The Data Canteen

Not many forces on Earth are comparable in power to a resilient spirit combined with a strong work ethic, and Dr. Glen Ferguson embodies this dynamic! Tune-in to this episode to hear how Dr. Ferguson went from a young man whose high school guidance counselor discouraged him from even applying to college, to enlisting in the U.S. Navy, to completing a PhD in physical chemistry, to becoming a data science individual contributor, to his present day role as Director of AI & ML at Huckleberry Labs! It is a remarkable story of resilience in the face of adversity and triumph against daunting odds! FEATURED GUESTS: Name: Glen Ferguson Email: gallenferguson@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenferguson/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect (book recommendation): https://www.amazon.com/The-Book-of-Why-audiobook/dp/B07CYJ4G2L Deep Learning with Python 2nd Ed (book recommendation): https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Deep-Learning-Python-Second/dp/B09RN7QLT3 Deep Learning (book recommendation): https://www.deeplearningbook.org/ Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning (book recommendation): https://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Recognition-Learning-Information-Statistics/dp/0387310738 Introduction to Statistical Learning 2nd Ed (book recommendation): https://hastie.su.domains/ISLR2/ISLRv2_website.pdf PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:22 - Glen's first touch point with VDSML 00:03:15 - Glen's military background, college, & grad school 00:12:10 - Glen's first civilian career as a physical chemist working in materials science 00:15:31 - The shift to pursue data science 00:17:37 - A sabbatical in winemaking 00:20:25 - Glen's experience attending the NYC Data Science Academy 00:28:18 - Glen publishes about one of his data science projects in a peer reviewed journal 00:29:15 - Glen's first roles in data science as an individual contributor 00:38:37 - Glen moves into data science management 00:44:12 - Glen's overview of roles in the datasphere and military occupational specialties that map well to those roles 00:55:58 - Glen's current learning focus 00:57:29 - Glen's favorite learning resources 00:59:01 - The best way to contact Glen 01:00:03 - Farewells

Sam Sipe was a naval aviator, VDSML's 2021 FourthBrain Scholarship recipient, and he's now a budding ML Engineer! In this episode, Sam and I chat about his childhood interest in rockets and flight, which led him to pursue an education in aerospace engineering and military experience as a pilot. Sam tells us about how his engineering pursuits initially sparked an interest in computer programming, which eventually grew into an interest machine learning. Soon after exiting military service, Sam won VDSML's inaugural FourthBrain Scholarship. Sam tells us about his experience with FourthBrain's bootcamp for aspiring ML engineers - as well as some preliminary information about VDSML's 2022 scholarship opportunities! FEATURED GUESTS: Name: Sam Sipe Email: sam@sipe.io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsipe/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Sam's Personal Website: https://samsipe.com/ Sam's FourthBrain Capstone Project: https://amplifygrid.com/ Sam's GitHub: https://github.com/samsipe Lex Fridman Podcast: https://lexfridman.com/podcast/ Thinking, Fast and Slow (book recommendation): https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555 The Signal and the Noise (book recommendation): https://www.amazon.com/Signal-Noise-Many-Predictions-Fail-But/dp/159420411X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 3Blue1Brown (YouTube recommendation): https://www.youtube.com/c/3blue1brown/featured pyimagesearch (Learning Resource Recommendation): https://pyimagesearch.com/ FourthBrain (Bootcamp Recommendation): https://www.fourthbrain.ai/ DataCamp (MOOC Recommendation): https://www.datacamp.com/ PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:02:17 - Sam's military background and personal data science journey 00:17:02 - Sam's thoughts on the value of a background in engineering 00:19:06 - Sam's description of the FourthBrain bootcamp experience 00:23:58 - Sam's goal for doing the FourthBrain machine learning engineer bootcamp 00:25:57 - Sam's epic FourthBrain capstone project 00:35:49 - Challenges Sam encountered during his FourthBrain capstone 00:40:05 - Preliminary info about VDSML's 2022 scholarship opportunities 00:47:41 - What does Sam plan to do with all these newfound skills? 00:54:07 - Sam's current learning focus 00:56:16 - Sam's thoughts on cloud service providers 00:58:42 - Sam's favorite learning resources 01:03:26 - The best way to contact Sam 01:04:40 - Farewells

Rob Albritton, previous guest-star from episode #5, returns to The Data Canteen! Rob kicks things off by updating us on the metamorphosis of Octo's oLabs from the planning stage (where things were in episode #5), to the fully evolved physical instantiation that debuted just last month, to how he hopes to see it employed for positive impact going forward. Next, we go down a very cool and weird path talking about rogue robots, cyborgs, and artificial general intelligence :-)! Finally, Rob addresses questions submitted by you our listeners! FEATURED GUESTS: Name: Rob Albritton LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robalbritton/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Octo's oLabs: https://olabs.octo.us/ PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:14 - Metamorphosis of oLabs from the planning stage to the fully evolved physical instantiation 00:19:57 - What makes oLabs special 00:23:39 - How oLabs will be employed for positive impact 00:28:51 - Introduction to the weird path of rogue robots, cyborgs, and AGI 00:29:14 - What to expect in the near to mid-term regarding AI enabled systems on the battlefield 00:40:28 - Cyborgs...should we expect something like Musk's Neuralink...or something else? 00:43:59 - What is a rogue robot, and are they a present or future threat? 00:49:47 - AGI...possible or not? And, if so, when? 00:54:31 - Answers to listener submitted questions 01:10:41 - The "unasked question question" 01:14:07 - Should you invest in learning defensive and/or offensive adversarial ML attack skills? 01:19:49 - The best way to contact Rob 01:20:44 - Farewells

