Hello JSP friends,

Short background -

I have been working insurance for many years and have even been a claims manager at a very large insurance company. The salary was in the mid six figures when considering the bonus structure at that company - although smaller companies would be just touching six figures with bonus for the same type of position.

I found in that career/industry that the hours required and stress were so high, that even 250-300k would not have been enough - they basically asked me to give up my family, friends and any life and work 80+ hours per week. I can only imagine the workload at a smaller company with less resources would be the same with lower pay.

I have since stepped down to a specialist/investigations role at another large company and salary range for this is 60-90k considering the bonus potential and company performance - the work life balance has not improved.
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I am looking to switch to IT, possibly data analytics, business analysis and moving with the goal of a data scientist. I have several very close friends who are in this field and these types of positions. Their salaries vary greatly and some have high 100's and some are just under six figures. But this is not necessarily what interests me about making a switch. All of the aforementioned close friends work far less than 8 hours per day - closer to 6 or less - for the same or more pay than I have now and interestingly enough, the one who works the least makes more than I did as a claims manager at 80+ hours per week. I seek the work-life balance and want more time with my family without sacrificing my families standard of living - especially in these very difficult economic times.

I have a bachelors degree (BS) in business management and am looking for a path to the best position, work-life balance and salary.

My question for JSP today is what certifications or path would best help me achieve this goal. I am looking into boot camps, certifications and licenses I can get to add to my resume which will allow me to get an entry level professional job in the 70-90k range but with wide room for growth to eventually achieve a career with potential of high 100's salary.

Any input would be very much appreciated - my family would also thank you guys when they get to see me more. Thanks so much JSP.

Depending on where you live, 70k is likely an unrealistic entry level wage.

Without knowing what you know or don't know, I'd say to check out googles data analytics certificate. That should give you a decent understanding of the fundamentals and help you decide if it's something that's interesting enough for you to continue learning about.

Thanks! Ive searched it and been looking up quite a few things including SQL, Power BI and Tableau. I am just not sure what else to look up or what certificates will help the job hunt.

Hey JSP,

Ive signed up for a google analytics certificate. SQL, Tableau and Power BI. Also a small section on Python. Any more input for certificates and advice on career will be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, I have found several Data Analyst/business Analyst positions at my current company which should start 60-90k range. Being that I already work here I have discussed with multiple friends they think I can negotiate for a middle range of this due to me already working here and being so familiar with the industry and systems.

Any more advice on training/certifications and classes willl be greatly appreciated

I would say it would be easiest for you to switch paths by staying at the same company. If you can actually talk to the people in those roles and figure out what they use for their job that would help. Schmooze em. Learn the stack your company uses.

Hackathons would be a good way to show that you have skills and can use them for projects. Dont be afraid to fail with the hackathons. Just show up, and see what you can do. Rinse and repeat until you actually have something youre proud enough to show off.

Even better if you can start doing parts of the job you are applying for at your current role that would be extremely helpful. If you are already doing half the workload of your desired position they will know you can pick up the next half.

Hello friends. I have completed multiple certifications in data analysis, SQL, Power BI, R programming and Python.

I am having issues getting a position that is higher than Junior level and was wondering if anyone had advice.

Also I have recently learned of Chat GPT which I have found can write even large and complicated code and was wondering if anyone else had experience with this?

Gotta put in the time as a Jr and just keep applying

That is what many have told me. But I am having a hard time accepting that. I am completely unsure of how a business analyst or process analyst with 6-12 months of experience would know more about the industry I am trying to work in than myself, with 8 years in the industry and prior mid level management experience. I am wondering if it is time to accept that I should just use the good old friend network and accept offers from friends for a level 1/2 position. It just doesnt feel right to me. Although I have several offers in that way.

When I review candidates, I solely pay attention to candidates’ hands-on experience in the industry and give technical assessments accordingly. For senior level software engineers, I need to see that you’ve had at least five years as a full time SE, and in the assessment I need to see that you are productive at writing code at the level that your claimed hands-on experience should reflect. I don’t care too much about the specific programming language proficiency, and I don’t care about education. Getting to a productive SE level does require a piano-practice-like discipline. You can’t be stack-overflowing yourself to the top, although I’m sure many at other places get away with that. It’s all about mastery through repetition and getting exposed and comfortable to as many common problems and solutions. If you can’t code at that capacity, I don’t care about what theories or paradigms you have to babble about. If you’re not pushing commits to my branches actively without breaking builds, I can care less about your takeaways from reading the dragon book. Again, this is for a Senior SE. I would have completely different expectations from a Staff SE.

Before I started my own company, I worked for a handful of the popular tech companies. After you’re onboarded, it is sink or swim. If you aren’t showing your value quickly, your $500k+ pay package won’t last for very long.

If you’re expecting something more than a Junior SE without much hands-on industry experience, just know that many top tech employers share more or less the same subjective viewpoint as to what I have described above.

You have to start somewhere and you’ll get there with time.

I hope this helps.

Yes very helpful thoughts and much appreciated.

I am seeking more of a business/data analyst role though. Admittedly, as you already know, my work experience in any of these IT positions is in need of much work.
So I am not sure what the fundamental differences are between a Jr, Staff or Senior level for either the BA, DA, or as you mention SE roles.

I have a moderate knowledge and official certifications now of SQL, Python and Power BI. I know of course that work experience and hands on for 8+ hours a day is much different than studying for 3-4 hours per night for the last 5-6 months (admittedly with 1-2 days off per week). Maybe you can offer some more clarification on what the roles entail.

I had thought that my thorough understanding of all areas of the insurance business and familiarity with nearly all of the programs the company uses would help - note this is a fortune 100 company and I have worked here for years. I feel like you are suggesting this will not help me as much as I had assumed it will?