Hey Jason, care to share a little bit about yourself?

I'm Jason. I am an avid volunteer in community and nonprofit organizations. For fun, I enjoy playing tennis, hosting dinner parties, and watching Twitch streams.
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Can you tell us what you do as a Data Scientist for those who are unfamiliar?

As a data scientist at InMarket, I apply machine learning to help advertisers find their customers. For example, say you are trying to sell a book you wrote. I help you find people who are interested in buying your book.
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How did you decide to pursue your specific career? What pivotal moments pushed you to where you are now?

In my first job as a product support engineer, I took a personality test that basically said that I enjoy organizing data. Apparently, data science is a hot and growing field. Shortly after, I decided to pivot and purse a career in data science.
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What made you interested in your field?

I'm so fascinated by technologies that can precisely and effective sort data. To me, the field of data science is all about finding patterns/value in data with accuracy and speed.
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Any advice on how to stand out and get hired for those starting off?

Data science is a hot field. There are many courses, bootcamps, and college programs that you can enroll in. My advice is to come up with a plan and know your competitors. If you're competing against a software engineer with 3 years of experience, what do you have that'll make you a better candidate? What can you do to be a better candidate?
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3 Character traits that would make someone excel in your field

Communication, Programming, Curiosity
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Most difficult thing about your job?

The right answer often requires several iterations to get. Work tends to move us in the right direction incrementally, so it takes a lot of effort to get to your destination.
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What would you like to say to your younger self?

Should've gone for that computer science minor.
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Best advice you've received/heard?

We work right now, so we can have the time to do what we want to do, but when we have the time to do what we want to do, we may no longer want to do it. It's important to pursue what you want right now.
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Any last thoughts, advice, or recommendations for someone who wants to be a Data Scientist?

It's easy to get into data science. If you're interested, check out free online courses and spin up Jupyter notebooks!