Insight white paper_2014

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Insight is an intensive, six week postdoctoral
training fellowship that bridges the gap between
academia and a career in data science. Based in
Silicon Valley and New York City, the program
enables scientists to learn the industry specific
skills needed to work in the growing field of big
data at leading companies.
DATA SCIENCE
FELLOWS PROGRAM

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Are you a PhD candidate or postdoctoral researcher looking to transition into
a career in industry? Do you want a career that truly leverages your quantitative
experience in a fast-growing, in-demand field that is making a positive impact in
the world?
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Top companies in many fields are hiring data scientists to help them glean
insights from the terabytes of data that they collect everyday. While the amount
of data produced and stored is growing exponentially, there is a severe shortage
of talent to analyze this data and extract valuable insights from it.
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The Insight Data Science Fellows Program is a postdoctoral training
fellowship that bridges the gap between academia and data science. Insight is a
six week, intensive program that teaches researchers how to apply their existing
analytical skills to big data. The program consists of a project-based, industry-
driven learning approach designed to train academics in many of the cutting edge
data science tools and practices used in industry. Immediately following the
program, Fellows interview at leading companies in the San Francisco Bay Area
(Silicon Valley Program) or New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. regions
(New York Program), where they are likely to receive multiple job offers.
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
Your Bridge to a Career in Data Science
6 week, full-time, postdoctoral data science training fellowship in
Silicon Valley or New York City.
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Full tuition scholarship for all Fellows.
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Self-directed, project-based learning (no classes!) under the
guidance of top industry data scientists.
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A group of smart people who are excited about working on
interesting problems while having a positive impact.
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Interview at top companies immediately following the program.
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Insight in a nutshell:

What is Data Science?!
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The amount of data produced across the globe has been increasing
exponentially and will continue to grow at an accelerating rate for the foreseeable
future. At companies across all industries, servers are overflowing with usage
logs, message streams, transaction records, sensor data, business operations
records and mobile device data. Effectively analyzing these huge collections of
data, big data as it is commonly known in industry, can create significant value
for the world economy by enhancing productivity, increasing efficiency and
delivering more value to consumers. Studies estimate that trillions of dollars of
value in efficiency improvements and economic growth can be unlocked by
extracting actionable knowledge from the deluge of data now being collected in
almost every sector of the economy
.1
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“We are on the cusp of a tremendous wave of innovation, productivity, and
growth, as well as new modes of competition and value capture—all driven by big
data as consumers, companies, and economic sectors exploit its potential,” write
the authors of Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and
Productivity, a comprehensive research study published in 2011 by the McKinsey
Global Institute.
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Nowhere has the benefit of analyzing data been felt more strongly than at top
technology companies. Insight was founded in Silicon Valley, where companies
are not only leading in the production of data, they are also on the cutting edge of
using insights from that data to benefit their users. In fact, the role of data
scientist, now used throughout industry to describe highly specialized analysts
with deep quantitative abilities, was coined by the heads of the early data teams
at Facebook and LinkedIn. They realized that the process of asking questions
about product use cases, taking measurements, verifying hypotheses and building
upon those results closely mirrored the process by which science is done. The
individuals, therefore, who apply their curiosity, quantitative skills and intellect
toward understanding big data are now known as data scientists - a job title that
is one of the most in-demand job roles at today’s leading companies
.2
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
McKinsey Global Institute, Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity1
Fortune, Big Data Needs Data Scientists (2012); New York Times, What Are The Odds That Stats2
Would Be This Popular? (2012)

