QIAN Xugang
01 How to change from a business student to a good data scientist?
I have to say, I went through a methodical process to identify my exact career goal. During my undergraduate years I did two internships in the finance industry, and then realized that I had a strong interest in data analysis, so I chose MSc in Data Science. Through the one-and-a-half-year training in the MSc in Data Science programme in CUHKSZ, I have acquired the basic skills and professional knowledge required by data analysts. In addition, several internship experiences related to data analysis during my graduate studies helped me to further clarify my career goals and find my dream job.
02 Is internship experience important?
On the whole, the Internet companies place a high degree of importance on internship experience, so one or two related internships when you are a student, is very helpful to find a job in the industry. Looking back, I had a total of four Internet internships, each of which is very meaningful.
- The Futu internship experience allowed me to fill the gap of Internet internship experience, so that I got Tencent’s summer internship opportunity.
- Tencent's summer internship gave me a big Internet company internship label on my resume and cultivated my basic sense of data analysis for business, which made my applications for other internships smoother and it basically got me all the chances for interviews. I was lucky to get an internship in data science at DiDi, which also started my life in Beijing.
- My experience in DiDi cultivated my SQL skills. After seeing how a complete and efficient data link process works and is implemented in the Internet, I became aware of the real meaning of data science and the role it plays in business. The experience laid a better foundation for my daily work of data analysis, and got me the internship opportunity in Byte Jump.
- The internship at Byte Jump gave me the same scope as a regular employee, and I was fortunate to meet a boss who was very nice. I joined in one or two projects, and they gave me a reserve of knowledge about Internet advertising, and I successfully got the offer to be a regular employee.
03 How to find a more suitable job for yourself?
Generally speaking, September is the peak time for internship recruitment, because many summer interns will leave and return to school to write their graduation thesis, so the recruitment requirements and competition may be reduced at this time compared to summer internships; if the summer internship/autumn recruitment does not go well, you can try to find an internship first at this time, and you may have unexpected gains.
04 What is the basic principle of interviewing in a big Internet company?
The basic principle of the interview is to understand what is written on your resume, "What is the background of it? Why do you want to do this thing? What did you do specifically? If you do it again you will have what improvement? " Ask yourself more of these questions, you can also have more mock interviews with your classmates to see whether your expression has a logical gap, whether you are convincing. In the mock interview, you can pay more attention to your own expression to see whether it is concise. Because the interviewer is likely to experience a day of annoying work and very tired, so expression that is straight to the point is certainly a plus. Now most of the interviews are online, you can record your videos of each interview, then review them to see if there are places that can be improved.
05 What do you do in your current job? Why did you choose ByteDance?
There are four main types of working tasks at present.
Data construction: Based on the internal data development platform, provide perfect, convenient and accurate data support for the rapid development of each business direction.
Strategy analysis: analysis related to advertising traffic strategy.
Experiment evaluation: in line with strategy analysis, participate in designing scientific a/b testing programs and analyze results to draw reliable experimental conclusions.
Thematic analysis: analyze the actual problems of front-line business and provide a systematic solution using appropriate tools.
I use SQL, Python, a/b testing evaluation methodology and causal inference methodology in daily works.
I chose to stay in ByteDance, because I met a reliable boss and liked the atmosphere of mutual learning in the corporate environment. This made me feel it was a place I could learn and grow, so I chose to stay there in Beijing.
06 Suggestions：
- More internships: if you are certain that you want to work in this industry, you must find the opportunity to intern as soon as possible. Only when you really experience it in a professional setting, will you know what you want.
- More thinking: when you work as an intern, think more. Do not be confused by the appearance, find a way to develop your own ability to seize the essence of things.
- Enjoy more: enjoy campus life, balance your study and life. Take part in the school activities more and meet more friends.
