Before completing the NYU Tableau Data Analytics Certificate, Matthew King was an electrical engineer working in controls engineering. He secured a new job in oil and gas, but a few weeks later, the company retracted its offer due to the pandemic. 

“At that point, I started exploring new career paths, and data analytics caught my eye. I love it when visualization can tell a story with data in an interesting way. I like working with numbers and don’t mind sitting in front of a spreadsheet all day.”

Matthew enrolled in the program after losing another job because the company went bankrupt, and he wanted to future-proof his skills.

“During my research, I spoke with alumni who completed a Pathstream certificate program and had good results. I chose Pathstream because it required a part-time commitment, and the price was competitive. I didn’t want to enroll in a boot camp because it was expensive and needed me to commit more time.”

Matthew went into the program prepared. 

“I thought it was better to overestimate the time I need to dedicate to the program weekly. That mindset helped me balance the work and courses well.” 

Matthew thought the program was excellent: 

“My instructor, Kimberly Johnson, was great and very knowledgeable. She worked with Tableau, SQL, and the other data analytics tools we learned to use. Whenever I had questions, she responded quickly.

“There were three courses, and the Excel course was the most basic. We also covered business fundamentals which is very helpful if you have never taken business courses in college. I learned some new Excel formulas, but my favorite courses were the SQL and Tableau ones. The SQL course is such a great introduction to programming language. For example, I was given SQL sample questions during a technical data analytics interview. I had the tools to get there and answer the question. 

I love Tableau and how it can visualize data in many different ways. But the course dove into more than making a simple bar chart. It taught me how to build nested charts, organize dashboards to showcase your insights, and feature multiple data visualizations that are connected. It taught me how powerful storytelling through data could be.”

After completing the NYU Tableau Data Analytics Certificate, Matthew worked with our career coaches to rebrand himself as a data analyst.

“Angie, my career coach, was immensely helpful. She helped me re-craft my resume, develop an elevator pitch, talk about my experience, and better show my data analytics skills on LinkedIn. I wouldn’t have gotten my current job without her. Angie even refers students who need job search advice to me, and I am happy to give it because she helped me out so much.”

Matthew’s final piece of advice:

“When you complete the program, apply to as many job postings as possible because you will eventually get an interview. Then when you’re at that interview, don’t be afraid; show off your skills and try to have a good conversation. Remember, a company will take a chance on you, so try not to stress out about the job search. Just push through, and you’ll find the right match.”