Hi there!
It’s been a long time since I last shared a newsletter so thank you for sticking around. Almost 2.5 years later, we have a lot to catch up on!
To get started, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year! For me, it’s been a slow start to 2024: for the first week, I was under the weather. I’ve been taking time to rest and recover with lots of naps and gentle movement to ease into the year. I always appreciate my health in a new light after being unwell.
Since it’s been a while and we have some new faces (welcome!), I’d like to re-introduce myself:
Hi, I’m Kerry! 👋
I have been working in Data for just over 6 years, with around 5 of those working as a Data Scientist. In my previous life, I was a Particle Physicist, completing my PhD on the ATLAS experiment at CERN where I first worked on data analysis using C and C++ (I can tell you more about that some other time).
Pre-pandemic, you would often find me at local events and meetups; I was very passionate about getting involved with community groups, staying up to date with the latest news in tech and sharing things that I learned with others. Since 2021, I have been focusing on my other passion: yoga, which hasn’t left much time for data outside of my day job.
I spent 2022 completing my yoga teacher training and have been guiding others in their practice for about 9 months now. If you’d like to find out more about my yoga journey and the classes I teach, you can subscribe to my yoga newsletter or find me on Instagram.
At the end of 2023, I moved from Data Science to Data Engineering and from industry to consultancy! In the last few months, before moving on to a project, I have been spending a lot of time learning new technologies and studying for certifications. I have a whole range of articles planned and I hope to share some of my experience as I navigate this new space.
🔮 Going forward
This newsletter started as monthly where I shared resources I had found useful, articles I’d read, anything new I had written and projects I was working on.
This new edition will be a bit more ad hoc both in frequency and content but my goal is to share 10 new articles with you in 2024. Continue reading for the first one…
🔎 New Year, New Job
Are you starting the year searching for a new job? Check out my 8 takeaways from Data Science interviews.
This article was written back in 2021 so some of the tools and their features mentioned in the article may have changed, but the principles still hold and can apply to anyone job hunting!
One thing to note is that the jobs I applied for back then had pretty long and intense interview processes and that is not always the case; this also relates to point 3 - research the company and interview process so you know exactly what to expect.
My job-hunting experience in 2023 was very different to 2021! Have you been job hunting recently? How is it going so far?
🧐 What is your focus for 2024?
I’d love to hear more about what your focus is for 2024. What topics are you looking to learn more about? Are you looking for a new job in data? Are you growing in your current role? Are you changing direction entirely?
Come say hi in the comments below and let me know!👇
✨Just For You
To wrap things up, here are a few recommendations, of both data and non-data related things I’ve been…
📖 Reading: Python Testing with pytest by Brian Okken is a comprehensive introduction to testing that is also an enjoyable read! It has example code so that you can follow along with the content and exercises at the end of each chapter - I highly recommend checking it out.
📺 Watching: Curious to know what the difference between a Data Engineer and Data Scientist is? This webinar with The Seatle Data Guy outlines the skills and tools used in Data Engineering and the difference between roles in data.
🎧 Listening to: For any fellow Patrick Stewart fans, I’ve been loving listening to Making It So: A Memoir, the audiobook is narrated by the man himself. I’m only about halfway through so far and I’ve been enjoying his captivating tales, recalling his childhood and early days in the theatre.
That’s all for now. I hope that you found something useful in this newsletter - feel free to comment below to let me know or forward it to a friend if you think they might enjoy it too!
See you next time.
Kerry