Let’s meet you (Your Name, What You do, where you currently work)
 

My Name is Uzoma Ewurum, I am a Data Scientist. I work as a freelance Data Scientist at 10Alytics and as a full-time Data Analyst at Paradoxtt Studio.

Can you share your journey from attending Utiva Data School to freelancing as a Data Scientist at 10Alytics and finally landing a role as a Data Analyst at Paradoxtt Studio?

I started my journey in 2022 when I needed to transition into Tech. I knew it would not be easy but I was just determined to give it my best effort. Utiva was my foundation with the Data Accelerator Course, enjoyed the community and the peer-to-peer learning sessions, built my first portfolio, I learned to prepare a Tech CV, built my LinkedIn profile, and got my first volunteer job at Dealite UK through Skilled up life. 

After Utiva, I stumbled into software engineering with ALX. After a rigorous three months of coding, learning Shell Navigation, C programming, and a bit of Python programming. Although I could not keep up because of my job, I truly felt out of place and then concluded that Data Science was where I belonged.

I am still learning and committed to the learning journey.

How did your experience at Utiva Data School prepare you for the challenges you faced as a freelance Data Scientist, are there specific skills or knowledge areas you found particularly valuable?

Utiva was my foundation with the Data Accelerator Course where I learnt Advanced Excel, PostgreSQL, and PowerBI. I found SQL so interesting that it cured my long-time fear of writing codes. So I dived deep into more coding. I am still not an expert yet on coding but I am surely on my way there.

Can you discuss a challenging project you worked on during your time at Utiva Data School?

In the PowerBI project on Palmoria Group, the part where we needed to join two tables, I remember writing several DAX, and researching the internet until I found out that I could join the tables using power query. After that, building the dashboard was easy. The whole class was waiting for this insight and when I discovered it and shared it, everyone could then submit their capstone project. Of course, I felt proud but it made me realize that I do not need to know everything, I just need to be willing to explore and learn.

As a Data Analyst at Paradoxtt Studio, what are your primary responsibilities?

My primary role is to monitor and track the time taken to complete tasks and streamline operations as the company intends to scale with a novel product offer so I am there as an oracle to use data to spot weaknesses and act to keep up with meeting up our clients’ deliverables

Could you describe a specific project or task you completed during your freelancing stint at 10Alytics that you are particularly proud of, What was your role, and what impact did it have?

I did a Computer Vision project that could recognize humans and items like bottles in a shopping mall. The impact was to reduce the wait time of customers and help with inventory as the model could count the humans in the queue and raise an alarm if queues become too long and also when a certain item on the shelf is about to finish. 

Do share what lessons you learnt from freelancing that you believe will be beneficial.

Every Job has its peculiarities and deliverables. You do not have to know everything, you just have to be willing to explore. Do not compare yourself with anyone or you will get discouraged, only compare your today self with your yesterday self, learn something new every day, consistency is what matters.

Data analysis often involves working with complex datasets. Can you discuss a time when you encountered challenges in data analysis, and how you addressed them?

Yes, datasets can be funny sometimes, especially with missing data and outliers. I recently worked on a customer churn project. The dataset had a numeric feature with an object data type instead of float, I did not notice this at first until I saw that it had a different total count from the other features. I realized it had some missing data but made Python recognize it as an object data type as so i could not even input with the mean nor convert to numeric data type. In the end, I duplicated the feature and then converted it to float data type, filled the missing data with the mean, and dropped the original feature.

Collaboration and communication are essential skills for a Data Analyst. Can you provide an example of a project where you successfully collaborated with team members to achieve a common goal?

I worked on several projects where I collaborated with a team but just to mention,on the Sterling Ecommerce Project we were a team of five (5) and each member worked on a certain task. As the team lead, my role was to create the dashboard and then represent the team in communicating to stakeholders our findings and actionable insights. We had several meetings where each member contributed ideas and input towards the success of the project.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in the field of data analytics? Are there any particular resources or communities you find helpful?

I joined some data science groups on LinkedIn and I applied for newsletters sent to my mail in my areas of interest.

Paradoxtt Studio operates in a specific industry or domain. How do you plan to familiarize yourself with the unique data challenges and requirements of this industry?

In the first week on the job, I bought a digital marketing course on Udemy which was of immense help in understanding the business of Paradoxtt Studios as a digital marketing company. 

I also have a community of colleagues and the internet to help me out when I have challenges. 

Can you discuss a situation where you had to present complex data findings to non-technical stakeholders? How did you ensure your message was clear and well-understood?

I normally would prepare a PowerPoint presentation void of codes with simple bullet points and images, sticking to communicating key findings and problem-solving rather than explaining how it was carried out.

Looking ahead, what are your career aspirations in the field of data analytics, and how do you plan to work towards achieving them?

My aspiration is to be so good to be ignored in the field of Data Analytics and Data Science. I read books relevant to Data Science and business and have several courses lined up this year like AI, Business Analysis, Cloud Computing, etc. My goal is to use Data Science and AI to solve problems in Africa.

What are your final words?

You are not in competition with anyone but yourself so do not feel pressured or compare yourself with anyone, only compare your today self with your yesterday's self, and learn something new every day. If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl. Just keep moving. consistency is what matters.

Uzoma Ewurum is a Nigerian from Imo State. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He worked as the Marketing Executive / Operations Manager of a Maritime company for 8 years before transitioning into Tech.  Currently, he works as a Full-time Data Analyst at Paradoxtt Studio.
 

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