A Data Science Journey: 8 Questions with Ankit Pal, MSDS '23

To improve my skill set and proficiently develop data products, I recognized the need to delve into the data science field. This decision led me to pursue the MS in Data Science program at the University of Arizona.

 
Ankit Pal, who graduates this December from the iSchool's Master of Science in Data Science program, came to Tucson after working for large technology companies in India and Japan. Originally from Karnal, Haryana, India, he holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and this semester is participating in the UArizona Data Science Institute's Roots for Resilience research program.

What brought you to the University of Arizona to study data science?

I’ve spent about eight years in the data field, taking on roles such as data analyst, business intelligence engineer, data engineer and staff data engineer. To improve my skill set and proficiently develop data products, I recognized the need to delve into the data science field. This decision led me to pursue the MS in Data Science program at the University of Arizona. I chose UArzona’s MSDS because of the flexibility of the curriculum.

Tell us a bit about your research experience.

I did not do research in my previous jobs, but I always wanted to. At the iSchool, I have been working in the Deep Target NLP Research Group and University of Arizona Data Science Institute since August 2022. Also, I worked for the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics. I have learned a lot about academic research because of my graduate research assistant jobs. In these roles, I have worked in areas such as text simplification, natural language processing, sensor analytics and computer vision.

What do you like best about the MS in Data Science program?

My professors have always been there to help and advise me about the course or anything else during the journey.

What has been your biggest challenge at UArizona, and how have you overcome that challenge?

During the spring of 2023, I balanced a load of four courses while actively searching for an internship. On top of this, I had to travel to India for my brother’s wedding and relocate to a new apartment in Tucson. Managing these various commitments was very challenging. Fortunately, through careful planning and effective time management, I successfully navigated it all. I excelled academically, secured an internship, smoothly organized my brother’s wedding and moved to a new apartment.
 

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Tell us a bit more about your job experience and career aspirations once you graduate with your Master's in Data Science.

I worked in India for six years in the data field, including for Aon Hewitt, Paytm and Wynk Music. Paytm is one of the unicorns of India. Unicorns are privately held startup companies valued at over $1 billion. Wynk Music is part of Airtel Digital Ltd, one of the biggest telecom companies.

In 2020 I moved to Japan. I joined Mercari, which was the first unicorn of Japan. There, I led the data platform team.

This summer, I interned at Tesla. I got to see how they make cars at the factory in California. I also had the chance to visit the Tesla gigafactory in Austin. It was a really great experience.

My career goals are to return to industry to develop data products using data engineering and data science skills.

What other academic and extracurricular activities are you involved with?

I am part of Tucson International Friends. My host is Luann, who is a lawyer and judge. We explore places in Tucson on weekends occasionally.

I am also part of Data Lab, where I serve as a graduate research assistant and lead workshops. Recently, I conducted two workshops on SQL. My main objective was to help students prepare for the interviews. I have lot of experience in giving and conducting interviews.

This semester I was also selected for the Roots for Resilience (R4R) research fellowship program. R4R cohorts are made up of students from different fields such as optics, geography, hydrology and chemistry. We learn about open science together and it’s great to know about data science use cases in other fields.

What do you enjoy outside of school?

I like traveling, cooking and watching movies and TV series. Recently, I traveled to Tulum, Cancun and Niagara Falls. I love to try different cuisines. I also learned a bit of kickboxing in Japan, which I enjoy.

What advice do you have for prospective iSchool master's students?

Planning and time management are important. For international students, you have to start planning very early for internships and funding opportunities—maybe even before coming to U.S. (e.g., start applying for internships in June/July for the next year’s summer internship). Also, apply to graduate assistantships as soon as possible; do not wait until you are in Arizona.

Create a daily, weekly and monthly plan of your coursework, interview preparation, part-time work and extracurricular activities. You can use tools like Trello to list out all the tasks and Google Calendar for scheduling.
 

Learn more about the iSchool's MS in Data Science program, or explore ways you may support iSchool students like Ankit who are driving the digital revolution.