How I succeeded in Getting a job in Data Analytics : from Theology to Data Analysis
The story of How a Theology Student became a Data Analytics Consultant in 7 Months
My message to anyone who is looking for job opportunities or changing careers in this field or other fields is this — you have no way to know where you will end up when you start but keep up your work with diligence, excitement, and gratitude so that when the right opportunity rises in front of you, you can confidently and competently pursue.
What Happened 7 Months Ago
I was a Theological Student until July 2021. And if anyone asked me what data analytics is 7 months ago, my response would have been, …data…what…? I am a theological student so I can tell you about God and theology but not the data… something you just said.
But now I am a month in at The Data School Down Under as a Data Analytics Consultant (I’m in the training period at the moment so there is more to it but let me share about that in the future posts).
And I believe you could potentially be going through a similar journey. So keep reading to find out!
So, what happened?
Let me take you to October 2021. In October 2021, as I graduated with a degree in theology along with a chaplaincy certificate, I started to look for a job. My job search was not successful as, at the time, due to the effects of Covid-19, my work area decreased rather than increased. I believe many of you might have or will face similar experiences like this after completing college or university degrees.
At the same time, because of those circumstances, I happened to spend a lot of time at home. This led me to explore different career possibilities. As I was browsing, I came across a video that talked about data analytics and what data analysts do (YouTube video from Alex The Analyst, link). I was instantly drawn into data analytics for different reasons.
- I liked what being a data analyst required — including being a curious and good learner who likes problem solving and is potentially analytically minded.
- I was also fascinated by what data analysts can do — the magic. Turning a huge amount of data into simple visuals which allow you to see logical stories through them was something I was very impressed by.
- Lastly, I am a visual person who likes creating visually smart content. As a social media marketing freelancer, I also enjoy creating content that looks understandable, relevant, approachable, and appealing. This was a significant part of being a data analyst.
What Did I Do To Start With?
Well, that decision was easy, I started to learn about data analytics skills the next day. I started by completing the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate which gave me a broad picture of being a data analyst.
I upskilled myself through a number of Udemy online courses in Excel, SQL, Tableau, and PowerBI. After spending over 10 hours learning each day for about 4 weeks, I started to get confident in my skills and started to build a portfolio.
There are plenty of resources out there thanks to the internet. If you have time and commitment, you will be able to learn new skills like never before!
Job Hunting
Finally! I built my first “Data analyst” resume after doing a few personal projects that I could mention in my resume. So, what could possibly go wrong? I sent through my resumes to many different companies, small to large.
However, after a few days of job hunting on Seek, Indeed, and LinkedIn, I quickly realized that the wall to entering this career was quite high. Most jobs required a minimum of 2 years of experience or a relevant degree to even be considered for the role.
For someone who has no experience or degree in data analytics, I was pretty intimidated. However, you can’t just give up, right? I scrolled through the job boards every day until I came across a Data Analytics Consultant position at the Data School Down Under. And the Data School was looking for candidates who are passionate about data and love learning — No experience required!
Long to short, The Data School offers 4 months of intensive training in different skills including Tableau, Alteryx, and presentation skills in order for you to succeed in real work places. After 4 months, you are put in placement in different companies as a Data Analytics Consultant. (Note: it is a full-time 28 months contract job and you will be paid for whole time both during training and placement.) Click here for more.
I passed the Data School’s recruitment process which consists of 4 stages and I am now one month into the Data School as a Data Analytics Consultant. I hope to write more about this process in future posts.
It was a pretty intense and dramatic change in my life — from a theological student to a data analytics consultant. The 6 months of my journey were challenging, intimating, fun, exciting, and rewarding.
My message to anyone who is looking for job opportunities or changing careers in this field or more is this — you have no way to know where you will end up when you start, but start somewhere and keep up your good work with diligence, excitement, and gratitude so that when the right opportunity rises in front of you, you can confidently and competently pursue.
I hope to continue to post my journey in data analytics and more of my personal life. See you in the next post!
