Make the most of the time you have now.
Hey there!
My name is Nirmala Karthikeyan. I grew up in India, did my Undergraduate degree in Computer Science and came to the U.S. to pursue my Masters in Information Systems. As you can tell, I have stayed pretty close to STEM in choosing my career. I would like to make a disclaimer upfront that I am not good at coding and never had a deep interest in it. What interests me is Math and problem solving.
While I was trying to figure out how to pursue a career in the field of Computer Science without getting deep into coding like most of my other peers, I came across Data Analytics! This was a perfect field for me to use my analytical skills to solve Business problems with minimal need to code. In my current role, I look for patterns in various datasets to determine if I can explain a phenomenon through data. For e.g., if I see that Verizon is making more sales in one area vs another, can I use data (such as population, quality of network, local pricing and promotion etc.) to determine why we have more success in one area than another.
This field has helped me stay close to Business Strategy whilst taking advantage of my STEM background. It helps me explain the “Why” and “How” and “Where” for key Business decisions. As I look around in my peer group, everyone that has taken a STEM degree has been having a successful career in a variety of industries - Finance, Healthcare, Telecommunications, Fashion etc. And that’s the cool thing about STEM, the skills are transferable to multiple industries. There is always something new and innovative coming along the way. It keeps us on our toes to upskill and that makes work challenging (in a nice way).
Currently, I am trying to get up to speed on Statistics and Machine Learning. As you may have heard, AI use cases are being tested everywhere. I would love to be able to understand how this technology is going to shape the future of work. I am in my mid career and it is a lot harder for me to learn new things due to competing career and personal commitments. So I would encourage you to make the most of the time you have now to learn new things and upskill. There are many free resources out there.
Hopefully this helps. You can always reach out to me if you have any questions. Best wishes for an awesome career!
Nirmala