Meet Sowmya Ledalla: Data Analyst At GA Child
Sowmya Leyda earned her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics in India, where she then continued her education to earn her Master’s degree in Computer Science. Before moving to the United States, she worked as a data analyst in India for a few years. She explained how she felt overwhelmed and intimidated trying to establish her career in the US after working in India and taking time off work as she got her Visa approved and was caring for her baby.
“Getting a job in the US is difficult if you don’t have a strong professional network. I also had a career gap of four to five years because of my Visa and wanted to return to work.”
Getting started with Pathstream
While trying to decide where to start, Sowmya looked into different programs, courses, and certifications before finding Pathstream.
“While searching for an online data analytics program, I came across many that lacked credibility and flexibility. It wasn’t until I was scrolling on Instagram and saw an ad for Pathstream.”
The ad piqued her interest, and she did her own research to determine if Pathstream was right for her and her career goals.
“I was really interested in learning more about Pathstream’s data program. I looked at many programs, but the NYU Tableau Data Analytics Certificate covered the data topics I was most interested in. I liked that I could learn at my own pace and that it was all online. As a mom, I’m busy. It also caught my attention because it’s connected with the well-known university, NYU. I knew it was the right choice for me.”
Diving Into Coursework & Solidifying Skills
Sowmya knows how important it is to learn new skills to stay relevant in the job market. She was excited to start the course, which promised to introduce her to new data analysis tools, visualization techniques, and enhance her presentation skills.
“I wanted to know how to use the new tools on the market and update my skill set. It’s very important to essentially learn and keep your skills current to remain relevant to the job search.”
Sowmya was thrilled to take advantage of the career services aspect of Pathstream. Coming from India, interviewing was an area she did not feel confident in. After working with career coaches she gained confidence in her interviewing abilities.
“When career services got in touch with me we discussed my previous career and my career goals, and began to map out how I would achieve them. They helped me rebuild my resume to emphasize my data analysis experience, and showed me how to reframe my career gap.”
She gushed about her career coaches and how they always went above and beyond to help her feel confident and make progress towards her goals. Her coaches would check in regularly, combine practical knowledge with moral support, and ensure she was taking the right steps to prepare for her job search.
“I’ve never seen this kind of support in any other programs.”
Nailing Interviews & Landing Multiple Offers
After working with her career coaches, Sowmya jumped right into her job search and saw incredible success. She felt that she was extremely well-prepared to nail her interviews.
“[Her career coach] She really helped me crack my interviews because I don’t have any experience interviewing in the US. The questions I got in the interview were exactly from her resources.”
After interviewing, Sowmya was ecstatic to receive multiple offers and have the opportunity to choose the right fit for her.
“I got multiple offers on the same day! Some were contracted, and some were full time. After a successful interview, GA Child, a subsidiary of KKR Financials called me with an offer for a full-time job that allowed me to work from home. I was thrilled with the offer and accepted right away.”
In addition to her new Data Analytics Certificate, Sowmya also took advantage of Pathstream workshops like Salary Negotiation and read blogs about work-life balance to help her achieve her goals quickly and eliminate stress.
“It gave me a lot of confidence. I got multiple offers the same day. I’m really, really grateful to Pathstream.”
Bringing Others Along For The Success Ride
She’s already recommended Pathstream to a friend and continues to spread the word about the success she’s seen. She’s passionate about sharing advice with future students and urges them to take notes to be able to reference the course material in the future and take advantage of the resources they have to offer.
“Stay focused and use all the resources Pathstream offers, reach out to career coaches, go to office hours, and speak with your instructors. They build all of this support to help students. You should go and grab this great opportunity to get a job.”
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