Do your professional interests straddle the domains of economics/finance and data science? Are you searching for a graduate school program that will teach you data science and machine learning skills within the context of economics and finance data? Would you like to learn these skills at a school with global cachet? If so, then you should consider UCLA's Master of Quantitative Economics (MQE) program! FEATURED GUESTS: Name: Sam Borghese Email: srborghese@g.ucla.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samborghese/ Name: Shany Mahalu-Atiya Email: smahalu@econ.ucla.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shany-mahalu-atiya-msod-a47831a/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: UCLA's MQE: https://master.econ.ucla.edu/ UCLA's Veteran Resource Center (VRC): https://veterans.ucla.edu/ UCLA's VRC Director: Dr. Emily Ives (eives@saonet.ucla.edu) UCLA's VRC Contact Us Page: https://veterans.ucla.edu/contactus PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:02:47 - Guest Introductions 00:05:14 - How UCLA's MQE was conceived 00:07:05 - What makes UCLA's MQE different 00:11:11] - Why UCLA's MQE is a good fit for veterans 00:15:24 - Career paths that MQE grads are best postured for 00:21:58 - Prerequisite requirements for UCLA's MQE 00:27:51 - A thorough introduction to UCLA's MQE curriculum 00:37:59 - Character traits common among successful MQE students at UCLA 00:42:30 - Character traits common among less successful MQE students at UCLA 00:46:25 - Typical career outcomes for UCLA's MQE grads 00:54:51 - How UCLA's MQE will be evolving over the near to mid-term 01:00:49 - Sam's tips on preparing to enter UCLA's MQE 01:04:09 - Info about UCLA's Veteran Resource Center 01:04:56 - Info about the MQE's 10-week applied project course 01:10:23 - The best ways to contact Sam and Shany 01:11:28 - Farewells

Lak Lakshmanan is an operating executive at Silver Lake focused on improving the value of portfolio companies through data and AI-driven innovation. Prior to Silver Lake, Lak was the Director for Data Analytics and AI Solutions on Google Cloud and a Research Scientist at NOAA. He co-founded Google's Advanced Solutions Lab and is the author of several O'Reilly books and Coursera courses. He was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (the highest honor offered by the AMS) for his data science work. In this episode, Host Ted Hallum and Lak dive into Google Cloud's evolved view of what data science encompasses (IT'S BROADER THAN EVER!), the biggest developments that Lak sees on the horizon for our field, how to deal with the blistering pace of change in the datasphere, and the challenges faced by all non-tech organizations that are striving for an edge with AI. FEATURED GUEST: Name: Lak Lakshmanan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valliappalakshmanan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lak_luster Medium: https://lakshmanok.medium.com/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Lak on Medium: https://lakshmanok.medium.com/ Lak on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qphajtkAAAAJ&hl=en Lak's Website: www.vlakshman.com Lak's Books: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/books.html Lak's Technical Articles: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/articles.html Lak's Recorded Talks: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/talks.html Lak's Courses: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/courses.html Lak's Journal Articles: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/research.html Lak's Resume/Vitae: https://aisoftwarellc.weebly.com/resumevitae.html PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:02:15 - How Lak got into data science 00:10:06 - How to deal with the blistering pace of change in the datasphere 00:16:45 - Google Cloud's evolved view of what data science encompasses 00:25:48 - Is Google Cloud's new definition of data science inspired by MLOps? 00:28:05 - Biggest developments that Lak sees on the horizon for our field 00:33:59 - How capable do you think AutoML is? What role will it play in the future? 00:39:59 - Where Lak suggests veterans should focus when transitioning into data 00:47:22 - Challenges faced by all non-tech organizations that are striving for an edge with AI 00:51:25 - Lak's secret to keeping his learning and growth focus on track 00:54:38 - Lak's favorite way to learn new things 00:56:12 - How Lak prefers to be contacted 00:56:34 - Farewells

Matt Harrison is one of the foremost experts on Python and Pandas. He holds a degree in computer science from Stanford University, possesses experience in roles ranging from Senior Software Engineer to CTO, and operates a consulting firm named MetaSnake. In this episode, Host Ted Hallum and Matt dive into the most crucial, powerful, challenging, and enjoyable content in his new book entitled Effective Pandas! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Matt Harrison LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/panela/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/__mharrison__ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: For purchases at Matt's MetaSnake store use promo code "VET" at checkout for a 45% discount! Effective Pandas (ebook): https://store.metasnake.com/effective-pandas-book Effective Pandas (paperback): https://tinyurl.com/effective-pandas-paperback Python for Data Scientists and Engineers (course): https://store.metasnake.com/py4ds Effective Pandas (course): https://store.metasnake.com/effective-pandas PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:00:51 - How Matt got started with Python and Pandas 00:09:59 - What is Pandas 00:13:42 - Pandas is just as valuable, or perhaps more valuable, as an API 00:16:46 - Pandas tips for R users 00:21:53 - Prerequisite knowledge for getting the best mileage out of Pandas 00:29:50 - Promo code "VET" for 45% off at the MetaSnake store 00:30:17 - Some of Matt's strong opinions on how one should write Pandas code 00:41:01 - The most critical chapter of Effective Pandas for new learners 00:42:21 - The most useful chapter of Effective Pandas for intermediate/expert-level users 00:43:40 - The most challenging chapter of Effective Pandas for new learners 00:46:23 - The chapter of Effective Pandas that Matt found most enjoyable to write 00:50:07 - Effective Pandas the course 00:52:36 - Listener questions answered 01:13:03 - Matt's 2nd favorite Python package (jupytext) 01:16:40 - Matt's current learning focus 01:21:42 - The most exciting thing Matt sees on the horizon for Pandas 01:24:22 - Farewells

