Reaching 20k+ readers on Medium and nearly 3k learners by email, I draw on my 4 years of experience as a Senior Data Engineer to demystify data science, cloud and programming concepts while sharing job hunt strategies so you can land and excel in data-driven roles. Subscribe for 500 words of actionable advice every Thursday.
[ETR #71] Burnt Out in 2021: The Best Decision I Made (Not Coding)
Extract. Transform. Read.A newsletter from PipelineToDE Hi past, present or future data professional! I want to share the single most important realization I had back in the summer of 2021. I was burned out, juggling two part-time jobs, trying to plan a wedding, and drowning in full-time job applications. I felt overwhelmed and underprepared as I plunged into a sea of candidates I perceived to be more intelligent and better "fits" than me. My portfolio was full of the usual Titanic, Iris, and Housing Price regressions, what I can now admit was total filler. Even though I had skills on paper, I didn't have a vehicle to show them off, and I wasn't proud of anything I worked on. So, I did the best job-seeking decision I could make: I stopped applying. I took a breath and realized I was making the same mistake I made as a journalism undergrad: I didn't have any quality clips. In media, you're hired on the strength of your work samples. In data, the principle is the same. Instead of writing hundreds of lines of code I'd tack onto my resume as filler, I created two rules for myself:
This is how I developed projects on everything from textual analysis of Onion articles to disturbing adult film industry trends. For the first time, I was proud of my work, and recruiters started returning my emails. After 4 years of blogging, I finally put my thoughts and past experience into a structured, replicable guide. Beyond Titanic: The 30-Day Project Blueprint, represents the structured approach I used to build that professional-caliber work before I had a professional role and senior title. It emphasizes careful thought about your deliverable and presentation before you ever open an IDE to code. I know it's a tough job market and I want this to be accessible, so for the next week I'm making this framework available for $3.99. That's less than a cup of coffee for the system that can replace months of guesswork and resume filler. I want to make this resource applicable to your particular stage of your professional journey. This is the complete system you need to build that career calling card:
If you're not sure about jumping into the framework right away, I encourage you to check out the FREE preview. Get your copy here and start building a project you and your soon-to-be employer will love. Until then, thanks for ingesting, -Zach Quinn P.S. I promise not to get "salesy" too often in these emails. Back to actionable content next week! |
Extract. Transform. Read.
Reaching 20k+ readers on Medium and nearly 3k learners by email, I draw on my 4 years of experience as a Senior Data Engineer to demystify data science, cloud and programming concepts while sharing job hunt strategies so you can land and excel in data-driven roles. Subscribe for 500 words of actionable advice every Thursday.
Hi past, present or future data professional! As the winter holidays approach, we’re entering a period of downtime for most orgs. Assuming your employer has hit goals (or accepted losses), allocated coverage for the slew of inevitable vacation requests and maybe even entered a “code freeze”, you’re entering data & tech’s slow season. If you’re working, during this time you may be asked to do any number of “downtime” (actual free time, not data outages) tasks ranging from code refactors to...
Hi past, present or future data professional! If you’re in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! I’m prepping for my food coma, so I’ll make this week’s newsletter quick. Like millions of Americans, I’ll be watching NFL football (go Ravens!). The average NFL game is 3 hours. If you can skip just one of today’s games and carve out that time for professional development, here’s how I’d spend it. In the spirit of football, I’ll split the time designation into 4 quarters. Documentation pass - if you read...
Extract. Transform. Read. A newsletter from PipelineToDE Hi past, present or future data professional! In 2 weeks or so The Oxford English Dictionary will reveal its 2025 word of the year, a semi-democratic process that lends academic legitimacy to words like “rizz” (2023’s pick). If you’re currently employed or interact with white collar workers, you would think the word of the year is “headwinds.” Used in a sentence: “We’ve pivoted our AI strategy but still encountered headwinds that...