๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ? Soon-to-be graduates and early-career professionals have asked me this recently. Some thoughts:
๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐. If youโre drawn to the mission (say, helping patients find high-quality doctors) but donโt care to work hands-on with clinical data, there are analytics, product, and engineering roles that donโt require a healthcare or clinical background. Iโve seen people move into these roles at every level, including senior leadership, as long as they have strong technical and transferable skills.
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ. Some data science, machine learning, and clinical research roles require a PhD or deep professional experience. If youโre unsure from job descriptions, you can reach out to employees in similar roles. If you have a career path in mind, find someone who started from where you are now and ask about their journey. A short email with 1โ3 clear, targeted questions will get a quicker reply than a vague request for a call.
Finally, companies may prefer candidates with industry experience as theyโre often easier to onboard. In one of my first projects at Garner, my familiarity with eligibility systems allowed me to quickly solve design gaps that more technically skilled engineers had found challenging due to a lack of business knowledge.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ ๐๐? A quantitative MS can help with a major pivot (e.g. switching to data science after a humanities undergraduate degree and work experience in customer service) or securing a work visa.
Beyond that, as a hiring manager, I havenโt found MS candidates to be stronger than those with undergraduate degrees and recent, relevant work experience. MBAs aren’t relevant for technical data roles but can help some people move into product/program/general management or consulting roles where you work with data scientists and engineers without directly managing them. MBAs may also be more helpful for large, established healthcare organizations (e.g. hospital systems and insurance companies) than for tech companies.
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ๐. A referral from someone who has worked with you and can vouch for your strengths will go much further than a more casual connection. If you donโt know anyone in healthcare, look for networking opportunities. Attend local mixers and meetups (there are regular events in Austin and NYC), participate in online communities (e.g. Health Tech Nerds is great!) or open-source projects, and volunteer at events. As you learn more about the field and become a regular, youโll build meaningful relationships and find opportunities.
I hope this helps. Comment with any questions, disagreements, or advice I missed. Good luck!