I am starting this blog to chronicle my progress in the mentorship program conducted by ChiPy, the Chicago Python Users Group'. My mentor, Yong Cho, has just recently made the transition from trader to data scientist and I hope to follow him in his footsteps. Right now we are working on a presentation for the January meeting of Chipy to show what we have accomplished. I am also working to finish the Udacity Nano degree program in Data Analysis and our Chipy project will grow out of the projects I am doing for that program.
The tireless leader of the Chicago mentorship program, Tathagata Dasgupta, has suggested the mentees (if that is a word) keep a blog to record their progress in the mentorship program.
So, Yong Cho's educational background, as you can see from his website, is in math and economics. My educational background was primarily shaped by my determination to avoid math and economics by studying History and Philosophy as an undergraduate. I thought I could continue avoiding numbers by pursuing a PhD in Political Science but I was thwarted by the Economists who had taken over Political Science at the University of Chicago and were there waiting for me when I arrived.
There is an old joke among jazz musicians. "What do you call a guy that likes to hang around with musicians? A drummer!" That was what I felt like in the math/economics oriented parts of academia, a drummer hanging with real musicians. It was actually a conscious strategy: I had four economists for room mates, four pianos and one snare drum. Now I am trying to transition to programming and data science and I have found my piano player. Thank God for piano players!
The tireless leader of the Chicago mentorship program, Tathagata Dasgupta, has suggested the mentees (if that is a word) keep a blog to record their progress in the mentorship program.
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| Tathagatha Dasgupta, leader of the ChiPy Mentorship Program at the May Coding Dojo |
So, Yong Cho's educational background, as you can see from his website, is in math and economics. My educational background was primarily shaped by my determination to avoid math and economics by studying History and Philosophy as an undergraduate. I thought I could continue avoiding numbers by pursuing a PhD in Political Science but I was thwarted by the Economists who had taken over Political Science at the University of Chicago and were there waiting for me when I arrived.
There is an old joke among jazz musicians. "What do you call a guy that likes to hang around with musicians? A drummer!" That was what I felt like in the math/economics oriented parts of academia, a drummer hanging with real musicians. It was actually a conscious strategy: I had four economists for room mates, four pianos and one snare drum. Now I am trying to transition to programming and data science and I have found my piano player. Thank God for piano players!
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| My mentor and newly hired GrubHub Data Scientist, Yong Cho |
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