How Large is the Demand for Data Scientists?!
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Fortune
magazine has called data science “the new hot gig in tech,” writing,3
“the unemployment rate in the U.S. continues to be abysmal, but the tech world
has spawned a new kind of highly skilled, nerdy-cool job that companies are
scrambling to fill: data scientist.” NPR
reported that companies are “on a4
perpetual manhunt, looking for a rare breed: someone with a brain for math,
finesse with computers, the eyes of an artist and more.”
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Meanwhile, in a Harvard Business
Review feature article entitled
Data Scientist: The Sexiest Job of
the 21st Century, in which Insight
is mentioned, the authors point
out that, “demand [for data
scientists] has raced ahead of
supply. Indeed, the shortage of
data scientists is becoming a
serious constraint in some
sectors.”
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Job posting data paints a similar
picture with data science and
analytics job openings growing
sharply over the past several
years
(see graph on the left). This5
demand will continue to be very
strong in years to come, as the
McKinsey Global Institute estimates
that the “United States alone faces a6
shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people [by 2018] with deep analytical skills” to
analyze big data across all industries -- that’s a shortfall over and above the
estimated number of graduates from existing university programs (see figure on
next page). 
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
Fortune, Data Scientist: The Hot New Gig in Tech (2011)3
NPR, The Search for Analysts to Make Sense of ‘Big Data’ (2011)4
DJ Patil, Building Data Science Teams (2011)5
McKinsey Global Institute, Big data: The Next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity6

Who Are the Best Data Scientists?!
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“There continues to be a huge appetite on the part of businesses to
find the treasure in large, unstructured datasets, and a widespread
understanding that not just anyone can do it.” — DJ Patil 7
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Who are the best data scientists? According to DJ Patil, the former Chief
Scientist at LinkedIn who co-coined the term data scientist and an Insight
mentor and advisor, “the best data scientists tend to be ‘hard scientists,’
particularly physicists, rather than computer science majors. Physicists have a
strong mathematical background, computing skills, and come from a discipline in
which survival depends on getting the most from the data. They have to think
about the big picture, the big problem
. ” The same applies for any scientist8
whose work is highly quantitative, writes code or analyzes data, including PhDs
in astronomy, astrophysics, physical chemistry, computational biology, and
neuroscience as well as researchers in mathematics, statistics, engineering,
machine learning, operations research, economics, quantitative social sciences
and other data-heavy fields.
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While scientists make great data
scientists, those currently in the
industry often take a long and
winding road to get there, learning
the tools used in big data informally
over long periods of time and
through chance encounters with the
profession. While serendipity is
certainly a good way for people to
discover a field in its infancy, as it
matures and as a demand grows
there needs to a more direct and
efficient route into the profession.
This is where the Insight Data
Science Fellows Program comes in,
and why data scientists at some of
the top companies in the U.S. are
helping Insight develop the next
generation of leading data scientists. 
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
Harvard Business Review Blog, Still the Sexiest Profession Alive (2013)7
O’Reilly Radar, Big Data Now: Current Perspectives from O’Reilly Radar (2011); DJ Patil, Building8
data science teams (2011)

Insight Data Science Fellows Program!
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As a scientist, you possess many of the fundamental skills necessary to be a
great data scientist: big picture problem solving, strong quantitative abilities and
experience with statistical analysis. While you have 90% of the foundational skills
needed, you are missing the final 10%: experience with the industry data tools
and techniques that would allow you to come in and be productive on day one of
your new job as a data scientist. Because they are expanding so quickly, most
high-growth companies simply do not have the resources to ‘take a chance’ on
someone who still needs several weeks of on-the-job training to be a productive
part of the team. As a result, there is a skills gap that exists between the world of
academic research and data science.
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That’s where Insight comes in. We accept top PhDs and postdocs and provide
them with the time, space and resources necessary to get up to speed on the tools,
techniques and models they will need to learn to get hired as a data scientist and
hit the ground running in their new career.
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Here’s what you need to know about the Insight Data Science Fellows
Program in a nutshell:
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1. 6 week, full-time, postdoctoral data science training fellowship
in Silicon Valley or New York City.
2. Full tuition scholarship for all Fellows, with need-based travel
and living expense scholarships available.
3. Self-directed, project-based learning (no classes!) under the
guidance of top industry data scientists.
4. Network with smart people who are excited about working on
interesting problems while having a positive impact.
5. Interview and get hired at mentor companies immediately following
completion of the program.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