Nick Singh is ex-Facebook, ex-Google, and co-author of the new best selling book entitled Ace The Data Science Interview: 201 Real Interview Questions Asked By FAANG, Tech Startups, & Wall Street! In this episode, Host Ted Hallum and Nick Singh unpack everything you need to know about the data science hiring process, to include: resume tips. building portfolio projects, cold-contacting hiring managers, the behavioral interview, and the technical interview! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Nick Singh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nipun-singh/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Ace the Data Science Interview (book): https://tinyurl.com/ace-the-data-science-interview On Amazon, as of 04 JAN 2022, Ace the Data Science Interview is the: #1 Best Seller in Data Mining (Books) #1 Best Seller in Mathematical & Statistical Software #1 Best Seller in ODBC Networking Nick Singh's Blog: https://www.nicksingh.com/ PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:02:28 - Nick & Kevin's motivation to write a book 00:10:59 - Why does the book lead with four chapters that aren't about the technical interview? 00:17:21 - Transmitting is not the same communicating 00:18:57 - Be audience centered 00:20:09 - Portfolio projects 00:38:06 - The power of cold-contacting hiring managers 00:49:00 - Behavioral interviews demystified 01:00:48 - Which of the technical interview chapters is the most critical for landing employment in the datasphere? 01:05:53 - Which of the technical interview chapters is the most difficult to master? 01:09:05 - Looking at the datasphere spectrum, what are the biggest differences between doing data in big tech vs. in support to the federal government? 01:17:04 - The world's a really malleable place. You can double your salary in a year...and completely change your life in two years. 01:24:06 - Make sure that you're learning things in the correct order. Good foundations matter. 01:25:43 - Consider community college courses as part of your upskilling path. They often offer excellent and affordable learning opportunities. 01:31:33 - Farewells

(Apologies all, as there was some degraded audio on my end during this episode. I'll be investigating, perhaps swapping out some equipment, and hope to have this sorted by the time I record next month's episode!) In this episode, I'm joined by Al Bellamy who tells us about his journey from Marine Corps logistician to his current role as a Senior Marketing Intelligence Analyst! During his military transition, Al became exceptionally proficient with networking and personal branding on LinkedIn. In this episode, Al shares some of the secret sauce and introduces the #LinkedInHardMode Challenge! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Al Bellamy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bellamy-al/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: #LinkedInHardMode: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/linkedinhardmode/ Al Bellamy's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiKDz3tYlrudVsgnphSB5PA/videos Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate: https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-data-analytics USO Pathfinder Transition Program: https://www.uso.org/programs/uso-pathfinder-transition-program March for the 22: https://www.marchforthe22.us/ The Data Canteen Episode #13 w/ Erick Quintero on PTSD: https://vetsindatascience.com/12-erick-quintero VDSML Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship How To Get An Analytics Job (podcast): https://www.silvertoneanalytics.com/how-to-get-an-analytics-job/ Ken's Nearest Neighbors (podcast): https://www.kennethjee.com/podcast Ken Jee's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiT9RITQ9PW6BhXK0y2jaeg Luke Barousse's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LukeBarousse PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join Mentorship Program: https://vetsindatascience.com/mentorship OUTLINE: 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:07:38 – Al introduces the #LinkedInHardMode Challenge 00:16:49 – Al's background & experience in the Marine Corps 00:25:30 – The #LinkedInHardMode Challenge 00:26:32 – #LinkedInHardMode: Who is this for? 00:31:11 – #LinkedInHardMode: The Ten Content Commitments 00:49:09 – #LinkedInHardMode: The 3 R's of Engagement 00:50:24 - #LinkedInHardMode 00:57:17 – #LinkedInHardMode: The Payoff 01:01:07 – Info about VDSML's mentorship program 01:04:18 – #LinkedInHardMode: BLOB - Bottom Line Out Back 01:12:14 – Tip for getting inspiration for LinkedIn posts 01:13:39 – Info about Al Bellamy's YouTube channel 01:14:28 – How VDSML members can participate in #LinkedInHardMode 01:20:36 – Al's favorite data tools and technologies 01:23:02 – Al's favorite data related podcasts 01:27:27 – Al's preferred means of contact 01:28:03 - March for the 22 01:31:09 – Farewells

