Ask HN: Data Science Masters degree for Accounting undergrad? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Data Science Masters degree for Accounting undergrad?

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Hey folks, I have an undergrad degree in Finance and Accounting. Followed by 10 years of meandering work experience in Salesforce, analytics (mostly Excel/VBA/Python/SQL stuff) and sales operations (mostly running reporting/analytics/projects to grow sales).

I have a keen interest in data science and would like to do an 1yr/2yr online master's degree to fill the big gaps I have in knowledge and also earn credibility (important to land interviews in India where I'm based). But I find that good Master's program require a Bachelor's degree in something more technical than accounting. Has anyone in this situation found any good solutions?

PS: Can't afford the opportunity cost of a full-time in-person Master's program.

PPS: Looking for a math/stats/programming heavy program, not one of those "data science management" ones.

Thanks in advance!

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If this is a career move, then prioritize programs that give you the credentials for interviews. Prioritizing intellectual development changes the opportunity cost model. Or it changes the course of education...if you want something math heavy, mathematics is probably a better degree than data science. Mathematics emphasis is also a point where data science might look different from data engineering. Good luck.

That's a fair point. Thank you.

>(important to land interviews in India where I'm based)

Not discarding your goal, but have you thought of working remotely to escape conditions that are important in your geographic location?

Not sure how that might work. I'm unaware of any foreign companies hiring in India directly. Or did you mean something different?

Are you aware that some jobs could be carried on by people who are not necessarily physically on their employers' premises? This has been amplified and spread due to the pandemic which pushed many organizations to adapt.

Many organizations employ "knowledge workers" remotely and have a distributed force, so that your geographic location does not really matter. However, your geographic location may be a problem in terms of "time zone" as not all organizations or jobs are fine with asynchronous communication. You may need to have some or complete overlap in time zones.

Have you considered working for an employer who is not based in India for a job you could carry on without relocating? We are exchanging via the internet, after all.

Sure. I currently work in a global team for a fortune 500 company - the only Indian on the team. So I'm well aware of the possibility of remote work. But I have been hired by the local branch, not the headquarters. What I'm unsure of is if it's possible for a foreign company without a local branch to hire me directly. If there's a local branch/HR involved I'm sure to be subject to the compulsory "technical degree" condition for data science work.

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