Who’s Involved?!
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Insight is an education startup working to bridge the gap between academia
and the technology industry. With seed funding from startup investment funds Y
Combinator
and SV Angel
and, with participation from leading technology9 10
companies, we are connecting top analytical talent with some of the most
innovative companies in the world. Mentors for the Insight Data Science Fellows
Program, who hire out of the program, are data scientists and engineers
including:
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
Silicon Valley Mentor Companies
http://ycombinator.com9
http://svangel.com, http://economist.com/node/2153796710

How does it work?!
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The Insight Data Science Fellows Program is a full-time, 6 week postdoctoral
fellowship based in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City that helps
scientists transition from academia to a career in data science. As an Insight
Fellow you will receive a full tuition scholarship, making the program completely
tuition free. Office space is also included for the duration of the program and we
help international students handle any necessary visa arrangements. Finally,
need-based living expense scholarships are available.
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During the first week of the program, you are introduced to the field of data
science and participate in round-table discussions with leading industry data
scientists from mentoring companies, learning about the tools, techniques and
best practices for doing data science while brainstorming possible data projects.
By the end of the first week, with the input of the mentors and peers, you select a
public data set and project topic to handle in the subsequent weeks.
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Over those next 3 weeks, you work on your project, learning the necessary
technologies and techniques that you need to create a data product that will
showcase your skills as a data scientist. In weeks 5 and 6, you prepare for
interviews while demo’ing your project to the various mentoring companies that
you’re interested in interviewing with. Immediately after the end of the program,
you will interview with companies that you are interested in working for. After
completing all the interviews, 3-5 weeks after the end of Insight, you should have
one or more job offers from top companies and be ready to start your career as a
data scientist.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
The Insight Data Science Fellows Program...
takes scientists from academia and in six
weeks prepares them to succeed as data
scientists. The program combines mentoring by
data experts from local companies (such as
Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn)
with exposure to actual big data challenges.
Data Scientist:
The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century

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Program Details!
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The Insight Data Science Fellows Program is a 6 week, full-time program that
consists of the following:
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Intro to Data Science During the first week of Insight, top industry data
scientists will have round table discussion and lead you through the foundational
concepts of data science, giving you a big-picture overview of what the field is
about, and what makes a great data scientist. You will also discuss the types of
projects that you should consider doing in order to make the most of your time at
Insight. Heads of data science teams from Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Youtube,
Square and other top companies will make visits during this portion of the
program. By the end of the week, with input from the peers and mentors, you will
select the data project that you will work on in following weeks.
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Data Project In weeks 2, 3 and 4, you’ll work exclusively on executing on
your data project. The purpose of the project is meant to showcase your existing
data analysis skills in a context that companies are familiar with (i.e. using web
data, instead of, say, experimental data) while forcing you to learn the technical
skills and technologies that are standard in industry, but that you may not have
been exposed to during your work in academia. These skills may include:
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1. Software Engineering Best Practices: Learn how to contribute to a
large code-base and instrument a web application to collect data. Tools you
may learn: Python, Git, Flask, Javascript.
2. Storing and Retrieving Data: How to clean data, store it in the
appropriate database or distributed data storage system and then run queries
to retrieve the information needed for analysis. Tools you may learn:
MySQL, Hadoop, Hive.
3. Statistical Analysis & Machine Learning: Learn industry best
practices for doing basic and advanced statistical analysis on large data sets.
Tools you may learn: NumPy & SciPy, Pandas, scikit-learn, R.
4. Visualizing and Communicating Results: Learn how to effectively
communicate your findings visually and verbally. Tools you may learn: D3
Javascript library, visualization and presentation best practices.
Throughout Insight, there are no grades or other arbitrary proxies used to
evaluate your work. Instead, your data analysis project will serve as your
“professional portfolio,” which you will be able to show to potential employers in
order to demonstrate your understanding and proficiency in the subjects tackled.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

