Data Analyst at startup for first job?

[Slusho]

I've been trying to figure out what jobs I can use my BS in physics for and I see data analyst being recommended a lot. I have limited python and SQL experience from college. I was thinking of trying for startups in NYC, but now I see articles saying startups want people that need no training so I'm thinking that they won't hire people that aren't experienced in data analysis work and programming. I'm not sure where else might be a better place to ask this, but does anyone have experience with this and can give me their thoughts?

 

[phinds]

There are approximately 18,000 recruiters in the NYC area. Put your resume up on the job boards and you'll likely land something. I've had my resume OFF of the job boards of 6 or 7 years now and I still get a couple of job postings a week sent to me by recruiters.

 

[Slusho]

There are approximately 18,000 recruiters in the NYC area. Put your resume up on the job boards and you'll likely land something. I've had my resume OFF of the job boards of 6 or 7 years now and I still get a couple of job postings a week sent to me by recruiters.

What boards would you recommend? I saw someone say Monster and Indeed are a waste of time and that they recommend using Glassdoor exclusively. And my most successful NYC friend told me to just use AngelList. There, however, I think it's mostly applying for individual jobs rather than putting your resume out for employers to see. I'm kind of worried about being spammed with scams.

 

[berkeman]

but now I see articles saying startups want people that need no training

That's the case with every startup company that I've been associated with. They are looking for people with exactly the skills and experience they need. The risk of failure is high at startup companies, so they are not going to take a chance on a candidate who needs to learn in order to do the job.

 

[phinds]

What boards would you recommend? I saw someone say Monster and Indeed are a waste of time and that they recommend using Glassdoor exclusively. And my most successful NYC friend told me to just use AngelList.

Here's an old list:
MY PRIMARY
Dice
Monster
Net Temps
http://jobcircle.com/employees/resume_home.mpl
MY SECONDARY
6 Figure Jobs
Career Builder
jobserve
Job Guru
Best Jobs USA.com

 

[StatGuy2000]

That's the case with every startup company that I've been associated with. They are looking for people with exactly the skills and experience they need. The risk of failure is high at startup companies, so they are not going to take a chance on a candidate who needs to learn in order to do the job.

@berkeman , if that is the case, what would you suggest the OP (or someone in a similar position to the OP, with a BS in physics) to do, short of going for a graduate degree or pursuing a second undergraduate degree?

 

[phinds]

@berkeman , if that is the case, what would you suggest the OP (or someone in a similar position to the OP, with a BS in physics) to do, short of going for a graduate degree or pursuing a second undergraduate degree?

Your question seems to imply that if you can't get a job with a startup, you can't get a job. There are WAY more jobs with non-startups than there are with startups.

 

[berkeman]

Yeah, what @phinds said. I worked for about 7-8 years after graduate school in R&D before I was attractive enough to start working for startups. Just get the regular experience and build up some specialty skills, if you eventually want to go to work for a startup at some point.

 

[Slusho]

Alright, thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I always assumed it would be easier to get a startup position since it's mostly young people at those companies so I'm not sure how they'd have a lot of experience, and I thought since they're less traditional they'd care less about GPA.

 

[WWGD]

Alright, thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I always assumed it would be easier to get a startup position since it's mostly young people at those companies .

Not quite...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ple-40-and-older-survey-idUSBRE91R0PO20130228

 

[Tom.G]

Just get the regular experience and build up some specialty skills, if you eventually want to go to work for a startup at some point.

Definitely, what @berkeman said. Start out at large companies if at all possible. They have the budget and inclination to do some training. More importantly, they have tried-and-true methods and procedures of what works in a professional environment -- such things as documentation standards, regulatory requirements, seeing how the 'pros' do things, and usually an opportunity to see at least a bit of related fields. For instance being in Electronics, doing a lot of hardware debugging, refurbishing, and redesigns early on, really brought home the value of what makes documentation usable and its importance.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

My first two jobs after graduation were at start-ups. They did not have training programs, but based on my resume, they figured I could learn on the fly, and I did. I also got a couple other offers from start-ups that I turned down. The larger companies (you would recognize the names) interviewed me, but were none made me job offers. I only ended up working at Cisco Systems, because they acquired one of the start-ups that hired me. But being a very good programmer has been a key element of every corporate job I've had.