In this episode, I'm joined by Erick Quintero to trace his incredible journey from Nicaragua, to California, into the U.S. Marine Corps as an Anti-tank Assaultman/Machine Gunner, and onward into data science! Erick and I also chat in-depth about the challenges some combat veterans in the datasphere face related to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Erick provides examples of healthy techniques to manage those challenges and live your best life! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Erick Quintero Email: erick.quintero@pepperdine.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erick-quintero-semper-fi/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Pepperdine University's MSBA: https://bschool.pepperdine.edu/masters-degree/business-analytics/ Pepperdine University's Online MSBA: https://onlinegrad.pepperdine.edu/business/online-masters-in-business-analytics/ UC Irvine's Machine and Deep Learning Certificate Program: https://ce.uci.edu/areas/it/machine_learning/ Vets in Tech (veteran-focused non-profit): https://vetsintech.co/ Competing on Analytics (book): https://tinyurl.com/545dkkfc The Signal and the Noise (book): https://tinyurl.com/k8fwjrvk Data Science for Business (book): https://tinyurl.com/37axyvmu Talk Python to Me (podcast): https://talkpython.fm/ The Super Data Science Podcast: https://www.superdatascience.com/podcast Scatter Podcast: https://javorraca.github.io/Home/pages/podcast.html PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join OUTLINE: 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:02:54 – Erick's story from the beginning 00:09:26 – Erick's experience with Pepperdine University's MSBA 00:13:58 – What is PTSD? 00:19:55 – Erick's personal battle with PTSD 00:36:19 – Do you recover from PTSD or manage it? 00:46:15 – Examples of some healthy techniques for managing PTSD 00:55:55 - How to pursue a formal diagnosis if you suspect that you suffer from PTSD 01:01:05 – PTSD treatment plans are personalized, flexible, and outcome oriented 01:04:19 – What if your VA claim gets bogged down with red tape? 01:08:33 – Vets in Tech: Good at finding positions for vets who're breaking into industry 01:13:18 – Tech that gets Erick excited 01:16:37 – Erick's favorite data-related podcasts and books 01:19:05 – UC Irvine's Machine and Deep Learning Certificate Program 01:22:55 – Erick's preferred means of contact 1:24:22 – Farewells

In this episode, I have a great chat with Dr. Dan Hudson, Director of Advanced Analytics and Intelligent Automation at Guidehouse. Dan and I having a wide ranging conversation, to include: the veteran-friendly culture at Guidehouse, Dan's military background and personal data science journey, insights from his experiences as an analytics and automation hiring manager, the future of our field, and the skills you should focus on to remain in-demand over the long-term. FEATURED GUEST: Name: Dan Hudson Email: danhudsonphd@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhudsonphd/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Guidehouse Veteran Career Info: https://guidehouse.com/careers/veterans Guidehouse Veteran Opportunities: https://careers.guidehouse.com/veterans/jobs Certified Analytics Professional (CAP - certification): https://www.certifiedanalytics.org/for_professionals.php Choiceology (podcast): https://tinyurl.com/22tctk6b How to Decide (book): https://tinyurl.com/tk5p6vmf Thinking in Bets (book): https://tinyurl.com/28ncvbnu PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:08 – Catalyst for Dan's recent move to Guidehouse 00:03:53 – What's Guidehouse? 00:04:18 – The culture at Guidehouse 00:06:47 – What makes Guidehouse a veteran-friendly employer? 00:10:17 – Current veteran-focused employment opportunities at Guidehouse 00:11:24 – What is the Advanced Analytics and Intelligence Automation practice? 00:13:40 - Dan's military background and personal data science journey 00:27:18 – One of the beauties of the data science space 00:28:38 – Insights from Dan's experiences as an analytics and automation hiring manager 00:54:24 – How you can request mentorship 00:48:44 – To generalize or specialize? That is the question! 00:41:47 – If you specialize...to what degree should you specialize? 00:57:13 – Everything you might want to know about the Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) certification 01:02:53 – Are we approaching a point when we'll all need to become software engineers? 01:06:06 – Dan's recommendations for data science-related podcasts and books 01:10:15 – Dan's preferred means of contact 01:11:15 – Farewells

