After seven years of doctoral studies at UMSI, Tapan Khopkar graduated in 2008 with a PhD in information science focused on the economics of information. His career path in the data science field includes lead roles in marketing science and product engineering.

Now executive director of marketing sciences at OMD, the world’s largest media agency network, Khopkar encourages students to get their hands dirty: Take on projects involving the kind of big, messy data sets that professional information scientists actually encounter.

Khopkar says the market for entry-level data science jobs has become saturated with applicants who have completed abbreviated programs to become qualified.

“But when we interview these folks, we realize that their skills aren’t a fit for what we need,” Khopkar says. “They would have to be trained. How data is in the real world is different from how it is in a well-structured problem with a nice, tidy data set.”

It’s a good thing that UMSI trains graduates for the real world: 

A degree at UMSI prepares you to be a specialist who can be a generalist. A degree in information is going to make you a relevant candidate for many positions in many domains.

In his Alumni Snapshot, Khopkar provides recommendations for UMSI students seeking to cultivate relevant hands-on experience with data and gives tips for showcasing that experience in effective ways.