Christopher Pleman joined UMSI’s Master of Applied Data Science program in order to transition from a healthcare background to a new career in data science. The degree program is already paying dividends: Christopher has been using the new skills he’s learned in his role as a business analyst.

In this profile, Christopher discusses MADS courses that have helped him grow at work, the ways he has built community in an online program, and his love of animals.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am currently located in San Francisco, and have been in the Bay Area for almost three years. I grew up in San Diego and went to undergrad at UCLA—I had to try out all the big name cities, I guess! In undergrad I was a neuroscience major and originally planned on going to medical school. I ended up pivoting after college as I realized I really enjoyed programming (and I didn’t enjoy medicine as much as I thought I would). After undergrad, I worked a few odd jobs, but ultimately landed a job at Lightfully Behavioral Health, where I became a business analyst. I’m excited to see where my data science career takes me!

How did you first hear about the MADS program? What made you decide to enroll? 

I learned about the MADS program through the Coursera platform after I completed the Python 3 Programming Specialization through the University of Michigan. I had taken this specialization because I had recently become interested in the data science field and I knew that becoming proficient in Python was essential for breaking into the field. I found the specialization to be engaging, as it was one of the few specializations that I was able to complete while working full time. This, along with the fact that the University of Michigan is a prestigious university, was what helped me decide to enroll in the program.

What is it about applied data science that interests you? How do you plan to use this knowledge? 

I was particularly interested in an applied data science program because I knew that I wanted to be able to transition from healthcare to data science more quickly. I felt that a program like this would help get me the essential skills to land an entry level position more quickly than a statistics or computer science program would. Prior to starting the program, I expected that I wouldn’t “feel the effects” of the program until after I graduated, but I have actually already begun using some of the course material in my current position. When I began working in my current role, I had to learn SQL as I was implementing databases, and the SQL and Databases course helped me improve my design practices immensely. 

Additionally, my company may begin to use Spark in the near future, which I feel more prepared for after taking the Big Data: Scalable Data Processing course last year. As far as future plans, I am particularly excited to go beyond building ETL pipelines, and begin managing machine learning pipelines (which there’s a specific course for) to conduct more complex analyses for the different departments at the company I work for.

Have you taken other online courses? How does the MADS program compare? 

I had taken a few online courses prior to enrolling in the MADS program. The most notable course that I completed was the Google Data Analytics specialization. Although I feel that my participation in this course led me to Coursera, and ultimately the MADS program, I didn’t resonate with how the program was structured. I also struggled with getting feedback on assignments, as it wasn’t as easy to access feedback in the community discussions. I would say that this is the first major difference between the MADS program and other online courses that I have taken. Because the MADS program is an actual degree program at a university, there are professors, TAs, staff and other students who can answer just about any question I could think of. Additionally, responses were timely. When I have course-specific questions I receive a response within 24 hours in the course Slack channel from the teaching staff, and when I have general questions other students and faculty can respond in whichever channel I seek help.

Lastly, I’d say the other biggest difference between this program and other online courses is that it’s not self-paced. In self-paced programs I had found that it was difficult for me to know what material to learn, when to learn it, and then adhering to a consistent schedule on top of working full time. This program has provided me with the structure and path to learn the essential skills I need to succeed in manageable chunks with deadlines that can’t move - which, for me, was something I really valued.

Tell us about the ways you were able to cultivate community among your peers and instructors. 

I think I would say that I took risks. Establishing connections in person can always be nerve-wracking, but I have always felt more anxious about reaching out to people online. I’m not sure why that might be, but I realized that I just needed to go out of my comfort zone by going to office hours, starting and responding to discussions in the Slack channels in order to cultivate a sense of community for myself in the program. Personally, I feel that I have been quite successful, as doing this helped me connect with several other students, faculty and staff, and ultimately opened some doors for me that I never knew existed. So, I would say that if you’re ever wondering if you should say or do something in the Slack channels, or at in-person events, I really recommend it. I’m sure there are other people who are nervous to reach out, too.

If you were employed during the program, how did you balance school with work and home life? 

I have been a full time employee, but I do work completely remotely, and my job is often fairly flexible about when I work as long as I complete my projects on time. With that being said, I recognized that I didn’t want to jeopardize my job, or my personal life, so I decided to take one course a month. I wanted to play it safe, as I wasn’t in any rush to complete the program, and felt that the three years would allow me to learn the material more deeply, as well as practice it outside of the program by using the skills in projects at my job. 

Additionally, I had to take some time off for travel that coincided with a prerequisite, so I just had to wait to take the course the following semester. The MADS program is very flexible, so if I need to take a break to accommodate factors in the non-academic parts of my life, it allows me to do just that.

Are there any projects (either at work or other activities) where you were able to apply or benefited from what you’ve learned in your MADS courses? 

The most notable project that benefited from a specific MADS course was in my current job. As noted above, much of my job is centered around implementing ETL pipelines and databases for several different departments. When I first began working in my current role, I didn’t know much about SQL or database management, so I was doing my best to learn while on the job. It wasn’t until taking the SQL and Databases course that I learned about database normalization, which helped me reduce the size of one of the first databases by 50%. 

Another specific instance was actually really neat. There was an issue with a data source where patient evaluations weren’t working, and only some of the evaluation questions were being collected by a tool we were using at the time. Ultimately the issue was resolved, but I needed a way to automatically flag invalid assessments. The neat part was that I had just taken Math Methods I, and there was a slide that included the formula representation of the “sum of N natural numbers” ([n(n-1)]/2). I realized that this could be used to check if all “N’ number of questions were collected from the evaluation by checking the sum of the actual question numbers present against the sum of the expected question numbers. 

So far, these are the two courses that have had the most direct impact on my work. I expect that future courses will likely directly relate to the projects my company has planned. 

Is there anything about the MADS program that has surprised you? 

I think the most surprising aspect of the MADS program is the students. There are a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and levels of experience. You can find someone on one end of the spectrum, like myself, who is completely changing careers, all the way to a current data scientist looking to upskill themselves or obtain a more senior position. I think this has been a really nice opportunity, as I have been able to take advantage of the knowledge and advice of my own peers in the program.

Can you tell us something unexpected about you? 

I am a really big animal person. If I could I would probably have ten cats and dogs, and probably other more exotic (but morally acceptable to own) animals as well. I would love to befriend some crows if I could—I think that that would be so neat and unique. I currently own two cats, so I’m on my way to making my dream a reality!