

Data Scientists are in demand and that's why becoming a data scientist is also in demand. Though many times what people have in mind when they think of becoming a data scientist is working at a company, with a boss. This doesn't have to be the case for everyone though. Ways you can do data science and in general, careers in data are too many to count. If you're really passionate about what you're doing and you value freedom above all else, like Susan, you might even start your own business and become your own boss. Susan, also known as, The Classification Guru started her business after she realised that there is a gap in the market for people who would tidy up your data for you and make it ready for analysis. And now, her business is flourishing. She gets to work with fun use cases, have fun making marketing content for her work and make money on top of it.  In this episode we talk about her journey building her business, how she came up with an idea, what kind of services she offers to her clients, how she likes her job and many more things! Tune in to learn more about the possibility of starting your own business and to get some inspiration! The Classification Guru website - https://www.theclassificationguru.com/ The Classification Guru YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrWRbL-zeEZsHwjYhj3v_A/videos  --- Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course

A consultant’s life is an exciting one. You get to experience many different industries, domains and technologies. It tends to be high-paced and at times stressful but if you like the kind of work you do, it is rewarding. Rossy is one such consultant. She works for a very big multinational tech consultancy firm. She specializes in finance and banking industries but has become part of other types of projects too. Rossy joins me this week to discuss how she got to her position as a consultant data scientist, what she does day to day and what kind of projects she participates in. We also talk about why she chose data science, what she likes most about her job and much more. Tune in to learn more about what you can expect from a consultancy position! --- Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course

As a person who looked for jobs in the remote workspace before the pandemic, I can say, it is not easy. Fully remote companies tend to be, simply, super cool and have great culture. That’s why they get a lot of applications. This in turn makes the space super competitive. When I, “re-met” Ceren 6-7 months ago, she was also looking for remote work. In the meantime, she actually found a remote position at an awesome company called Data Revenue and has been with them for the past couple of months. In this episode, we hear how Ceren changed her career from being a logistics consultant to a machine learning engineer, which resources she used to learn data science, how she got her current position, her projects and more. It's fair to note that with the latest developments in the world, as in a global pandemic, companies started seeing that remote work is actually possible. A lot of businesses have been temporarily or some even permanently moved to a remote working style. As a result, a lot of new opportunities for remote work opened up! This will make remote positions more accessible to a wider array of workers in the coming years. If you're interested in getting a remote position, let's hear it from Ceren who has been through it all! --- Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course

This week I welcome Jayeeta Putatunda on the show! Jayeeta is a senior data scientist specialising in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning solutions at Indellient Inc. in New York. She is equipped with all the skills a data scientist can have and works on very interesting projects with Fortune 100 companies. But of course, this doesn't happen overnight. We talk about why she decided to pursue data science, how she got to where she is and how she studied to become a data scientist. She has some great advice for anyone who is looking to get into data science. Take a listen to see what the path to data science looks like for someone whose starting point is economy! --- Hands-on Data Science: Complete your first portfolio project course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/hods Data Science Kick-starter mini-course - https://www.soyouwanttobeadatascientist.com/courses/data-science-kick-starter-mini-course