#55 - Piyushkumar Jain on My Journey from Engineering to Data Science

On Episode 55 of #LearningStories we chat with Piyush Jain on his journey from Engineering to Data science. He is an engineer by qualification who turned to data science by nature of curiosity. As a data scientist he enjoys playing with new technologies and identifying possible use cases in the real world. He has experience in finding insights in data using statistical, inferential and predictive analytics. He got a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from University of Mumbai and a Masters of Science in Analytics and Data Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently works as a senior AI specialist for a company based out of Singapore. You can find Piyush on Linkedin.

Show Chapters

(00:10) - Introduction and Background

(02:00) - Childhood Stories, Observations and Adventures

(02:30) - "I grew up in Mumbai and never travelled out much"02:40 - "I would segregate my life into three parts"

(02:50) - When and why did your family move to Mumbai?

(04:00) - What was your experience growing up in a city like Mumbai?

(05:00) - What did you learn from your family's struggles?

(06:50) - When did you first discover the world of computers?

(08:10) - What were your memories from your time at University for 5-6 years?

(09:20) - What was your daily life like during the University Years?

(10:10) - "My day would starts at 6 am and end at 10 pm"

(12:00) - "In my engineering I made a deal with my dad"

(13:30) - "I was not a A grade student but would just pass my engineering exams"

(14:20) - When and why did you start Homeforgeeks.com (side hustle 1)?

(14:50) - We created 'How To Guides' on all things technology on this website?

(15:35) - Why did your college professor reprimand you and call your parents in?

(17:50) - "My friends were the most important part of my journey at University"

(20:00) - "In 12th Grade, I wanted to become a doctor and not a engineer"

(21:00) - How did you learn about computers as a student at school and university?

(24:00) - What projects did you build in your first company?

(25:00) - "We started building websites for college festivals and events"

(26:15) - When and why did you start XORAVE (side hustle 2)?

(28:00) - "I did courses as and when I saw gaps in my skill set at college and work"

(28:10) - "I studied at NIIT, Udacity, Georgia Institute of Technology"

(28:40) - "My learning was focused on what I need"

(29:00) - How do you get a job after engineering college?

(29:50) - "Try to find an internship or job in your second year of college"

(30:00) - "I got a lot of job opportunities because of my first college business"

(31:40) - "I got a letter from Accenture and Infosys after college"

(33:35) - What did you learn from your first job after college in a Big 4 company?

(41:20) - What did you learn from your second job after college in a smaller startup?

(43:30) - Why did you opt for a Data Science nano degree from Udacity?

(43:50) - How did the Data Science nano degree from Udacity help you find jobs?

(46:00) - How did you find your third job from a Hackathon at IIT Bombay?

(47:00) - What is Data Science? How is it different from Engineering?

(51:00) - What was your experience pursuing an online Masters Degree in Data Science

(54:50) - "This was an online course and I did it at home while I had a baby"

(55:00) - What becoming a father taught you about life and work?

(57:00) - Closing Thoughts