Hello there!

First of all, let me introduce myself: i'm a 25y portuguese guy, with a master in Social and Organizational Psychology (or Industrial, as it is also known).
During my licenciate and master of science degrees, I've been trained for two things: being an HR guy or being a researcher.
At this very moment, I work in a small ~ medium marketing and advertising agency in Lisbon. I'm a People & Culture assistant (cool name, boring job), which means that I mostly take care of HR stuff (evaluation processes, recruitment and selection, cultural issues between departments,...). From time to time, I'm recruited to participate in research and data analysis activities (inferential analysis, desk research for brands,...). I've also been working on a multidisciplinary team with machine learning (I was "consulting" as a psychologist/data analyst, while programmers were working with the machine and its algorithms). Unfortunately, this is not as frequent as I'd like.
As someone who loves data, numbers and research, my job gets me frustrated most of the time, as I don't really have the chance to to such things on a daily basis (it happens twice a month, or less).
Therefore, I've been thinking about enrolling in a PhD (if I get a scholarship), which would allow me to go deeper into Data Science, Research techniques and, eventually, I could also find enough time to do some training in Programming/Computer Science/Data Science/Algebra to be able to work as a Data Scientist in the future. Before you ask, I've already started learning Code on my own and it is awesome!

TL;DR: I don't like my job, but I do love research and data.
I'm thinking about quitting for a PhD, while doing parallel training in ComputerScience/Algebra/DataScience.

Does this path make sense to you? I'd be around 29~30y once I finished the PhD, but hopefully with a lot of training in other subjects. How hard would it be for me to find a job at the time?

Hi, Chaddak,

Before quiting your current job, can you meet people doing the job you like and find out what qualifications did they have to get the job? For all you know, instead of investing 4 years in a PhD, you may just need a year's course or masters or maybe an even shorter internship. Don't waste more time than you need.Work experience matters more than qualification for a data scientist, so the sooner you can get the qualification and get a related job, the better.

A PhD is no guarantee for a job. You should read about the employability of the people in the area that you want to venture in. I think 29-30 is still young, so age is not an issue, but abundance of job is.

Hey, @tru. Thanks for the advice!

Yes, i've been checking and talking to people on linkedin. Most did some online courses (to learn Python, for example, SQL,...). Their backgrounds were varied, going from Sociology to Biology (most of them started as researchers and then jumped into Data Science positions by learning specific coding languages).

So, I can totally understand your point. The years invested in the PhD are my primary concern.
However, it holds some advantages:
1) I'd earn 40% more than I do;
2) I'd have time to get specific qualifications (while also developing the Data Scientist rationale).

There is also the possibility of enrolling for a 8month project (starting in January). This is an interesting opportunity, since it would allow me to study while working at the university, as well as see if research in a more academic setting would suit me well.

The PhD is also an interest of mine, by itself.




Yes, I don't think I'd be that old as well. The age doesn't seem to be a problem to me, specially considering that I have already worked and gathered some great professional experience in the past years.

Since you have already been talking to these people on LinkedIn, is it possible to ask them to recommend you for a job in the area, maybe as an associate? Could you work with the company first then get them to sponsor you for your studies later?

That would be a great idea. However, not many companies accept to do that in Portugal. A particular company that I've been following did something similar in the past, but they are now seeking for specific graduates as there are specific Master degrees in the area, answering their specific needs. Because of that, I'm seeing low possibilities of entering as a non-grad on the field of data analysis.

However, some other companies have been hiring specifically PhD students. And since I like academia, and the funding in Portugal is more than enough for you to have a nice way of living, it seemed to me as a great opportunity.
Also, the idea would be to do some post-graduations during the PhD.

Just to make things clear: the idea of enrolling in a PhD is to remain having a regular income, whilst studying at the same time.

At this very moment, I don't have much time nor money to graduate in a specific master/post-grad (i've been doing online courses, but that may not be enough).

At 29 to 30 years old, you are VERY young.

The age doesn't bother me at all.
What can be "tough" is the feeling of "reentering" on the job market aftera PhD, with an age in which people are trying to settle and start building their own independent lives.
I intend to overcome that by doing as much graduations as possible in order to have enough relevant skills to jump into the market as fast as possible.

Why can't you start off with a masters, then upgrade to a PhD later on? Won't it be easier to find a Mres scholarship than a PhD? This would give you more time to think if a PhD is really necessary.

In my opinion, do the specific courses that your connections recommend. Then get into the field first with those qualifications. I think experience would trump PhD qualification as a data scientist, but if you are dead set about doing a PhD then go for it.

You don't need any qualifications beyond what you already have in order to get a job as a software engineer.
Train yourself to program in one language which is widely used and interests you and start applying for jobs. This is exactly what I did a few years back. You will need to persuade someone to take you on without direct experience but that shouldn't be a major problem.