My background

I am Sharon Sinei. I pursued my bachelors in Applied Statistics purely because I liked working with numbers and solving problems. I’m ashamed to admit that I initially didn’t think of the practical ways I would apply my degree. Fast-forward to four-years later, I have skills in Math, Statistics and Programming but not entirely sure how to apply them together to solve problems. So I did what any other sane person would do, I looked for a job. I leaned more towards data-related roles but I also have interest in research.

The Kenyan data job market

It is like any other job market, very competitive. I did terribly in one of my first interviews for a Data Analysis role. I noticed there was a gap between being fresh out of university and being employable that has required me to be very aggressive to overcome.
Data roles, especially in the more rural parts of the country are also not well defined or exist only in some capacity. I have held different roles, not necessarily in data analysis, but I have kept my data passion alive by writing, constantly upskilling and generally being proactive.

Challenges I’ve faced

● Getting lost in the noise of the industry where there's always something new happening
● Properly managing burnout
● Imposter syndrome; feeling like I don’t belong or my skills are not good enough

Current interests

The impact Artificial Intelligence(AI) is having, the conversations it is causing and ways to apply AI to make my work more productive.

Advice to those getting into/already in data analytics

● Get a mentor
● A data-driven mindset is important to spot challenges in your surrounding that need data analysis skills to solve
● Find your tribe; join communities online and follow people who are where you want to be
● Enjoy the journey