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Goodbye, data science

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Re: Goodbye, data science

#381

Post by mschuster91 »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #122
mschuster91 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone is wired that way. Personally, I have taken apart and reassembled most of the tech stuff I have at home simply because it interests me how things work (and broke and repaired a non-negligible amount of them in the process, to add), I've dabbled in repairing cars, gas boilers, do my own electricity work... but in my social circle, I'm pretty much the only one. And as I grew older, managed to land myself a…

You wrote: > Is this true in Germany?

Sadly, for those that depend on BAföG (the government assistance), this is the reality. If you can't manage to finish your study in the expected time ("Regelstudienzeit"), you're out from assistance [1]. If you take double the expected time plus another year, you're forcibly evicted [2], which was quite an issue for some people who were admitted under the pre-Bologna rules [3]. You're also kicked out as well if you fail one course three times [4], which is what hit me as I'm a better hacker than a mathematician.

In the end, it's clear that the Bologna reforms were not just about creating a common European academic standard - which is a good thing - but also about turning universities into factories with no room left anymore for the eccentrics who wanted to spend more time on their education than the system wants, those who need more time for specific subjects or those who need a job to survive and can't keep up the same workload as rich students can.

[1] https://www.xn--bafg-7qa.de/bafoeg/de/das-bafoeg-alle-infos-...

[2] https://www.tuhh.de/tuhh/studium/im-studium/rund-um-den-stud...

[3] https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/zwangsexmatrikulation-fuer-ho...

[4] https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayHSchG-49

Re: Goodbye, data science

#382

Post by oerpli »

I applied as SWE in 2018 an was asked whether I ever thought doing Data Science instead. I said I thought about it but it didn't appeal to me, for reasons similar to the article.

Still, I got hired as Data Scientist. The money was good, but I didn't believe in the field and was kinda ashamed of the title (though it did seem to impress people - I think rural Europe is a few year behinds).

After 3 years I left for SWE SRE and my only regret is not doing that earlier. Decent grasp of SQL and a bit of handwavy knowledge about stats comes in handier than expected.

Re: Goodbye, data science

#383

Post by mschuster91 »

f1shy wrote: post #270
throwaway2037 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You wrote: > Is this true in Germany?

Having relatives and friends across Europe (UK, DE, IT, ES, FR, PT) I cannot understand the parent comment (not having enough time for curiosity). I see only "PARTYYY!" in the universities... plenty of free time -- and typically more than enough money. Specially with the "Orgasmus" ehhh sorry! "Erasmus" program. Do I have all friends with 160 IQ? I really doubt it.

> Do I have all friends with 160 IQ?

Rather, you have friends with money. My university circle was not "rich kids", but those who either had to fend for themselves with government assistance or with joint work-study programs ("Duales Studium").

Re: Goodbye, data science

#384

Post by Moissanite »

> So many careers are being ruined before they’ve even started because data science kids went straight from undergrad to being the third data science hire at a series C company

This is something that bothers me about the industry in general, but thankfully seems rare inside tech giants.

My perception is that VC companies in pursuit of the next unicorn idea believe it can only come from a young mind, and so pile money and opportunities onto young people who aren't ready for that responsibility. Either they crash and burn, or they are carried over the finish line by multiple investment rounds then swan off, thinking they did it all themselves, to go through the experience again as an angel investor.

Re: Goodbye, data science

#385

Post by ngc248 »

I moved from Systems software to DE/ML Engineer and then back to Systems software. There is no more fun involved in setting up pipelines, writing spark jobs and prductionizing models.

Re: Goodbye, data science

#386

Post by eecc »

angstrom wrote: post #361
EdwardDiego wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're exposed to a carcinogenic chemical...

Nah, not even. I have a mutation called CDH1 that happens to be pathogenic and predisposes me to a greater than 40% chance of stomach cancer. It's a dominant gene which means it has a 50% chance I've passed it onto my daughter as well. That cancer is what's known as a Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer gene (HDGC). It just so happens that the E-cadherin control that suppresses those cancer cells is not processed prope…

Ouch, that’s a raw deal. Very very very sorry about you. If you don’t mind me asking, what are the consequences and mitigations necessary to live with a total stomach removal?

Re: Goodbye, data science

#387

Post by fnands »

wheels wrote: post #342
fnands wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I can't tell you how many jobs ads I saw where I was wondering: "What would they expect me to bring to the table here?" Some companies just don't have the data, or heck even the need, for data scientist yet try and hire them anyway. Give smart people a fundamentally ill-posed problem and they won't get anywhere anyway.

My ex worked at a startup where she was hired as a the second or third data scientist. Their entire Posgress database dump was 20 MB. And they had three people working full time on analyzing ... that 20 MB.

Data lake? More like data pond

Re: Goodbye, data science

#388

Post by [deleted] »

scottLobster wrote: post #156
_jx7j wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Meaning you could absolutely suck at your job or be incredible at it and you’d get nearly the same regards in either case. One of the things I don't like about statements like this said in a Data Science context, is that they are true outside of Data Science as well. Executives make big decisions, managers make smaller decisions, nobody can evaluate how good/bad they really were for months or years. Engineers build…

Not to get too off topic, but as a 35 year old engineer it seems the world in general has far fewer consequences than I was raised to expect. Everything from businesses with bullshit ideas flourishing at a loss, to January 6 even being possible (politics aside I expected the Capitol Police to crack a lot more skulls than they did once people started smashing windows), to the whole FTX situation and the tepid response…

[deleted]

Re: Goodbye, data science

#389

Post by findalex »

> Like bro, you want to do stuff with “diffusion models”? You don’t even know how to add two normal distributions together! You ain’t diffusing shit!

This is funny. Great article with lots of truth.

Re: Goodbye, data science

#390

Post by NeutralCrane »

lrc wrote: post #216
scottLobster wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to get too off topic, but as a 35 year old engineer it seems the world in general has far fewer consequences than I was raised to expect. Everything from businesses with bullshit ideas flourishing at a loss, to January 6 even being possible (politics aside I expected the Capitol Police to crack a lot more skulls than they did once people started smashing windows), to the whole FTX situation and the tepid response…

My own thought (I know there is a great deal of room for disagreement) is that the J6 crowd saw no consequences for the attempts to obstruct the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation and thought the rules had changed. One of them was shot in the neck, many others are still incarcerated two years later despite a clear constitutional right to a speedy trial. I'd rather the Capitol Police had just cracked heads at this point. Yo…

The J6 crowd broke through windows and members of congress were literally barricading themselves into rooms for protection. Some brought zip ties for the purposes of apprehending individuals. They beat a capital police officer to death with a fire extinguisher.

I’m not sure how once can fail to see a difference between that group and the one protesting Brett Kavenaugh’s confirmation.

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