My Motivation to Get a Degree in Data Science

I am sensitive to numbers and curious about mathematical logic behind a phenomenon since childhood. Thus I chose my undergraduate major in Computer Science. I took a number of theoretical mathematical courses while I am always interested in their practical application. I graduated with a first class honours in computer science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

In my final year project, I chose the topic of e-commerce application with analysis of customers buying patterns. From this project, my understanding of how to use data and mathematical technique to solve realistic problems grows. As probability and mathematical statistics are my strength and the idea of drawing conclusions and making decisions in the face of uncertainty intrigues me. That motivated me to continue to pursue a Master Degree in Data Science at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

As a teaching and research assistant at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Department of computer science, I am very good in programming especially programming in python as python is a powerful programming language for data analysis using packages such as numpy and pandas. I am an expert in the use of Microsoft excel for analysis of datasets.

While my short term career goal is to be a data scientist after obtaining the degree, my long term career goal is to build my own enterprise focusing on providing data analytics consulting services in the future. With this goal in mind I decided to study in an institute that helps me further my goals. I am looking for a school that provides professional skills, hands-on experience and networking opportunities needed to be successful in a business setting.

University of XXX Analytics program provides a unique interdisciplinary structured curriculum in the field of data science, covering mathematical and computational technical skills and business communication and management science knowledges. In addition, the program provides a distinctive practicum opportunities to students. Due to its superior location, the birthplace for the world-class leading companies like Google, Uber, Facebook, Dropbox and many more, students will have a chance to work on projects for these companies. Last but not least, because the faculty in the program represent multidisciplinary nature of data science who have background in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Finance, Business, and some are data scientist actively working in the data science field. I believe they will bring their academic professions and industrial experience through instruction which is exactly what I desired. Overall, the program will provide foundations that are essential for me to enter the industry in short term and also provide networking opportunities that is beneficial in long term. Thus, University of XXX is my choice for the graduate studies. I am very optimistic about the future of my career, by being there.