Data Science Coaching: What It Is and How It Still Helps in 2024

Data science coaching is an increasingly popular strategy to help new and early-career data scientists land jobs. Given the ambiguity of data scientist roles in the past few years and the requirements needed to attain the position, data science coaches are more necessary than ever.

In essence, a data science coach is a mentor. They provide personalized coaching to aspiring data scientists, data analysts, and machine learning engineers to help them practice new skills, conduct mock interviews, and build their professional networks.

However, this is a relatively new practice, and many junior data scientists and new graduates have questions about hiring a data science coach, including:

• What is data science coaching?
• Do I need a data science coach?
• How much does data science coaching cost?
• How do data science coaches help?
• Data science coaching FAQs

Data science coaches are like mentors. They help you quickly assess your strengths and weaknesses, create a plan for improving those skills, and then help you do the work to reach your career goals.

Coaches are experienced data scientists who provide dedicated mentoring, which can range from career advice to technical skills development. A data science coach would get an idea of your skill level in various subjects like machine learning, statistics, and programming and then develop a personalized plan to help you improve in those areas.

Some key markers of a data science coach include:

• Career experience - Coaches typically have several years of experience (commonly in a FAANG job)
• Coaching expertise - The best coaches understand how to create a development plan, how to identify weaknesses, and how to improve someone’s skills through rigorous training.
• Interview knowledge - A data science coach has extensive knowledge of the data science interview process. Therefore, they can provide you with technical and behavioral interview practice, review your resume and cover letter, and teach you how to present your portfolio when looking for a new job.

One of the biggest challenges of interviewing for data science jobs is a lack of transparency. If the interviewee did not obtain the position, the employer might not provide him with a reason. Lack of feedback makes it difficult to understand what skills need to be improved.

A dedicated data science mentor provides the guidance you need to understand A) where you stand, B) what you’re doing wrong, and C) how you can improve. Some of the key benefits of working with a data science mentor include:

• Skills assessment- A coach will assess you on a scale of 1-10 and provide insights into how that compares to other candidates. For example, a coach understands how a response might pass an L3-level interview but not an L5-level interview. This benchmarking helps you know how much MORE preparation you need to move forward in the interview portion.
  
• Helpful feedback- Getting feedback is pivotal to improving. Interviewers don’t provide a reason for why you failed an interview. Coaches provide feedback on your performance and how you present yourself - that can help you quickly improve your interviewing skills.
• Calibrated learning- Ultimately, benchmarking helps coaches calibrate coaching sessions to your career goals and skill level. The best data science mentors personalize the learning plan to turn weaknesses into strengths.

At Interview Query, data science coaching costs $199 per hour-long session or $549 for three one-hour sessions. Our coaches have extensive industry experience and have worked at companies like DoorDash, Meta, Google, Databricks, and Amazon, to name a few.

Although the cost might deter you, data science coaching has a compelling ROI.

The ROI of Data Science Coaching

When it comes to valuing coaching, you can think about it like this:

If paying for a coach can marginally improve your chances of getting hired at a company by 20%, the average pay bump is at least 20%. It’s a matter of spending $200-$400 on coaching sessions for the potential increase of $20,000 in salary.

Remember that unlike other kinds of coaching, such as sports coaching, interview coaching has a clear outcome: to increase your chances of landing a job. And we’ve seen a considerable increase in candidates landing jobs (+45%) after taking just one coaching session.

Not only that, if we looked at users that conducted more than one session, we see a correlation in an increase in job placement as users take more coaching sessions.

But honestly, what’s the downside? Let’s say that instead of a 45% increase, a coach was only to boost your chances of landing an offer by 10%. If, on average, you’re increasing your salary by $30,000 when switching jobs (and that’s only the first year), then getting coaching is at least $3,000 worth of expected value.

Data science coaching is a powerful career booster because tailored coaching can help a student’s career goals. Our coaches offer various learning styles and plan’s to help you improve your skills, plan your career, or prepare for a technical data science interview.

The most common learning plans in Data Science include:

• Career road mapping: A mentor helps you understand where you are and can design a five-year development plan to get you where you want to go.
• Technical skills development: Mentors can help you develop a plan to improve essential job skills like SQL, Python, machine learning, statistics, or pandas. Coaches don’t just tell you what to study; they help you break through plateaus and level up quickly.
• Mentor-style interview coaching - This is the perfect option for entry-level candidates. This interview practice allows you to walk through sample questions with your coach, go step-by-step on responses, and build your confidence for live interviews.
• Mock interviews with feedback - This option allows you to simulate the live interview experience with a coach. Get personalized feedback and a rubric grade to help you assess weaknesses and quickly improve your interviewing skills.

Can I request a specific coach from a company?

Yes! We can provide a coach with experience from your target company and target role based on the coach’s availability, your timeline, and what company to whom you are interviewing.

Is coaching available in all time zones?

We provide coaching to candidates in all locations, with sessions conducted remotely.

Does coaching include Interview Query Premium?

Candidates can purchase coaching with or without Premium. You can buy sessions individually or purchase a Mastery Plan, which includes Premium access and one 1-on-1 coaching session.

Are there coaching plans that include more than three sessions?

We offer discounted pricing if you want to purchase more than three sessions. Contact support@interviewquery.com to learn more.