Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
My PhD Didn't Prepare Me For This
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My first month in industry as a data scientist, I drafted a beautifully structured email for my boss. What he actually sent was 1/10th the length. I’ve never felt more overeducated and underprepared. Fresh from my PhD, my boss asked me to draft an email for him. I spent 4 hours crafting what I thought was the perfect message: grammatically perfect, clearly justified, with every logical step meticulously explained - exactly how I’d been trained to write at university. When he CC’d me on what he actually sent, I wanted to crawl under my desk. His version? “Hey mate, here’s the outcome we reached, cheers.” That’s when it hit me. I had spent years earning a PhD that supposedly made me “highly qualified,” yet I was completely unprepared for the reality of working in industry. My academic training had left me behind my colleagues in ways I hadn’t anticipated. More than a decade has passed since I left academia, and I’m pleased to say I survived. And over the years, I’ve come to realise my experience was far from unique. In the latest episode of Value Driven Data Science, I sit down with Dr Sayli Javadekar, who recently made the leap from a tenure-track academic position to working as a data scientist at Thoughtworks, to discuss the challenges she faced and the strategies that helped her navigate this difficult transition. You’ll discover:
This conversation won’t sugarcoat the transition from academia to industry, but it will show you how to navigate it. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or click the link below: Episode 92: Making the Academia to Industry Leap in Data Science Talk again soon, Dr Genevieve Hayes p.s. I'm opening spots in my Strategic Expert Mentorship program starting in February 2026. This isn't a technical skills course. It's 1-on-1 mentorship for data professionals who want to make the move from technical executor to strategic expert. Between now and Christmas, I'm making time to talk with people who want to know more. Interested? 👉 Book Your Call Now |
Data Science Impact Algorithm
Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
Data science bootcamps teach Python. They don’t teach you how to turn chaos into answerable questions. To this day, whenever I’m faced with a problem, the first thing I do is come up with a series of research questions - then I try to answer them. It’s standard practice in academic research, but I’ve rarely seen it done elsewhere. That experimental approach keeps me focused on what actually moves the needle. And it’s the kind of strategic thinking that gets you noticed by senior stakeholders....
After spending most of the year in front of a screen, at Christmas time there’s nothing I enjoy more than finally switching off my computer and relaxing with a good book. With only 10 days left until Christmas, here are my top picks for this year’s holiday break: Stakeholder Whispering by Bill Shander Data scientists are constantly told of the importance of understanding their stakeholders’ needs. Unfortunately, this advice is rarely accompanied by instructions on just how to do this. In...
Imagine going to buy a house and the real estate agent just hands you a floorplan - without any photos or context. You’d see the number of bedrooms and bathrooms; the size of the house. All the important features. But would you buy it? Probably not. Because floorplans show features. People buy benefits. My parents’ neighbour recently moved house after 30+ years. For her new home, she chose a single-story house. The feature? No stairs. The benefit? Continued independence as she grows old - her...