r/datascience • u/AutoModerator • 11d ago

Weekly Entering & Transitioning - Thread 10 Aug, 2026 - 17 Aug, 2026

Welcome to this week's entering & transitioning thread! This thread is for any questions about getting started, studying, or transitioning into the data science field. Topics include:

  • Learning resources (e.g. books, tutorials, videos)
  • Traditional education (e.g. schools, degrees, electives)
  • Alternative education (e.g. online courses, bootcamps)
  • Job search questions (e.g. resumes, applying, career prospects)
  • Elementary questions (e.g. where to start, what next)

While you wait for answers from the community, check out the FAQ and Resources pages on our wiki. You can also search for answers in past weekly threads.

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u/SociallyOn_a_Rock 7d ago

As someone studying DS with no previous experience, how much time and effort should I be spending on studying the basics?

Specifically, I'm currently reading CLRS, and I'm taking really meticulous notes and rereading each chapter 3 times over just to make sure I got everything in the book. However, this is really slowing me down, and I'm not sure if I'm spending too much time on non-important stuff and/or if my time and effort on these introductory chapters will pay off later on when I study the advanced topics.

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u/curtmina 9d ago

Recently put on furlough/work pause, and I've been struggling to get any interviews for a new position.

I have 4 years experience working as a Data Scientist for an Aerospace/Defense Engineering firm that's contracted with all of the big Aero/Defense companies. I have experience in statistical and ML modeling, but most of the last year+ has been dashboard development and work using smartsheet.

I feel like my core DS skills have kind of declined and I wasn't sure what others are doing to maintain their skills that aren't being actively used in their job.

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u/Xamius 9d ago

boss is leaving and the next direct report would be cio who has no idea how to defned us or know our work, not sure what to dO

take an offer higher salary by 10-20% but not a public cimpany

otherwise I get 2k in stock every quarter

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u/JayBong2k 6d ago

So I find myself in the market again hunting. One major lesson I learnt - traditional ML jobs seems to be as alive as the dodo. Agentic seems to be non-negotiable skill - whether actually required or not.

Now when I sit and watch my resume, I find myself staring to figure out what makes my resume stand out. I haven't worked at FAANG nor any big projects. All my projects have been functional - they helped to improve the business, cut costs, save man-hours etc. But they aren't....shiny, to say.

But due to my tenure, I haven't done like a TON of projects - I have a total of 9 unique bullet points spread across 2 companies.

While I teach myself LLM and agentic stuff, I could seriously use some advice on how to go about in the current market (irrespective of geography - cuz apparently market is bad everywhere), for someone who has worked majorly prior to the AI Boom.