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Collaborative Learning While your work will be self-directed, you are
never left alone to fend for yourself. Your peers are there to assist you, and
Insight alumni (now working data scientists) and industry mentors are on hand
daily to discuss difficult-to-understand concepts or to help fix bugs. Group
discussions and Q&A sessions will also be a regular part of the program, along
with an informal collaborative, peer-learning culture being encouraged at all
times.
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Mentors Throughout the program, you will be interacting on a daily basis
with Insight mentors, all of whom are leading data scientists, software engineers
and managers from industry (see list below). These are the people who work at
the very same companies that you will have the opportunity to interview with at
the end of the program. This means that you will not only learn about the cutting
edge techniques being used at these companies, but you will also get to know the
actual practitioners themselves, who are actively working in the field. As a result,
you will develop professional relationships with more than one to two dozen data
scientists. This is an invaluable professional network that you will be able to draw
on throughout your career. 
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

Director of Analytics, ModCloth
Director Data Science, Netﬂix
Director of Analytics, One Kings Lane
Data Science & Machine Learning team, Palantir
Data Scientist, Pinterest
Data Science Lead, Quora
VP Product, RelateIQ
Director of Analytics & Risk, Square
Managing Partner, SV Angel
CEO & COO, TaskRabbit
Founder & CTO, Tagged
Data Scientist, TellApart
Data Science Lead, Twitter
Chief Data Scientist, Verizon
Founder & CEO, WePay
Partner, Y Combinator
Heads of Analytics, Yammer (Microsoft)
Engineering Manager, Data Mining, Yelp
Director, Quantitative Analysis, Youtube (Google)
Founder, Zillabyte
Founder & CEO, AeroFS
Director of Analytics, Adobe
Head of Analytics, Airbnb
Data Scientists, AT&T Big Data
Director of Analytics, Beats Music
Head of Product, Clearslide
Founder & CEO, Comprehend
Director of Research, Counsyl
VP Engineering, Crittercism
Software Engineer, Big Data, Dropbox
VP & Directors of Data Science, Facebook
Talent Partner, Greylock Partners
Sr. Director Data Science & Analytics, Glassdoor
CTO & COO, Homejoy
Directors of Data Science, Intuit
VP Data, Jawbone
Head of Analytics, Khan Academy
Founder & CTO, LendUp
VP & Directors of Data Science, LinkedIn
VP Research & Data Scientist, Lumosity
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Silicon Valley Insight Mentors

Practice Interviews with Alumni In addition to the project work and
collaborative learning, you will get a chance to do practice interviews to prepare
for the real thing. The practice interviews will be led by alumni Insight Fellows
who recently went through the interview process themselves and know what it
feels like to be in your shoes. These mock interviews will also allow you to
practice clearly articulating the insights gleaned from the analysis work you’ve
done, a skill which is an extremely important part of being a great data scientist.
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Company Visits & Matching Starting in week 5, you will get an
opportunity to visit the offices of the companies you’re interested in interviewing
with and present your project to their data science teams. Throughout the
program you will have interacted with mentors, who are practicing data
scientists, and you will have learned about which companies you are most
interested in and would like to present to. Most Fellows go to visit and present at
6-10 companies that they are most excited about. The companies then reach out
to those Fellows whom they feel would be a good fit for their teams and schedule
full interviews.
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Interviews Starting in week 7, you will begin the interview process with
the companies that have reached out to you as a result of your Insight project
presentations in the previous week. Most Fellows interview with anywhere from
4-8 companies. While the interview process starts immediately following the end
of week 6 of Insight, it usually continues for another several weeks, with most
Fellows receiving offers 3-5 weeks after the final day of Insight. When all is said
and done, you will most likely have an accepted job offer and a convenient start
date arranged at your new job as a data scientist.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
6 Weeks
Data
Project
Job InterviewsIntro
Week
Company
Visits
3-5 Weeks
Program Timeline

