IDS gave me not just an overview of this big umbrella of data science. It has also set my expectations on what will my role be after the program. That I am not just a programmer, an analyst, mathematician, statistician, physicist, I’m not going to be just creating the model. I will have to be holistically prepared to do everything.
One must not also forget that all of these data-driven initiatives have potential impact on the client, and to society in general. Most data scientists are too excited about the potential benefits of the project, that they fail to think about the risks on data privacy and other ethical issues. If these issues are not addressed, the project will also fail, no matter how revolutionary it is.
For someone who is a novice and comes from a background that is far from data science, this course was an eye-opener. Of course, at the onset I already had some knowledge about the potentials of data science, but I never realized that there are a lot of real-world applications for this new field. One of the main reasons why I took this course even at a relatively advanced age (compared to the other students) is that I wanted to change an industry that should be data driven but as of the moment was more reliant on traditional analytics. I am not saying that this is wrong, but a lot of real estate industry professionals are still relying more on experience compared to actual data when making business decisions. I observed that in other countries, there is a wealth of data about everything related to real property transactions, I found it unsettling that in the Philippines there is relatively no data available to base decisions from.
It is important to plant a data visualization and a storyboard culture in all the data science organization because at the end, it is the story which people buy or fall for. From my past experience in a data science startup, I could now visualize while reminiscing that it was the lack of this culture which made the job look dull and pale. Thus, acumen in storyboarding is an automatic big plus to excel in the journey of data science. For the next batch, think of your persona when you are playing some mobile or desktop game, it’s just the engagement that is required, because in my opinion, DVS was by far the best fun subject that ever happened to me.
I like how data science was presented as a tool to answer business objectives and not as the next big thing which is what seems to be happening now. As a management major, the lesson that everything a company does should be geared towards the company’s VMO is always emphasized. Anything that does not help the company towards achieving its goal is a waste of resource.