In this episode, Chris Sanchez and I have a fantastic conversation with Molly Larkin, Director of Operations at FourthBrain. If you haven’t heard of it, FourthBrain is an awesome bootcamp that’s backed by Andrew Ng’s AI Fund. FourthBrain offers hybrid online programs for budding machine learning engineers. The Data Canteen’s parent organization, Veterans in Data Science and Machine Learning (VDSML), is excited to announce that we have partnered with FourthBrain to support and encourage veterans in pursuit of careers in machine learning. All of our community members are eligible for a $500 discount toward the FourthBrain program of their choice. Additionally, one of our members will win a FourthBrain scholarship worth $3,000! So, if you’re interested in becoming a machine learning engineer, listen to this episode and make sure to submit your VDSML FourthBrain scholarship application by September 17th 2021! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Molly Larkin Email: info@fourthbrain.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyalarkin/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: FourthBrain’s Machine Learning Programs: https://www.fourthbrain.ai/curriculum Apply for VDSML’s FourthBrain Scholarship: https://vetsindatascience.com/vdsml-scholarship The Batch Newsletter: https://read.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/ Machine Learnings: https://subscribe.machinelearnings.co/ MLOps Community: https://mlops.community/ A Modern, Scalable Approach to Retooling the U.S. Workforce by 2025: https://vetsindatascience.com/articles/a-modern-scalable-approach-to-retooling-the-us-workforce-by-2025 PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE & MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:02:46 – What is FourthBrain & how did it get started? 00:03:53 – What distinguishes FourthBrain from other data science-related bootcamps? 00:04:22 – How does FourthBrain define the role of machine learning engineer? 00:06:01 – What makes FourthBrain a good fit for veterans? 00:08:26 – Molly Larkin’s story/background 00:13:51 – The expected demand signal for machine learning engineers 00:22:30 - How has the demand signal for machine learning skills evolved over the past five years? 00:25:07 – FourthBrain’s only prerequisite requirement 00:28:53 – FourthBrain’s Python skill assessment 00:36:01 – A summary of the FourthBrain program experience 00:39:27 – FourthBrain’s online hybrid synchronous/asynchronous format 00:41:47 – Future funding & aid for veterans 00:45:12 – FourthBrain’s project-based curriculum 00:50:24 – FourthBrain’s emphasis on technical soft-skills 00:52:24 – How to become the non-existent machine learning total package that employers are looking for 00:55:14 – What types of students naturally excel when going through FourthBrain’s programs 00:58:22 – What types of students tend to struggle when going through FourthBrain’s programs 01:00:58 – FourthBrain outcomes 01:05:49 – MLOps Community 01:14:36 – How is FourthBrain looking to expand its program offerings over the next three years 01:24:32 – Molly’s AI & ML resource recommendations 01:26:14 – Molly’s preferred methods of contact

Are you comparing graduate school programs to determine which one would best help you obtain data science & machine learning skills? Are your data science interests more applied rather than theoretical? Would you like to learn these skills within the context of solving business problems? If so, then you should consider Wake Forest’s Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Dr. Chris Smith Email: csmith@wfu.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-smith-phd-2289391a/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Wake Forest's MSBA: https://business.wfu.edu/masters-in-business-analytics/ Wake Forest's Online MSBA: https://online.business.wfu.edu/programs/online-masters-business-analytics Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968 PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE & MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:07 - How Wake Forest's MSBA was conceived 00:02:41 - Why Wake Forest's MSBA is a good fit for veterans 00:05:28 - Chris' background and personal data science journey 00:10:49 - Math phobia 00:12:59 - Prerequisite requirements for Wake Forest's MSBA 00:19:59 - A thorough introduction to Wake Forest's MSBA curriculum 00:41:14 - Wake Forest's various delivery models for the MSBA 00:47:23 - Character traits of successful MSBA students at Wake Forest 00:54:26 - Typical career outcomes for Wake Forest's MSBA grads 01:06:35 - Chris' tips on preparing to enter Wake Forest's MSBA 01:11:37 - Chris' favorite data-related podcast 01:13:00 - The best ways to contact Chris

In this episode, I'm joined by Katie Keller who is the Editorial Communications Manager for ClearanceJobs. Katie shares generously from her wealth of knowledge and experience to help you land your next great opportunity in cleared data science or machine learning! We chat about the trajectory of cleared data science salaries in 2021, your best bets for making it past applicant tracking systems, and she answers each of your most common questions about the hiring process! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Katie Keller Email: katie.keller@clearancejobs.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-e-keller/ About: Katie has a background in technical, intelligence and special operations recruiting for the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD). This includes past experiences supporting multiple government contractors throughout the DMV area, with a brief stint in the tech start-up world. At ClearanceJobs, Katie hosts the ClearedCast podcast, manages all communications with external parties/internal stakeholders, moderates the ClearanceJobs Blog, and is a contributor at news.clearancejobs.com. SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join LEVEL-UP YOUR VDSML MEMBERSHIP: Subscribe to a Premium-level Membership: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Security Clearance News and Career Advice: https://news.clearancejobs.com/ ClearedCast (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/security-clearance-careers-podcast/id1039825235 ClearanceJobs 2021 Security Clearance Compensation Report: https://about.clearancejobs.com/employers/recruiting-resources/2021-compensation-survey Cleared Salary Calculator: https://about.clearancejobs.com/salary-calculator Security Clearance Horror Stories with Industry Expert (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j5R3NdFwGU Recruiter Burns to Avoid Stoking Through the Job Seeking Process (article): https://tinyurl.com/4sthmauc Cleared Recruiting Horror Stories in Defense Hiring (article): https://tinyurl.com/2b5y2uz From The Green Notebook (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-green-notebook/id1537731886 The Employment Line (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-employment-line/id1483159155 War on the Rocks (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-on-the-rocks/id682478916 PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join About: Veterans in Data Science and Machine Learning (VDSML) is a valuable and supportive community for current and aspiring data professionals with U.S. Military experience. Our aim is to further the careers of fellow veterans through intentional sharing of collective knowledge and experience. OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:42 - What is ClearanceJobs? 00:04:34 - The 2021 Security Clearance Compensation Report 00:10:05 - Geographic hotspots for cleared data science and machine learning 00:13:43 - Qualifications that will empower you to command a higher salary 00:15:55 - Katie's background as a cleared technical recruiter (to include recruiting for DS & ML roles) 00:18:32 - How difficult is it right now to recruit cleared data scientists and machine learning engineers? 00:20:32 - How is the demand for cleared data scientists and machine learning engineers growing? 00:22:34 - Indicators Katie looked for in promising DS & ML job candidates & their resumes 00:30:59 - Navigating applicant tracking systems 00:35:55 -...

