Vicknesh Mano on the Algorithm that Landed Him a Data Science Job

Vicknesh Mano, Data Scientist

For Vicknesh Mano, getting a leg up in the data science industry was about knowing how data science works, not just how to do it. And for that, he thanks the Dataquest teaching method.

After earning a degree in Chemoinformatics, Mano realized that academia wasn’t where he wanted to be. He began working as a science teacher, and while he found it fulfilling, he wanted more. Mano wanted to be out working with commercial data. He tried Codecademy, and he googled everything he could think of, but it wasn’t enough. That’s when he found Dataquest

Learning with Dataquest

Dataquest struck a good balance of covering a diverse range of areas while still being in-depth. I was able to learn Pandas, SQL, Data Visualization and Machine Learning in the one place.

Armed with his new Dataquest knowledge, Mano began applying for jobs. Before he knew it, he had an interview lined up at Accenture. It was here that the in-depth approach Dataquest took to teaching algorithms paid off.

They asked me to explain the logic behind the k-means clustering algorithm. It wasn’t an algorithm I had used much, but I remembered back to learning it with Dataquest. I had built a basic version of the algorithm before learning the scikit-learn syntax.

So, Vicknesh walked through what he remembered of how the algorithm worked from his time with Dataquest. By actually learning how the algorithm works, rather than simply how to implement it, he demonstrated to the hiring manager that he could pick projects apart and accurately diagnose how best to solve them. The interviewer was impressed, and Mano got the job.

He told me that most people can’t answer how the algorithms work, just how to use them.

A New Career

When Mano applied for the job at Accenture, he wasn’t even sure they would consider his application since his academic background wasn’t a direct fit for what they were seeking. Despite the challenge, once he got the interview, it was his ability to actually explain the functionality behind an algorithm that earned him the job.

We can appreciate that. At Dataquest, we believe in teaching the context behind our lessons, the critical details you need to know before you get started, and why things work the way they do. After that, we believe in learning by doing, and Mano is the perfect example of how our system works. Learn the theory, practice the execution, and walk away with knowledge few have.

Advice for Learners

And if you’re just getting started on your data science learning journey, or if you’re ready to start applying for jobs, Mano has some parting advice for you . . .

Be confident in what you learn with Dataquest. If you understand what they teach you, you will be one of the few people in the world that can do what you do. You belong in the data scientist world.