On October 24, 2023, our college invited Professor Wang Yicheng to give a lecture at an industry forum on the theme of "Entering Data Science - Career Planning and Personal Development in the Field of Data Science".
Mr. Wang Yicheng graduated from the Department of Statistics of Columbia University in 2016. He has successively engaged in data science related work in the US Head Technology Consulting Company and Aetna Insurance Company. After returning to China in 2021, he joined the Internet industry. He is now a senior data scientist in TikTok's global commercial data science and analysis department.
Teacher Wang Yicheng first introduced the applications of data science in various industries both domestically and internationally. Mr. Wang introduced from four aspects: medical pharmacy, financial industry, Internet and other industries. In the field of medical pharmaceuticals, data science positions mainly focus on drug market evaluation and clinical trial result analysis, requiring knowledge of traditional statistical knowledge as well as interdisciplinary talents in the field of biology. In the financial industry, the main types of work in data science are quantitative trading, front-end trading, and back-end risk control, which require high levels of basic statistical knowledge and mastery of financial industry knowledge. In terms of the Internet, jobs are more algorithms, data science, and data analysis, which require job seekers to have both traditional and cutting-edge statistical theoretical knowledge, as well as intuition about products. In other industries, Teacher Wang also gave a brief introduction to business data analysis, demand forecasting, and customer value forecasting analysis.
In terms of introducing the characteristics of data science related work, Mr. Wang Yicheng talked about his learning experience during his studies and his subsequent job search experience. He mentioned that data science requires engineering practice ability, statistical inference and modeling ability, as well as some soft skills. Based on these three requirements, there are constantly changing roles and identities within the company at different times, and there are also different emphases based on different work themes or work environments outside the company. Overall, the biggest requirement for data science is to have strong self-learning abilities, followed by genuine curiosity, patience, and focus.
Afterwards, Mr. Wang Yicheng talked about how to enter the field of data science. He suggested that students should get in touch with their areas of interest as early as possible, use their subjective initiative to explore all relevant materials in the field, understand the content they need from various sources, and gradually make use of all resources as much as possible, while also making necessary sacrifices and balances.
Finally, Mr. Wang Yicheng gave advice to his classmates on the resume, introducing the logic and basic principles of the content described in the resume, and providing some methods for writing a resume. At the same time, he also suggested that students should take school life seriously, mentioning the importance of professional courses, the transformation of students' thinking, the cultivation of hobbies, and the importance of exercise.
During the questioning session, students actively raised their doubts about the specific work content of data science, the differences between middle and back-end positions, and how to quickly get started with unfamiliar work. Teacher Wang patiently answered the questions and provided detailed examples and explanations based on the work content of data science. At the same time, he encouraged students to strengthen their confidence in overcoming work difficulties. Through this industry forum, students have gained a deeper understanding of employment related content in data science.
Contributors: Ji Qian, Cai Yangfan, Gao Yuxi
Image provided by: Lu Jiawen
