6 Podcasts For Building A Career In Data Science
From building your brand and interview tips to the essential technical skills
There are many free resources on the web to become a better data scientist. One of them being podcasts. Podcasts are a useful source to learn from professionals with experience in the field, technical hacks, or to get used to the data science jargon. Most episodes are between 30–60 minutes and, therefore, a great companion for your daily trip to work or university, while working out or just in between.
You can find some great collections of the best podcasts in data science, engineering, and business already on Medium. While I find some of these podcasts very technical, often covering niche projects, I have enjoyed listening to talks dedicated explicitly to career development in data science and personal growth.
Here is a list of 6 podcasts I regularly listen to that focus on how to succeed in data science and progress in your career:
1. Build a Career in Data Science
In this fairly new podcast (since September 2020), Jaqueline Nolis and Emily Robinson bring their newly published book with the same title to life. It is not the audio version of the print but rather complementary chats to the topics covered in their book, such as starting a career, getting the first job, and growing in data science.
They are first on my list because Jaqueline and Emily have been frequent guests in most of the shows I will list below, proving they are trusted experts in career building in data science. Also, both with interesting backgrounds, they have a lot to share and do that in a fun way (and I mean the intro jingle!!!). In the first published episodes, you learn about various job descriptions in data science, different responsibilities depending on the size of the employer, or discussing Ph.D. versus Bootcamp options.
Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pocket casts, or here.
Favourite episode so far: Chapter 2 — Data Science Companies
2. The Artists of Data Science
In the Artists of Data Science, Harpreet Sahota interviews professionals and academics about career development and their job experiences in data science. I enjoy this podcast a lot because Harpreet dedicates his podcast solely to personal growth. He is also fun to listen to and always seems 100% engaged in the show.
Moreover, he posts a few episodes per week, making him the most frequent podcaster on my list with a lot of content to learn from. Next to his interviews, Harpreet records the so-called weekly “Office hours,” for which you can sign up and ask data-science-related questions. I recommend listening or signing up for those episodes to hear other people’s questions or asking your own.
Available on: Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or here.
Favourite episode so far: Become an Ultralearner with Scott H. Young
3. SuperDataScience
In contrast to the reasonably new podcasts introduced above, Kirill Eremenko has been publishing podcast episodes for SuperDataScience every week for the last four years. Sponsored by the learning platform with the same name, Kiril talks experienced professionals from the field to discuss data-related topics ranging from data visualisation over mastering job interviews to working better remotely.
I enjoy the podcast because Kirill also covers personal growth topics like productivity, meditation, or the imposter syndrome. He finds the right mix between technical and self-development talk. Moreover, every Friday, Kirill posts a “Friday Five minutes” episode to either briefly explain technical concepts such as the p-value or share tips and ideas to progress in your career. For me, especially those short episodes have been a great source of inspiration.
Available on: Spotify, Listen Notes, Soundcloud, or here.
Favourite episode so far: SDS 399 — Contributing to the Community and SDS 303 — Proper Hypothesis Testing For Every Field
4. Towards Data Science Podcast
The Towards Data Science podcast is the official podcast series from the famous Medium publication. It specialises in sharing general ideas around data science, also covering career advice, self-learning stories, and industry trends. I enjoy this podcast series, although it sometimes depends on who is hosting it. Whenever Jeremy Harris is hosting, who I believe is the primary host, it is worth tuning in!
Available on: Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or here.
Favourite episode so far: Edouard Harris — Mastering the data science job hunt
5. DataFramed
The DataFramed podcast, hosted by Hugo Bowne-Anderson, is the podcast series from the learning platform Datacamp. Like the TDS podcast, DataFramed is not solely dedicated to career-building; however, a few episodes address personal development and career. I feel like Hugo does a lot of chattering but it is worth listening to the episodes until the end when the most exciting things are discussed. Here, I have learned some great stuff!
One thing I cannot make my mind up about are the segments that are played during every episode. A segment is sometimes for advertisement or sometimes to briefly explain a vital statistical concept like AB-testing. These segments are often super interesting, but they are also completely out of context.
Available on: Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or here.
Favourite episode so far: #55 Getting your first data science job
And especially for the ladies…
6. Women in Data Science
In her podcast, Women in Data Science, Prof. Margot Gerritsen interviews only women who apply data science in many different industries and sectors. These are truly inspirational stories from powerful individuals. Throughout the show, you learn about the vast number of domains data can have an impact on and listen to women’s personal experiences in a STEM-related job.
Available on: Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or here.
Favourite episode so far: Ya Xu — Using Data To Create Economic Opportunities For All Members Of Global Workforce
Happy listening!
And if you think my list is missing a great podcast for career building in data science, please leave a comment!
