Joining Digital Futures was exactly what I needed 

While in my final year of a Maths degree I decided I wanted to pursue a career in data science. So, just as all final year students do, I began my hunt for a graduate job. I was fortunate enough to progress quite far in several of my applications, however each time I was met with the same result.

“We regret to inform you that we have found someone with more experience in the role you are apply in for.” Leaving me with the problem of, “how can I get experience when no one will hire me because of my lack of experience?”. This is when I found Digital Futures and, after attending two online workshops, I knew it was just what I needed. 

From my degree I was already comfortable problem solving and working with data. Even though I did have some experience using Python I had never used it in a data science setting and had never been introduced to packages such as Pandas.  

As of writing this I am only on my fifth week of the Digital Futures training, and I have already learnt so much. Not only have I been able to develop and improve my technical data science skills but, through weekly sessions, I have been able to develop professional and business skills such as the pros/cons to different project methodologies or the different types of business structures that are commonly used. 

Every day has presented a new challenge and as someone who loves to learn I have found my time at Digital Futures extremely engaging. For example, we have just spent a week learning about the ethics of AI; this was I topic that previously I had never really considered, but I now find myself eager to learn more and increase my understanding. 

Digital Futures has provided me with an opportunity to learn and gain the experience I was lacking as a data scientist. Through a combination of team projects, tutorials, and self-guided learning I feel more confident in my abilities and that I will be able to have a positive impact as a member of a data science team.  

While in the grand scheme of things twelve weeks is a very small amount of time, I have no doubt that in years to come, when I look back on my (hopefully successful) career, the twelve weeks I spent in the Digital Futures Academy will feel very pivotal.