Dear Me – Prepping my younger self for a career in Data Science

Hey me in 1994,

It’s you! You from 2024. A future so far away, you don’t even think about it yet.

I thought this was going to be awkward. But it’s not. You and I have so little in common that communicating with you is not very different from communicating with a regular, clueless teenager. The only difference is, it’s not only space that separates us but time. Yes, I am you. Or who you will become a few decades down the line.

I know there is a lot you want to know about yourself in 2024, but it won’t be as much fun then. Let me just say that you are happy with your life. Whenever you think why that’s the case, you realise a big part of it is because you love what you do for a living. You are working in a field called Analytics and Data Science. You don’t know what that means because this field doesn’t exist yet in 1994.

Yet you are laying the very foundations of it without even realising it. And I am writing to thank you for that.

What foundations?

You know that voice in your head that questions the rationale behind every rule, practice and ritual that is followed in the traditional society you are growing up in, instead of blindly following it, that voice is called critical thinking and its very important for the career you will choose. Keep looking at things objectively, examine the evidence and make up your mind whether it makes sense.

Then there is mathematics. I know you hate it but the option of giving up hasn’t crossed your mind. It isn’t a natural strength, but you will make sure that it becomes an acquired strength. You will realise later in life that it’s actually a huge problem, girls opting out of the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM as they are collectively called. Many of them quit for reasons such as ‘it’s too hard’. What they don’t know is that by quitting at that stage, they are taking a choice away from themselves. A whole exciting world exists behind a door that could have had the key to explore and make up their minds. You find it hard too and boring and dry, but you tell yourself I just need to practice more, and I will get better. And because you won’t quit at this stage, it will open so many new doors for you when you go to university. You will specialise in something called statistics and econometrics, come to love the subjects and that will eventually turn into a long and fulfilling career. And you will realise sticking with maths at this stage laid a solid foundation for it.

Finally, I want to thank you for not ignoring your natural strengths. Your passion for storytelling. Yes, you practice maths, but you still spend enough time losing yourself in stories, the ones that you tell and the ones that you hear, the ones you read and the ones you watch, you are learning from all of it, and you don’t even know it.

And that is how my dear, you end up where I am.

Three independent parts of your life will come together and create a wholesome and fulfilling career. The field might not exist yet but all you will do is use logic, critical thinking and numbers to tell stories.

Don’t take my word for it. Wait and see it unfold yourself and enjoy the journey.

From,
You in 2025.