Breaking Into Data With a Non-traditional Background

Catherine Chen

Breaking Into Data With a Non-traditional Background

Do you enjoy the challenge of thinking outside of the box?

Are you a fan of numbers, spreadsheets, and charts?

Do you love the thrill of finding the solution to a problem?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, maybe a career in data analytics is for...

Do you enjoy the challenge of thinking outside of the box?

Are you a fan of numbers, spreadsheets, and charts?

Do you love the thrill of finding the solution to a problem?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, maybe a career in data analytics is for you!

In order to break into data, hard skills are necessary, but GameChanger’s Analytics Engineering Manager, Catherine Chen, thinks that soft skills are key to developing a successful career in the field — which means anyone, from any background can build a career in data analytics!

Join this conversation with Catherine as she discusses the different ways that you can take your soft skills and adapt them to fit the world of data. With a degree in political science and a background in the service industry, she’ll share how she pivoted into the field and give her advice on how you can do the same.

The key takeaways from this discussion will be:

What soft skills/life skills can help you successfully pivot into data and some of the hard skills you should start developing
Some of the entry-level positions to aim for when looking for a role in data
How to best present your non-traditional background during the interview process

Meet The Speaker

Catherine Chen

Analytics Engineering Manager, GameChanger

Catherine is currently the Analytics Manager at GameChanger, which was just named one of Fast Company's top 10 most innovative sports companies.

While her team spans across data engineers, data scientists, machine learning engineers, and embedded product data analysts, they are all passionate about finding new ways of combining data, technology and research to better answer challenging questions.

Catherine's past lives include being a central banker, a congressional aide, and a grassroots organizer.