What to Expect in Your First 90 Days as A Data Scientist | by Claudia Ng | Oct, 2024

Coming from a data analyst without a PhD or technical background

“Welcome to the team! We’re so excited to have you here!”

I couldn’t believe that I had landed my first role as a Data Scientist.

I don’t have a PhD nor do I have a technical background. Instead, I come from a finance background and had worked in FinTech for several years as a risk analyst.

I felt an equal sense of excitement but also imposter syndrome, even after passing rounds of rigorous technical coding interviews.

Coming from an analyst background, I’ve observed that the biggest differences with working in a data science role include:

• Managing timelines of data science projects,
• Communicating with stakeholders on project timelines and implementation.
• Learning the technical aspects such as adopting a test-driven development approach to writing production-level code,

The first 3 months of onboarding as a Data Scientist can make or break your experience.

I’m here to walk you through what to expect in your first 90 days on the job to help ease the nerves around the transition and help you build confidence.