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Keith Allen to trace his journey from U.S. Army Infantry officer to data science consultant! Dr. Allen and I also chat in-depth about his passion for sports analytics, and how that drove him to focus his PhD dissertation on the question "Should we go for it on fourth down?" FEATURED GUEST: Name: Dr. Keith Allen Email: getallenkl@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainbowmountaindatascience/ About: Dr. Keith Allen is a Specialist Master Senior Data Scientist for Deloitte in Huntsville, AL. He has over 20 years of experience in simulation modeling, quantitative research, multi-variate statistics and test and evaluation. Dr. Allen began his career as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army and then became a senior test officer and team lead as an Army civilian leading developmental flight test projects for as a civilian. In recent years, Dr. Allen has worked as a technical consultant serving DoD, NASA and other public and private entities as a senior data scientist focused on stochastic modeling, predictive analytics and mathematical optimization. Dr. Allen holds a bachelors and master’s in engineering fields, and successfully completed his PhD in data science in 2021. Dr. Allen also holds several professional certifications in the field of project management, modeling and simulation and test and evaluation. SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join LEVEL-UP YOUR VDSML MEMBERSHIP: Subscribe to a Premium-level Membership: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Dr. Keith Allen's Dissertation Website: https://www.bridgetheparadox.org/ Northcentral University's PhD in Data Science: https://www.ncu.edu/programs-degrees/doctoral/doctor-philosophy-data-science Karl Popper (author): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/ Thomas Khun (author): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/ Nvidia Deep Learning Institute: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/training/ INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) Certification: https://bit.ly/2MIOxqP PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join About: Veterans in Data Science and Machine Learning (VDSML) is a valuable and supportive community for current and aspiring data professionals with U.S. Military experience. Our aim is to further the careers of fellow Veterans through intentional sharing of collective knowledge and experience. OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:28 - Where Dr. Allen earned his PhD in data science 00:06:34 - Journey from the U.S. Army to data science 00:39:01 - Dr. Allen's data science PhD dissertation 01:05:14 - Dr. Allen answers the question "Who should pursue a PhD in data science?" 01:08:54 - Insights from the world of data science consulting 01:26:10 - Dr. Allen's next 50 and 100 meter data science learning targets 01:27:56 - Two excellent authors for your data science reading list 01:30:09 - The best ways to contact Dr. Allen

Are you looking for a veteran-friendly school that offers both name recognition and a technically rigorous entry point into data science and machine learning? You should consider the College of William and Mary's Master of Science in Business Analytics program (MSBA)! This program offers the opportunity to become proficient in quantitative data skills while grappling with challenging business problems! As for William and Mary itself, it's one of the eight original "Public Ivies" and stands as the second oldest institution of higher learning in this hemisphere (it's only behind Harvard)! What's more, U.S. News and World Report highly ranks this program for U.S. military veterans! Listen-in to learn more! FEATURED GUEST: Name: Dr. Joe Wilck Email: joe.wilck@mason.wm.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewilck/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: William and Mary - Military/Veteran-Friendly (to include application fee waivers!): https://tinyurl.com/49f7jskx William and Mary - Military and Veterans: https://www.wm.edu/sites/veterans/ William and Mary - Office of Student Veteran Engagement: https://www.wm.edu/offices/osve/index.php William and Mary's MSBA: https://graduate.mason.wm.edu/msba William and Mary's Online MSBA: https://online.mason.wm.edu/msba William and Mary's Online Foundations in Business Analytics Certificate: https://online.mason.wm.edu/msba/business-analytics-certificate William and Mary's Bachelor of Business Administration (Business Analytics Major): https://tinyurl.com/efzbx6k8 For 2021, U.S. News and World Report Ranks William and Mary #28 in Online Master's in Business Programs for Veterans: https://tinyurl.com/uvshazvw Story Telling with Data (book): https://tinyurl.com/fbdczrmv Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice! (book): https://tinyurl.com/s44mryat PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE & MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:09 - How William and Mary's MSBA was conceived 00:03:38 - Joe distinguishes data analytics vs. business analytics vs. data science 00:07:04 - Why William and Mary's MSBA is great for veterans 00:14:47 - Joe's background and personal data science journey 00:19:14 - Joe weighs-in on whether or not data scientists need a PhD 00:21:27 - Prerequisite requirements for William and Mary's MSBA 00:24:31 - Joe introduces William and Mary's new Online Foundations in Business Analytics Certificate 00:29:22 - A thorough introduction to William and Mary's MSBA curriculum 00:43:36 - William and Mary's various delivery models for the MSBA 00:45:30 - Cost and GI Bill considerations 00:47:42 - Character traits of successful MSBA students at William and Mary 00:54:03 - Typical career outcomes for William and Mary's MSBA grads 00:55:53 - Background and History about William and Mary 00:58:26 - William and Mary, one of the eight original Public Ivies 01:09:18 - The Raymond A. Mason Business School's Career Services 01:19:37 - Joe on the value of possessing/obtaining a security clearance 01:23:22 - Joe's tips on preparing to enter William and Mary's MSBA 01:25:25 - Other data science-related graduate programs that Joe respects/would recommend to veterans 01:28:55 - Joe's favorite data-related podcast and book 01:29:53 - The best ways to contact Joe

