My journey from mathematical science to data analytics and beyond

By Nkhensani Khoza, Solutions Engineer at Pyramid Analytics
Nkhensani Khoza, Solutions Engineer at Pyramid Analytics.
Nkhensani Khoza, Solutions Engineer at Pyramid Analytics.

The first time I heard about the world of analytics, I was doing my second year at the University of Johannesburg. Upon research, I found that data analytics is present in every industry since it helps with finding solutions within data faster and more accurately.

Let me take you for a ride through my background. I am the first-born girl to my parents, grew up in Soweto, South Africa. I have always been a curious soul from a very young age. My passion for mathematics started way back from pre-school; every year it grew stronger and led me to study a BSc in Mathematical Science. At that time, I didn’t know what the future had in store for me, but my love of mathematics was certain.

I believe the universe knew my destiny; the way things happened for me still feels like a dream. I have been fortunate to be exposed to analytics on a broad spectrum at a very early stage of my career. I started as a technical intern, then an associate technical consultant where I had the opportunity to develop a fraud system for one of the big banks.

Now, I am a Solutions Engineer at Pyramid Analytics and I am loving every second of it. While my degree helped me with problem solving and understanding the theory behind the maths being used, most of my learnings came from being hands-on in the job. The past four months at Pyramid Analytics have been a delight and a full career transformation, which I have longed for. I have been able to learn about the importance of working smart while mastering the art of prioritisation and self-discipline. Additionally, I am learning and understanding how businesses interact with data and the challenges they face every day. What excites me about being a part of Pyramid is that I get to be a part of the winning team as we make it easy for our customers to make the best decisions in their business.

People often ask me, what’s it like working in a pre-sales role? Well, this is one of the top roles in analytics because it gives you the best of both worlds. I get to build demos using the cutting-edge tech from Pyramid, build ML models, dashboards and, lastly, present it to customers, which requires research and networking. The biggest challenge I have faced is the ability to be confident when speaking to larger audiences. However, from experience, I’ve learnt that once I am prepared, those nerves go away. This role is all about self-confidence and always being true to your character.

I know many other young professionals have the same dream as me, to go to the office, create machine learning models and interpret the data through dashboards and reports. Although that didn’t happen at first for me, I’ve realised this is a process and moving in the right direction is the most important aspect. We won’t all have the same path, but here are a few bits of advice for young professionals who want to pursue a career in analytics.

  • This is a fast-growing industry. New ideas and ways of doing things emerge every day. This means having a degree alone is not enough, be willing to go the extra mile in upskilling yourself with certifications and keep up with trends.
  • Don’t forget about soft skills. You need to be confident when presenting and explaining the analytics too. It’s going to be difficult in the beginning to stand up in front of a group of people and speak for 30 minutes, but it will get easier.
  • Find yourself a mentor and join a community. A mentor can guide, support and help you reach your goals faster. Don’t be shy about reaching out to someone for help.

My career journey has made me realise that my world is indeed my oyster, just like how data analytics is the world of seeking hidden treasures where the possibilities are endless and there is no one right answer. My future career goals include working towards a senior role, while getting deeper knowledge in my understanding of AI, ML and the business world.

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