Transitioning from a programmer analyst to being an actress to a lead data analyst, Shivani's career journey is an epic testament to resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of passion.
Despite the challenges she faced, she embraced her true calling in acting and later transitioned successfully into the field of data science.
Shivani started her career as a programmer analyst at Cognizant in Chennai. Here she worked for 3 years, where her projects were mostly related to Power BI. However, a period on the bench gave her the opportunity to reflect on her career and life in general.
No Strings Attached
Shivani thought that this was the time to take risks in her life, as she did not have any major responsibilities or dependencies on her. Moreover, she hadn't set any major career goals either, so she wanted to try something different with her life.
I was always pro-active in school, especially during cultural festivals where everything was related to stage shows. So, after considering different career choices, I decided to take up acting. But then nobody in my family is related to acting, and it's not considered a good career choice. So, I got scared, lied to my family, quit my IT job, and shifted to Mumbai.
Wrong About Acting....
Shivani felt that by joining the famous Anupam Kher's acting school, her acting career would smooth out and everything would fall into place. After one month of acting classes, she understood how wrong she was, and there was a major struggle in the form of 'Theatre' waiting for her.
With a lot of hardships and a minimum bank balance, Shivani did theatre for 2–3 months, performed some plays that were successful, and gained the confidence to move forward.
At this point, she went back to her family and told them everything about her acting career choice.
With her successful theatre, Shivani got acting roles in major Hindi TV serials like KumKum Bhagya and Tera Yaar Hoon Main. She also got to act in a web series, Happily Ever After and a short film, Talaq.
It was during Feb 2020, when she was shooting in Rajasthan, that the COVID lockdown was imposed.
Tensed Headspace
Shivani did not have any choice but to confine herself to the four walls of her house. The whole film industry got affected by the lockdown. With no work and no salary, it was almost impossible for Shivani to see her future in acting.
This phase was getting depressing when the family pressure to quit the acting field and to marry started building up—typical Indian family pressure.
After much thought, I finally gave into the family pressure, manipulations, and drama (you know!) and decided to get married.
Back to IT Career
As Shivani decided to have an IT career, she started her journey with her job profile on LinkedIn. She noticed a huge demand for Power BI developers in the data science field.
Also read: Why Should You Be A Power BI Developer?
Though Shivani had Cognizant work experience, the 4-year career gap made the experience irrelevant. So, she wanted to study the data science field and enroll in a course that would also help her with placements.
When searching for different data science courses, Shivani came across OdinSchool whose success stories and student reviews inspired her to join their data science course immediately.
Now she proudly says, their updated industrial curriculum made me so good in Power BI that I was not even asked about the big career gap I had!
Shivani's Inspiring Interview Video
Frequently Asked Questions About Lead Data Analyst
Q1 - What is a lead data analyst?
A lead data analyst is a senior-level professional responsible for managing a team of analysts and overseeing data analysis processes to drive business decisions.
Is data analyst a good position?
Yes, a data analyst position is a good career choice due to high demand, competitive salaries, diverse opportunities, potential for career growth, skill development, and impactful work.
Does data analyst job involve lot of coding?
Yes, data analyst roles typically involve some level of coding, especially in languages like SQL, Python, or R for data manipulation, analysis, and visualization.
How do I become a lead data analyst?
Joining an online course on data analysis can provide targeted skill enhancement and structured learning, essential for advancing towards a lead data analyst role.