In this episode, I chat with Rob Albritton, Senior Director for the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence within Octo's oLabs. Rob and I have a wide ranging conversation about the cutting edge work being done at Octo, why especially veterans should consider opportunities at Octo, Rob's personal data science journey/background in the Air Force, his insights as a hiring manager for AI/ML teams, and finally the current AI race and what keeps him up at night. FEATURED GUEST: Name: Rob Albritton LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robalbritton/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Octo's Career Opportunities for Veterans: https://tinyurl.com/ape4xc Octo: https://www.octoconsulting.com/ Octo's oLabs: https://tinyurl.com/yyha236j oLabs' AI Center of Excellence: https://tinyurl.com/kt3zpp2u MLFlow: https://mlflow.org/ Kubeflow: https://www.kubeflow.org/ How to deploy Kubeflow with minikube on a single node: https://tinyurl.com/myyyd2ht Lex Fridman Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/5dpbk67f The AI Podcast (Nvidia): https://tinyurl.com/axphyb6a PODCAST INFO: Host: Ted Hallum Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen VETERANS IN DATA SCIENCE & MACHINE LEARNING: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:12 - All about Octo, oLabs, and the AI Center of Excellence 00:08:01 - What makes Octo so unique in the GovCon space 00:11:10 - What makes Octo a great career fit for veterans 00:13:56​ - Domain experience (i.e., veteran's military experience) is important to Octo's mission 00:16:43​ - Octo's Program to Hire Veterans 00:17:45 - Rob's Journey from the Air Force to DS, ML, and AI 00:22:44 - You don't necessarily need a Master's Degree to get into DS/ML 00:24:04 - Rob's insights as a hiring manager for AI/ML teams 00:30:56 - Do you need a U.S. Government security clearance to work at Octo? 00:31:58 - How to best frame your DS/ML skills to get an interview 00:36:02 - Rob's recommended upskilling path to get into DS/ML 00:39:42 - The current "killer skill" to put you in high-demand (MLOps!) 00:42:12 - Rob's advice about how to start learning MLOps 00:54:42​ - What scenarios keep Rob up at night? 00:55:13 - Rob's favorite podcast recommendations 00:56:46​ - How to contact Rob

In this episode, former guest and fellow Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning community member, Chris Sanchez, provides a formal introduction to your host here on The Data Canteen, Ted Hallum. FEATURED GUEST: Name: Ted Hallum LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedhallum/ Email: founder@vetsindatascience.com SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join EPISODE LINKS: Self-driving Cars with Ducky Town (edX MOOC): https://bit.ly/3jPWcQy Becoming a Data Scientist (podcast): https://apple.co/3jQLIjT Eye on AI (podcast): https://apple.co/3qpWlwu SuperDataScience Podcast: https://apple.co/3u2JaUs Build a Data Science Career (book): https://amzn.to/2NaGV0H AI Superpowers (book): https://amzn.to/3s1p8aT PODCAST INFO: Website: https://vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-data-canteen/id1551751086 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNx9aLFRy1h9P22hd8ZPyw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-data-canteen CONTACT THE DATA CANTEEN: Voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/datacanteen JOIN THE VDSML COMMUNITY: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ OUTLINE: 00:00:07​ - Introduction 00:01:05 - A Not-So-STEM Background 00:09:32​ - Military Experience 00:11:33 - Post-military, Pre-data Science Civilian Career 00:14:06​ - How I Bumped Into Data Science 00:16:28​ - Time to go to Grad School 00:22:12 - Greatest Motivation 00:23:43 - Grappling with Imposter Syndrome 00:28:08 - Favorite Courses in Grad School 00:30:24 - The Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome 00:31:26 - First Data Science Job 00:42:42 - Second Data Science Job...err uhh...Geospatial Python Developer 00:48:58 - Machine Learning Engineer 00:51:19​ - Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning and The Data Canteen 00:57:08 - Favorite Programming Language 01:00:41​ - Next MOOC: Self-Driving Cars with Duckietown 01:04:46​ - Podcast Recommendation #1: Becoming a Data Scientist 01:05:24 - Podcast Recommendation #2: Eye on AI 01:06:16 - Podcast Recommendation #2: SuperDataScience Podcast 01:06:41​ - Book Recommendation #1: Build a Data Science Career 01:07:15​ - Book Recommendation #1: AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

Are you comparing graduate school programs to determine which one would best help you obtain data science & machine learning skills? Are your data science interests more applied rather than theoretical? Would you like to learn these skills within the context of solving business problems? If so, then you should consider Notre Dame’s Veteran-friendly Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program! In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Scott Nestler. While in the U.S. Army, Scott served as a Patriot missile battery commander, an Operations Research Systems Analyst, and taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Today, Scott is the Academic Director for the on-campus Master of Science in Business Analytics program within Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, and he's a fellow member of the Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning community! Scott and I dive deep into everything you might want to know if considering Notre Dame’s MSBA: - Cost - Duration - Prerequisites - Curriculum - Delivery Model - Character Traits of Successful MSBA Students - The Alumni Network The episode wraps-up with Scott sharing some of his favorite data science & machine learning resources: - Notre Dame’s MSBA Program: https://bit.ly/2L9S5lj - Notre Dame’s MSBA for Working Professionals: https://bit.ly/3j6ENT8 - Notre Dame’s Master of Science in Data Science: https://bit.ly/3atygOJ - INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) Certification: https://bit.ly/2MIOxqP - Analytics Stories by Wayne Winston (book): https://amzn.to/3j8bWxI - Measurables (sports analytics podcast): https://apple.co/3j7ADKR Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottnestler/ =================================== Have a question for me? Leave me a voicemail or send me a message at: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen The Data Canteen's parent organization: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join