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The Insight Fellows!
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The Insight Data Science Fellows Program inaugural session took place in
June 2012, and was followed by one more session 2012, three in 2013, and most
recently, January 2014. The Insight Fellows in these sessions are PhDs and
Postdocs from fields as varied as physics, math, astrophysics, engineering,
statistics, psychology, operations research, neuroscience and others fields.
During Insight, they produced a number of exciting web-based data products
including recommendation engines, data visualization tools, predictive analytics
algorithms to solve challenging user problems using publicly available data.
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The goal for the program has always been to accept top scientists and provide
them with the resources they needed to become data scientists at innovative
companies. Thanks to the hard work of the Fellows and the help of our industry
mentors the program has been a resounding success. There are now 70 Insight
Fellows working as data scientists and engineers. 100% of Fellows who
completed the job search found work in a data-related role within 3-4 months of
completing the program, with 85-90% getting one or more offers from Insight
mentor companies in the 3-5 weeks immediately following the program.
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The Insight Fellows are now working as data scientists at top data-driven
companies including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Square, LinkedIn,
Netflix, Twitter, Palantir, Groupon, Airbnb, ModCloth, Jawbone, as well as at
various well-funded startups. The Fellows now have titles such Data Scientist,
Analytics Engineer and Software Engineer, and salaries ranging from $90,000-
$130,000.
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Find out more about the Fellows at: insightdatascience.com/fellows.html
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Insight Program Locations!
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After six sessions in Silicon Valley, Insight is expanding to the East Coast in
2014. Demand has been increasing from both mentor companies and prospective
Fellows in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and the surrounding areas. To
meet that demand, the first New York City session will begin on July 28, 2014.
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The new session will have the same six-week format that has been successful
in Silicon Valley. This is possible because of the support of New York mentor
companies including Facebook, Palantir, Capital One Labs, American Express,
AT&T, The New York Times, Spotify, Etsy, Foursquare, and others and non-
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

profits including DataKind. New York City is a center for finance, advertising,
fashion, entertainment, news, and technology, industries which benefit from
employing data scientists to help make the most of their data. As a result, New
York has become the home of a vibrant community of data scientists in academia
and industry. New York hosts many community events for data scientists,
including the Data Driven NYC Meetup and the DataGotham conference. Hilary
Mason, Drew Conway, Chris Wiggins are all leaders in this community and
Insight mentors.
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As discussed in the previous section, during the first four weeks of Insight,
data scientists from mentor companies will visit our office in New York City.
During weeks 5 and 6, the tables turn and Fellows will select their top companies
and visit them. For the New York session, we’ll be partnered with companies
from Boston and Washington D.C. in addition to the New York City area. Fellows
interested in companies in these locations will travel for visits there during the
end of Insight to present their work.
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If you are are interested in applying for both Silicon Valley and New York
City, you can apply for both sessions. However, please apply only to locations
where you are willing to live upon completion of Insight, as every day of the
program involves interacting with mentor companies and alumni living in the
region. This strong network of data scientists will help you as you complete your
fellowship and will continue to play a long-term role in your future career.
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Being an Insight Fellow!
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The goal of Insight is to train the next generation of leading data scientists. To
do this, we have created a program that is explicitly designed to walk Fellows
directly into fulfilling careers at companies on the leading edge of data science
and analytics. These companies have a very high bar for talent and are only
looking for the best possible candidates in any position they hire for. This is why
we are setting a very high standard for acceptance into the program and expect
entry to be quite competitive.
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While top-tier quantitative ability and scientific data analysis experience is
necessary, it is not sufficient to be an Insight Fellow. In addition to sheer smarts,
we’re looking for Fellows who are extremely curious people, highly motivated,
love learning across a wide range of fields, enjoy collaborating with other smart,
driven colleagues and are excited about the opportunity to make a positive impact
in the world.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

