Name: Sam T.
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Office Location: Cincinnati, OH
University: Undergrad: Miami University; Grad: Northern Kentucky University
Major: Undergrad: Zoology, Premedical Studies; Grad: MBA with a concentration in Business Informatics
Start Date: June 2022
Starting Role: Data Science Development Program

Describe your role.

I’m currently a Data Scientist on our Commercial Insights & Loyalty team. I work with our CPG partners (consumer packaged goods) to execute analyses in order to uncover insights that can drive growth for our business and make our customers’ lives easier. A few examples of questions we help answer are: “How are my customers engaging with my products online?”, “How are my customers engaging with my products over time?”, “What’s the impact if we change some our products on the shelves?”. To answer these questions, most of my time is spent coding, analyzing data to uncover insights, building presentations, and presenting results back to our partners.

What was your experience like in the Development Program?

The Development Program was an amazing experience. I started at the same time as 11 other data scientists, some of which recently graduated from college, while others, like me, had already worked for a few years but decided to transition into the field of data science. The first few weeks were jam-packed with trainings, but after that, we started getting more hands-on experience by working on case studies followed by live projects across the business. I was a little nervous before getting assigned to live project work, but 84.51° did a great job providing all the support I needed. For example, on the first day of the Development Program, everyone was assigned two data scientists from across the business that acted as mentors. I used these mentors throughout the program to answer all the questions I had. Overall, I enjoyed the Development Program as it was a great way to learn about the business, quickly enhance my technical skills, and meet people across the company.

How do you believe the 84.51° Development Program compares to other comparable programs?

I personally haven’t heard nor experienced anything like the 84.51° Development Program. In my past roles, it felt like a sink-or-swim situation where we were assigned to live project work within the first 2-3 weeks and had to figure things out on our own. As I described above, this is not the case at 84.51°. There are many weeks of dedicated trainings that are specific to your role type before getting assigned any live work.

How do you believe the Development Program equipped you for success at 84.51°?

For me, the Development Program provided me with the technical skills that are needed to be a data scientist. Before joining the program, I did not know how to code, nor did I know anything about GitHub. However, many of the technical trainings are designed for people of all skill levels. After a few weeks, I was a self-sufficient coder. While I wasn’t an expert, the Development Program gave me the technical tools that allowed me to get started on most projects.

What did you learn from the Development Program that you have transferred into your current role?

Aside from teaching me how to code, the Development Program taught me how to work cross-functionally to analyze data, generate actionable insights, and to tell a story to effectively communicate our findings. I gained these skills by working on a group case study that we spent many weeks working on. We pulled a lot of data, but worked together to pick the insights that answered our stakeholders’ questions. This experience was very useful when I transferred to my current role as the work I currently do looks very similar to this.

Is there anything you wish you had known about the Development Program prior to enrolling?

There’s nothing I specifically wish I had known before joining the Development Program, but if I could offer advice to those entering the program, I’d suggest diving into projects that spark your interest, even if you feel like you lack the required skills. In the later stages of the Development Program, my manager encouraged me to take on projects I was interested in even if I doubted my technical abilities. To my surprise, I completed those projects, and in hindsight, I learned the most from them.

What has been the most memorable experience or favorite project you’ve worked on?

While I enjoyed all projects I worked on, my favorite was a package development project. The goal of the project was to create an entirely new package that made it easier for other data scientists to work with a particular data asset. I really enjoyed this project because it significantly enhanced my coding skills in a short period of time. I gained an understanding of package architecture and the various files constituting a package. Additionally, I learned how to interact with a computer using a command-line interface, which I thought was really cool.

What advice would you give students who are interested in working in the data science industry?

My advice would be to download Python on your computer (or any other coding language), create a GitHub account, and start completing different types of coding projects. If you do this, you’ll significantly improve your coding skills, learn what types of projects you enjoy doing, and have something tangible to put on your resume.

What’s your favorite part about working at 84.51°? Do you have a favorite benefit or perk that is offered?

There’s a lot that I love about working at 84.51°, but one of my favorite aspects is the team I work with. They are all super smart, kind, and supportive. I’m learning a lot and it feels good to know that I have teammates that are willing to help when needed. I also love that 84.51° provides a flexible work environment and provides 5 weeks of vacation, which is very generous.