So, you’ve decided that you’re ready to take the plunge and seriously upskill into data science & machine learning…but should you do a master’s degree or a boot camp? In this episode, I'm joined by Chris Sanchez, a retired Navy SEAL and fellow member of the Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning community. The conversation starts with an overview of his journey through the military and into data science. Chris' unique perspective extends beyond just his background with Special Operations Forces (SOF). He's also rather rare in the sense that he attended both a data science graduate program (UC Berkley’s Master of Information and Data Science) and a data science boot camp (Galvanize Data Science Immersive Bootcamp). Consequently, Chris and I dive deep into a candid compare & contrast of his experiences with both learning approaches, where each excelled, and where they didn’t. Chris starts the comparison by telling us about the best qualities of each training approach. Then, we zoom in to continue the comparison, looking at seven key facets: - Cost - Duration - Financing - Prerequisites - Pedagogy - Networking - Career Support Services The episode wraps-up with Chris sharing some of his favorite data science & ML learning resources: - DATAQUEST: https://www.dataquest.io/ - Learn Python 3 the Hard Way: https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Python-Hard-Way-Introduction-ebook/dp/B07378P8W6 - Andrew Ng’s Stanford CS229 – Machine Learning: https://see.stanford.edu/Course/CS229 - Hands-on Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras & TensorFlow: https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Machine-Learning-Scikit-Learn-TensorFlow/dp/1492032646 - Fast.ai: https://www.fast.ai/ - Practical Deep Learning for Coders (Fast.ai’s MOOC): https://course.fast.ai/ Go here to connect with Chris on LinkedIn (be sure to include a short contextual note with your connection request!): https://www.linkedin.com/in/excellenceisahabit/ Go here to see Chris’ GitHub portfolio: https://americanthinker.github.io/ There is so much packed into this episode that it's impossible to put it all in the show notes. One recommendation that I do have is that you listen to this podcast, then listen again while taking notes. =================================== Have a question for me? Leave me a voicemail or send me a message at: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen The Data Canteen's parent organization: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join

Welcome to The Data Canteen, a podcast focused on the care & feeding of data scientists who share in the common bond of U.S. Military service. My name is Ted Hallum. I’m a U.S. Army Veteran and former intelligence analyst turned data science and machine learning enthusiast. By day, I’m a Senior Defense Machine Learning Engineer. On the side, I’m the founder of Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning, an organization serving U.S. Military Veterans in the data space. I’m passionate about helping Veterans transition and thrive as data professionals for several reasons. First, it’s personal. I thoroughly enjoy this field and can’t imagine anything more fulfilling. What’s more, few Veterans will find more lucrative employment. But, let’s be honest, there are challenges, right? The data landscape is vast, the skills & toolsets you need to survive are numerous, and an inadequate network could make for a lonesome journey. That’s why I founded Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning, and it’s the reason I’m creating this podcast. I’m not going to lie, it’s a profound undertaking to attain and maintain a data career. But, if that’s something you want, it’s absolutely within reach! More than that, we have a supportive community of people just like you! With that community in mind, this podcast serves an audience whose diversity mirrors that of the military in which we served. In terms of the data science journey, our membership spans from enthusiastic aspirants to the highest levels of management. Maybe you’re just starting out. You know you need to upskill, but how? Should you buy the top 20 books on data science? Take a trip to the land of a 1,000 MOOCs? Or, dive into the sea of Master’s degree programs? On the other hand, maybe you’ve already undertaken significant upskilling and you’re working as a data scientist or machine learning engineer. You’re wondering things like: How do I stay abreast of our ever-evolving field? What are the best ways to continually grow my skillset? Or, how can I efficiently expand my professional network? Even still, maybe you’re a hiring manager. While you have strategies for finding and assessing talent, you’re curious what other strategies are being employed across industry. Are they more effective? Are they worth the extra time & effort? To help you navigate these questions and more, I’ll have conversations with members of our community, Veterans in transition, seasoned data professionals, leaders of academic programs, experts on Veteran education benefits, and hiring managers. I’m creating The Data Canteen to serve as your sounding board for all things data. So, if you have a question that I can address in a future episode, go to vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen. As you scroll down, you’ll see methods to reach out and contact the show. I look forward to engaging our guests, learning from the wealth of their collective wisdom, and growing together as data professionals. So, until the next episode, I bid you clean data, low p-values, and Godspeed on your data journey! Have a question for me? Leave me a voicemail or send me a message at: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/thedatacanteen The Data Canteen's parent organization: http://www.vetsindatascience.com/ Join the Veterans in Data Science & Machine Learning Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8989903/ SUPPORT THE DATA CANTEEN (LIKE PBS, WE'RE LISTENER SUPPORTED!): Donate: https://vetsindatascience.com/support-join