Responsibilities of Fellows!
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As an Insight Fellow you’re given the opportunity to learn from the best data
scientists in Silicon Valley for six weeks. The program is designed to remove as
many obstacles as possible that stand between where you are now and becoming
a rising data scientist. With these benefits, however, come a few responsibilities
that you must be comfortable with before choosing to apply for the program.
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• Full-time participation is expected in the San Francisco Bay Area or New
York City for six weeks of the Insight program and three to five weeks of
interviews immediately following. During the program, you will be required
to be at the office from 10am-6pm Monday to Friday. Some days, you will
need to stay for mentor company visits ending as late as 8 or 9 p.m.,
accommodating mentors who can only attend in the evening.
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• Completing your Insight project will require independent work above and
beyond the structured time. Fellows who have taken full advantage of the
program often work late nights and weekends, collaborating with their
peers. We are looking for Fellows who are enthusiastic, active participants
in this intense program.
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• You must intend to take a job as a full-time data scientist after the program
is finished and agree to interview with mentor companies immediately after
the program. If you are interested in working at a company that hasn’t
participated in Insight, we’d love to help you navigate that process too, but
you must let us know in advance of contacting them so that we can get them
involved in the program.
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• You agree to become a mentor for future Insight Fellows. In particular, this
means coming in for at least three two-hour visits during the subsequent
Insight program session, and two additional visits over the following year.
Alumni involvement is a cornerstone of the program, and this commitment
will help future Fellows learn from your experiences.
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The guiding principle of Insight is to be an advocate for the Fellows and
create an environment where you can learn and develop into a great data
scientist. All we ask in return is that you give it your all, be fully engaged in the
process and help pass on your learning to the next batch of Fellows, helping to
make the Insight community stronger as a result.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

Beneﬁts to Fellows!
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The Insight program is designed to provide all the training, resources and
connections you’ll need to effectively transition from academic research to a
career in data science. Here are some of benefits of becoming an Insight Fellow:
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• Full tuition scholarship paid for by the hiring companies, so Fellows pay
nothing to participate in the program. Need-based scholarships are also
available to help cover living and travel expenses -- our goal is to make sure
everyone with the right skills can participate in Insight, regardless of their
financial situation.
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• Desk space at the Insight offices in Silicon Valley or New York City during
the program.
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• Tips and help from our staff to help with your living arrangements for the
duration of the program.
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• Guidance and mentorship from industry professionals at every stage of the
program and as you prepare for interviews.
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• Mentorship from alumni Insight Fellows whose experience, at Insight and
at their current data science roles, make them an unparalleled resource to
provide guidance and feedback.
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• Personalized company matching. We help you figure out which companies
you are best off interviewing with and help you arrange the interviews
during the final week of the program.
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• Help navigating the negotiation of final employment terms once companies
have made their employment offers to you.
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• Perhaps most importantly: an unparalleled professional network of data
scientist friends and acquaintances. Through the program you will meet and
get to know several dozen top data scientists, who are Insight mentors and
alumni, all of whom will be your industry peers. These professional contacts
will be an invaluable source of knowledge, advice, career opportunities and
friendship in the years to come.
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INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

Frequently Asked Questions!
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Will I get hired after completing Insight? Yes. We aim for
approximately one hiring company participating in each session per Fellow. You
will effectively be walked into interviews with a half dozen or more companies -
all of whom are extremely interested in hiring data scientists. 100% of Fellows
who completed the job search found work in a data-related role within 3-4
months of completing the program, with 85-90% getting one or more offers from
Insight mentor companies in the 3-5 weeks immediately following the program.
The entire fellowship is a training program where you are taught to be a
productive data scientist from day one at your new place of work, and to
demonstrate this in the interviews. When you combine all of these factors, it is
very safe to assume that as long as you put effort in and actively pursue the job
search process through to completion, you will receive job offers following the
fellowship.
!
What is the best time to do the Insight Data Science Fellows
Program? The ideal time to do the program is when you are less than 4 months
away from your ideal start date for your full-time job as a data scientist. In other
words, if you will not be able to start your full-time job in industry until more
than 4 months after the last week of Insight, you should consider applying for a
later session. Some Fellows have negotiated start dates up to one year away, but
these are special exceptions. In general, we recommend taking time off from
your PhD or Postdoc when you are 1-3 months away from graduating or finishing
your research commitment. This way you can do Insight, interview with the
hiring companies, accept a job offer, and then go back for 1-3 months to finish up
your research.
!
Do you accept Fellows who are not US citizens or green card
holders? Yes. However, you must make sure that you will be able to work in the
US from the start date of your full-time employment. For Fellows who are
completing (or recently completed) a graduate degree in the US, this usually
means applying for an Optional Practical Training (OPT)
period, after which the11
hiring company will apply for an H1B visa
for you. If you qualify for OPT, feel12
free to apply for any Insight session, as timing is not an issue. If you do not
qualify for OPT, then we recommend that you apply for a January session of
Insight, to ensure that the hiring companies can apply for an H1B visa for you
before the April 1st filing date.
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How is Insight able to offer a full tuition scholarship to Fellows?
There’s a shortage of people with the skills necessary to be great data scientists.
Data analytics is a crucial part of what businesses need to be doing in order to
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optional_Practical_Training11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1B_visa12

