Data Science Manager Leads Machine Learning Solutions

Name: Ginny Zhu (she/her)

PhD: Biostatistics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2022

What was your main area of research?

I implemented a recommender system platform of scholarly resources: datasets, grants, and potential collaborators, tailored for public health professionals.

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Manager of Data Science at Fidelity Investments in Denver, Colorado.

I guide and lead machine learning solutions to practical business problems for better customer experiences.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love the people - they are all smart and talented.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Networking as the soft skill, Python as the technical skill

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

The industry job is just like research projects at school, you discover a problem and you dig deeper into it and frame it as a research problem. Read literature about potential solutions used on similar problems, and adapt it to your own.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

I got the position through a normal application.

PhD graduate ➡️ Senior Manager of Data Science

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Network with people with similar titles and get informal interviews first to learn.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

This was quite an easy decision. I'm more practical; I like the application aspect of problem solving that industry offers.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

1. Have fun PhDing. It's a valuable learning experience, and I wouldn't have done it any other way.

   
   

2. And make sure to have some hobbies outside your academic life.