Before working as a data scientist, I spent several years as a grad student at the University of Texas at Austin, studying astronomy. In particular, I studied eclipsing binary stars, star systems that have two stars that pass in front of each other as viewed from Earth. During my time as a grad student, I developed my skills in physics, statistics, and computer programming, doing the vast majority of my work in Python. I also learned how to communicate effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences, receiving an award for my presentation of my research at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee,FL in 2016.
As interesting as astronomy research was, it didn't engage me in a way that was fulfilling. I yearned to work more with people and on projects that have a positive impact on people's lives, even if that impact is relatively small. This lead me to move out of astronomy and into data science, where I could make use of my statistical and programming background to help people.