successful, yet they are having trouble hiring these people because there are not
enough candidates with the full skill set they are looking for. As a result, we have
been able to negotiate hiring agreements with the companies participating in
Insight, which then pay for full scholarships making the program free for Fellows,
and allowing us to offer a limited number of need-based living expense
scholarships.
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How much will I get paid as a data scientist? The salaries of Fellows
completing the program in 2012 and 2013 were in the range of $80,000 to
$150,000 per year, with most around and above $120,000. Fellows joining larger
companies got higher base salaries, while those joining smaller startups received
a greater part of their compensation in the form of stock options. The majority
also received a yearly bonus of 5-15% on top of their base salary.
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In addition, all the companies hiring out of our program provide a wealth of
benefits. Full health and dental coverage is standard and many companies go the
extra mile with employee perks, offering free food, group outings, and paid
conference attendance, with some companies even providing free massages and
fitness classes.
!
Also, each company provides stock option packages to their employees: the
earlier stage (smaller) the company, the more stock you can expect to receive. The
valuations of these fast moving, high growth companies often grow very quickly
and a major acquisition or Initial Public Offering (IPO), can lead to a large
financial gain for the employees who make that success possible. Finally, with
businesses becoming increasingly data driven, there are often opportunities to
move into management and other data-focused executive positions, something
we hope to help you navigate if that’s a move you’re interested in making down
the road.
!
What type of impact can I expect to make? Many of the companies
that are involved in Insight and at which you’ll have the opportunity to work, are
truly changing the world for the better. They’re not just moving money around or
creating Powerpoint presentations. They’re building products that millions of
people use every day. They’re creating new methods of communication that lead
to a more open and democratic world. They’re providing access to information
and knowledge that was never before available to so many people in the world.
Many of them are democratizing industries that traditionally have only been
accessible to a select few. Others still are opening the gates of commerce to the
broader public, making companies more efficient, pushing the boundaries of
technology or even transforming fundamental areas of society, like education and
health.
!
What unifies all of these companies is that they are leveraging the power of
software and the Internet to change the world. What additionally unites them is
INSIGHTDATASCIENCE

that they all have servers overflowing with data - data that has troves of truly
valuable knowledge locked inside. You, as a data scientist, can be one of the
people that significantly impacts the lives of thousands, even millions of people,
by discovering actionable insights within this data, ultimately leading to better
products, an improved user experience or added value to the audiences that these
companies serve every day.
!
Your career will not only be financially rewarding and involve working on
interesting problems with smart people, but can truly affect the lives of
thousands, or even millions, of people in a positive way. Being a great data
scientist at these world leading organizations is not easy and to do it effectively
will take hard work and dedication, but by being on the cutting edge of what is
happening in technology and on the forefront of data science you can have a
tremendously positive impact and help change the world for the better.
!
!
Program Dates and Locations!
!
!
Upcoming sessions of the Insight Data Science Fellows Program will take place
on the following start dates:
!
• July 28, 2014 (New York City, NY)
• September 2, 2014 (Silicon Valley, CA)
!
Please apply for the session that is in the geographic area where you
would like to work after completing the program. Interaction with
mentor companies is one of the most important parts of Insight. In the Silicon
Valley session, you will network with companies all over the San Francisco Bay
Area. In the New York session, you will meet with companies based in New York,
Boston, Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas.
!
!
Applying to Insight!
!
!
To apply, please visit:
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http://insightdatascience.com/apply.html
!
If you have any questions please email us at info@insightdatascience.com.

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