Jasmine Huang, a February 2023 Data Science graduate, spent the first decade of her career working in customer-facing roles. After attending Flatiron School, she’s finally working with what she loves – numbers and data!
Background
Jasmine Huang’s career began in business – first earning an MBA in finance and risk management, and then working in banking, real estate, and international purchasing. Despite the technical aspects of the industries, her positions were heavily customer-facing.
“Everything I did in the past was sales and customer relationship-focused,” she said, “and I was burnt out from handling people’s problems.”
After 12 years in similar positions, she decided to follow an interest in numbers to a new career path in Data Science.
“I always thought I could enjoy working with data and numbers since I have always been very good with Excel,” she explained. “I wanted to enhance my analytical ability.”
Flatiron School Experience
Switching careers as a full-time working mom wouldn’t be easy though – a fact Jasmine was well aware of. The time constraints of family and employment led her to an accelerated bootcamp program, designed to expedite career changes.
“I’m a mom of a 6-year-old boy so I don’t have much free time for myself,” she said. “Joining a bootcamp for 4 months as a full-time student was the longest I could manage. If the program lasted longer than 4 months, I don’t think I could have made it work.”
With her eyes set on graduating in 4 months, Jasmine joined Flatiron School’s Data Science Live program. In the accelerated Live course, students attend class full-time to be ready to apply to industry roles in just 15 weeks. Like most learners, transitioning into the fast-paced program initially led to some growing pains for Jasmine.
“Learning so much in a very short time was hard,” Jasmine admitted, “but I loved everything in the program. The projects especially were realistic and useful.”
After completing the program in February 2023, Jasmine jumped directly into the job search – supported by her dedicated Flatiron School Career Coach.
“Job searching was definitely harder than the bootcamp,” she recalled. “It’s a full-time job to look for a job! My career coach was awesome and always there when I needed advice or interview practice. They helped me stay on track.”
A few weeks later, Jasmine landed her first position in data science as an Actuarial Data Analyst at Verus Specialty Insurance, an underwriting management company.
Working In The Field
Coming up on 9 months in her new profession, Jasmine only has good things to report.
“I love my job as an Actuarial Data Analyst, it’s exactly what I dreamed of.”
She’s also had the opportunity to leverage her previous experience in her new career.
“With my background in Insurance and the new skills learned in the bootcamp, I made a project to provide a solution to solve a real business problem from a unique point of view.”
Reflecting On Her Journey
Looking back on her career path so far, Jasmine’s main takeaway is the importance of using the tools at one’s disposal to problem solve.
“The bootcamp taught me how to find answers on my own,” she said. “Knowing how to google and what to look for is the key to success!”
As for her advice to current Flatiron students, Jasmine recommends leaning on available resources during the job search.
“Graduating from the bootcamp is easier than you think. The hard part is to find a job you like. If you follow Flatiron’s instructions and guidance and work hard, you will definitely find a job close enough to your dream job. It will all be worth it!”
Ready For A Change, Just Like Jasmine Huang?
Apply Now to join other career changers like Jasmine in a program that sets you apart from the competition.
Need more time to be ready to apply? Try out our Free Data Science Prep Work and test-run the material we teach in the course. Or, review the Data Science Course Syllabus that will set you up for success and help launch your new career.
Read more stories about successful career changes on the Flatiron School blog.
