How did you hear about WeCloudData?
A friend recommended I join WeCloudData. He told me that WeCloudData is focused on the Data industry and it is a good training school for people who want to switch jobs.
What made you decide to choose WeCloudData’s Data Engineering program over other companies? Was there something that stood out to you about our program that solidified your decision?
Because WeCloudData focuses on the data industry, I want to switch to data industry. Also it is very important that the data engineering program has client project, gives me hands on experience, which is extremely helpful for my job hunting.
What was your career background before enrolling in our Data Engineering program?
I was Electrical Engineer in my company, was doing some python script coding for testing and company ERP system setup.
What made you want to pursue a career in Data Engineering?
I don’t like my current career, I want to change my career and take new challenges. Data industry especially data engineer is a very promising job.
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your journey to where you are today?
I started data engineering program in February this year, started job hunting after midterm with some understanding and hands on experience regarding my client project, modified and updated my resume during applications, then polished my answers once I started getting interviews, overall took me over two months from start applying to finally get the job.
What did you find most enjoyable or interesting about the Data Engineering program at WeCloudData while being a student? Was there any aspect of our course curriculum or teaching style that stood out to you?
The client project is quite challenging but interesting. In the project, we are facing many new issues and technologies, we needed to prepare all the knowledge for the project in a short time. It is quit a big challenges. Also, in the project, we have very detailed work on each phase, this give me very solid experience in data engineering project. This really stood out from other programs.
How did the Instructors and Teaching Assistants (TA’s) support you during the program? Did you find their knowledge and expertise helpful?
Each week on the fixed work hours TAs have live session to help us on the knowledge and trouble shooting. This help me fix my technical issues immediately. Also TAs helped me troubleshooting my projects and gave me a lot of advice for my job hunting and interviews. The knowledge regarding data warehouse helped me landed my job.
Based on your previous education experience, how did online classes compare to learning in-person?
Online-classes is more flexible, especially for me with full time job, I can review the learning materials based on my own schedule. Also saved the time for traffic.
Do you have any tips for current students on how to be successful in online classes?
Tried to participate into the classes even through it is only online, then always review the videos and learning materials after.
How do you feel the real client projects helped you when it came time to find a job?
I believe this is the biggest reason why I got my job. I tried to apply some data related jobs last year, and I didn’t get any interview or feedback, and this year, with my client project experience, I got interviews and every company I interviewed asked questions mainly about my client project, because it’s so related.
How long did it take you to find a job after graduating from WeCloudData?
I applied around 80 jobs, and get more than 15 interviews and finally land the job. It takes me around 2 months to land the job.
How did your mentor support you during the career mentorship? (e.g. Services provided, advice given)
The mentor did a good job for me. I asked the mentor about how to start a data engineering job, how to interview, how to prepare interview questions and so on. Also he told me what I should aware when I start working as a Data Engineer.
Finding a job during the pandemic has been a challenge for most, what aspects of your resume and portfolio do you believe helped you secure a job so quickly?
First is my client project at WCD, 80% of the work experience related questions were about this project. Then my own full time job experience also helped me, especially with the big companies, since they have more knowledge and understanding about ERP systems, they can tell the link or similarity of my previous work experience to data engineer jobs.
Can you give us some insight into what the Data Engineering interview process is like?
First is the HR round, usually HR asked about my work experience, skill level of python, SQL, cloud platform etc. Then second round is hiring manager or team lead with team members for more technical questions, including live coding sessions, pipeline design questions, case analysis, sometimes with a couple of behavior/culture fit questions. This round usually is the key one, some might add one more round of interview with higher management for formality.
What sort of impact do you feel your Data Engineer diploma from WeCloudData made on potential employers?
It should be useful for people with different backgrounds, because most employers asked for a STEM degree or any data related diploma. Personally, since I have electrical engineering bachelor degree, so they didn’t ask me anything about my education.
Do you have any words of advice for current or future students planning on pursuing a career in Data Engineering? Need to keep trying different interviews, especially for people with no experience, get used to different interview styles, and always be prepared with live coding for SQL or python. I got a couple of interviews even they said they wouldn’t test coding, but in the technical round, they suddenly asked me for white board coding.
How has your life changed since you graduated from WeCloudData and gotten a job in the industry?
It completely changed my life since WCD data engineering program brought me into a new field, and this data industry is really what I have been interested and spent quite a lot of effort before but didn’t get any feedback. However after attending WCD data engineering program, not only I gained this knowledge I am interested, but also landed a job I always wanted.
