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I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

refinery29.com

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Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#11

Post by samstave »

So I left my 'typical' role type for a massive paycut due to being done with working in SF and Silicon Valley for something I am passionate about.

I turned down a job at $180,000 and took a job at $52,000.

(previous to that I was making $228,000 - as a consultant)

Because I have literally no passion for what I used to do, the ageism, cut-throat bullshit in silicon valley has quite a toll. Housing is retarded. Transportation in the bay area is horrific, and the quality of life-work-balance is terrible.

I know that I am going to make a heck-ton of a lot more money soon.. but I am pretty much done trying to work in startups in SF/SV.

Thats a job for 20-somethings.

EDIT: Since people asked.

I joined as director of tech for a cannabis startup that has a lot of licenses and has a valuation in hundreds of millions.

It is all bootstrapped from the founders, and has zero debt nor investors (thus the low pay)

And I am building out MRP/ERP/OPs/Sales-ops/data for them.

Further, We are building something amazing on the vape-pen production market.

(the valuation is based on investors who have been trying to buy into the company... and keep getting turned down)

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#12

Post by asaph »

paxys wrote: post #7
minimaxir wrote: post #2

Link to original post: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/six-figure-paycheck-data-sc... (Edit: URL fixed) The real question is that $125k as a Senior Data Analyst in NYC seems low. > I have this creative side, which comes in handy when thinking through challenging problems, but there is only so much creativity that I can use when in data analysis. This I disagree with; in data analysis/science, there's more than way t…

> I am now working at a tech startup This would explain the salary

Is there an equity component in addition to the base salary?

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#13

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

slap_shot wrote: post #10
kosei wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? $125k doesn't seem low to me based on experience. Also, just looked on Payscale and it says Senior Data Analyst (with 6 years experience) salary range was $63-113k.

I run a SaaS analytics product company in NYC. I help refer data analysts and data scientists to my customers. Sharp analysts can command $140k base with about 3 years of experience right now.

Just because they can, doesn't mean it's average or to be expected.

I think a lot of people on here (and Blind) constantly say everyone is underpaid. It might be trying to help educate people they can be paid more. But it's usually framed in a way most people find insulting.

Only 5% of laborers in cities like LA and NYC make over $200k a year. That number is a bit higher in The Bay. Only about 12-15% of people make over $125k.

Again, it's nice to know that you can do better. But it's also nice to give yourself a pat on the back sometimes. $125k is decidedly NOT bad by any standards.

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#15

Post by bdcravens »

kosei wrote: post #6
minimaxir wrote: post #2

Link to original post: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/six-figure-paycheck-data-sc... (Edit: URL fixed) The real question is that $125k as a Senior Data Analyst in NYC seems low. > I have this creative side, which comes in handy when thinking through challenging problems, but there is only so much creativity that I can use when in data analysis. This I disagree with; in data analysis/science, there's more than way t…

Really? $125k doesn't seem low to me based on experience. Also, just looked on Payscale and it says Senior Data Analyst (with 6 years experience) salary range was $63-113k.

Data Analyst is not the same thing as a Data Scientist.

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#16

Post by hhs »

minimaxir wrote: post #2

Link to original post: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/six-figure-paycheck-data-sc... (Edit: URL fixed) The real question is that $125k as a Senior Data Analyst in NYC seems low. > I have this creative side, which comes in handy when thinking through challenging problems, but there is only so much creativity that I can use when in data analysis. This I disagree with; in data analysis/science, there's more than way t…

Interesting view, I'm curious about what you mean when you write, "In my experience, the best solutions are often the craziest." Do you mean having unique mindsets/strategies in approaching problems? Can you explain more about "craziest" types of solutions?

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#17

Post by Amfy »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #13
slap_shot wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run a SaaS analytics product company in NYC. I help refer data analysts and data scientists to my customers. Sharp analysts can command $140k base with about 3 years of experience right now.

Just because they can, doesn't mean it's average or to be expected. I think a lot of people on here (and Blind) constantly say everyone is underpaid. It might be trying to help educate people they can be paid more. But it's usually framed in a way most people find insulting. Only 5% of laborers in cities like LA and NYC make over $200k a year. That number is a bit higher in The Bay. Only about 12-15% of people make o…

Thank you so, so much for pointing this out. I am so tired of basically everybody believing they are under-paid by making $120k+ It puts out the wrong expectations. Most people under-estimate, what kind of life they can live with $60-80k anyways.

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#18

Post by tozeur »

samstave wrote: post #11

So I left my 'typical' role type for a massive paycut due to being done with working in SF and Silicon Valley for something I am passionate about. I turned down a job at $180,000 and took a job at $52,000. (previous to that I was making $228,000 - as a consultant) Because I have literally no passion for what I used to do, the ageism, cut-throat bullshit in silicon valley has quite a toll. Housing is retarded. Transpo…

So what’s next for you?

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#19

Post by bdcravens »

samstave wrote: post #11

So I left my 'typical' role type for a massive paycut due to being done with working in SF and Silicon Valley for something I am passionate about. I turned down a job at $180,000 and took a job at $52,000. (previous to that I was making $228,000 - as a consultant) Because I have literally no passion for what I used to do, the ageism, cut-throat bullshit in silicon valley has quite a toll. Housing is retarded. Transpo…

There's a lot of jobs outside of that bubble that pay well. I won't disclose my numbers, but I have no reasons to go elsewhere, I'm 42, I'm able to work with the languages and tools I want, and I live in Houston and work from home pretty much whenever I want.

Re: I'm a Data Scientist and It's Not My Passion

#20

Post by hpkuarg »

samstave wrote: post #11

So I left my 'typical' role type for a massive paycut due to being done with working in SF and Silicon Valley for something I am passionate about. I turned down a job at $180,000 and took a job at $52,000. (previous to that I was making $228,000 - as a consultant) Because I have literally no passion for what I used to do, the ageism, cut-throat bullshit in silicon valley has quite a toll. Housing is retarded. Transpo…

I'm curious as well -- did you end up moving out of the area?
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