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Decoding the formula for a successful career in analytics & technology

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Decoding the formula for a successful career in analytics & technology

In today’s accelerated digital world, businesses are increasingly investing in technology and innovation to drive better decisions. This has led to a high demand for skilled tech professionals across various industries. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that by 2022, data scientists and analysts will become the number one emerging role in the world.

Given the hot job market, it comes as no surprise that several professionals are looking to accelerate their careers or switch to a highly exciting and lucrative career. Professionals with an analytical mindset and strong technical skills are well placed to stand out from the rest.

However, good skills alone cannot guarantee a successful career. Success is influenced by various fundamental factors that cannot be viewed in isolation. Here is a not-so-secret formula for a successful tech career:

Success = f (yl + sm + re) t

As per this formula, success is a collective function of:

Your learnability (yl):
A curious and learning mindset plays a key role in empowering professionals to understand business problems, find deeper patterns, and uncover holistic insights. Gone are the days when one could simply learn and apply a skill for the rest of their career. Today, with the emergence of new tools and technologies, it is more important than ever to keep learning, upskilling, and applying new approaches for better results. New and experienced professionals alike must foster a beginner’s mindset which empowers one to set aside their own preconceptions to explore new possibilities.

Seasoned mentors (sm):
Like in most other fields, the importance of having a good and experienced mentor in technology cannot be understated. Mentors who have ‘been there, done that’ are well placed to help mentees tackle problems, identify areas of improvement, and hone technical and consultative skills. Moreover, good mentors can provide access to a wider network of like-minded professionals to help you learn and navigate the complex domain.

Right ecosystem (re):
Choosing an organization with an ecosystem that fosters professional growth goes a long way in shaping your career. While assessing a role, it is important to look beyond the job description and understand what their ecosystem can provide to accelerate your career. Some of the questions you should ask are – does it provide seasoned mentors to guide you, does it invest in continuous training and upskilling, is there scope to move around and explore different roles, what kind of growth opportunities does it offer, and many more. Much like a plant, the ecosystem you grow in will determine a blossoming or withering career.

Time ( t)
Finally, a key factor that is often disregarded is time. It is important to be patient and let time play its course in the success of your career. Over time, professionals will benefit from the experience and knowledge assimilated in their role – from mastering tools and techniques to identifying best practices around data cleaning, processing, and storage.

While technology has exploded over the past few years, this is just the early stages of a deep, long-term change. As businesses continue accelerating in the future, the demand for technical skill sets will only increase. Amid thousands of job openings, it is important to find one that is a right fit for your career. Selecting a company that offers the right learning opportunities, mentors, and ecosystem, will go a long way towards building a successful career in tech.

The author is Navin Dhananjaya, Chief Solutions Officer at Ugam, a Merkle company.