

DataTalks.Club
DataTalks.Club
DataTalks.Club - the place to talk about data!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 21, 2022 • 50min
DataTalks.Club Behind the Scenes - Eugene Yan, Alexey Grigorev
We talked about:
Alexey’s background
Being a principal data scientist
DataTalks.Club
The beginning and growth of DataTalks.Club
Sustaining the pace
Types of talks
Popular and favorite talks
Making DataTalks.Club self-sufficient
Alexey’s book and course
Advice for people starting in data science and staying motivated
Not keeping up to date with new tools
Staying productive
Learning technical subjects and keeping notes
Inspiration and idea generation for DataTalks.Club
Links:
https://eugeneyan.com/writing/informal-mentors-alexey-grigorev/
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Jan 14, 2022 • 17min
DTC's minis - From Data Engineering to MLOps - Sejal Vaidya
We don't have a new episode this week, but we have an amazing conversation with Sejal Vaidya from August
We talked about
Sejal's background
Why transitioning to ML engineering
Three phases of development of a project
Why data engineers should get involved in ML
Technologies
Tips for people who want to transition
Soft skills and understanding requirements
Helpful resources
Resources:
ML checklist (https://twolodzko.github.io/ml-checklist.html)
Machine Learning Bookcamp (https://mlbookcamp.com/)
Made with ML course (https://madewithml.com)
Full-stack deep learning (https://fullstackdeeplearning.com)
Newsletters: mlinproduction, huyenchip.com, jeremyjordan.me, mihaileric.com
Sejal's "Production ML" twitter list (https://twitter.com/i/lists/1212819218959351809)
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Jan 7, 2022 • 1h 6min
Becoming a Data Science Manager - Mariano Semelman
We talked about:
Mariano’s background
Typical day of a manager
Becoming a manager
Preparing for the transition
Balancing projects and assumptions
Search and recommendations
Dealing with unfamiliar domains
Structuring projects
Connecting product and data science
Rules of Machine Learning
CRISP-DM and deployment
Giving feedback
Dealing with people leaving the team
Doing technical work as a manager
Dealing with bad hires
Keeping up with the industry
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Dec 24, 2021 • 59min
Leading NLP Teams - Ivan Bilan
We talked about:
Ivan’s role at Personio
Ivan’s background
Studying technical management
Managing a software team
NLP teams
NLP engineers
Becoming an NLP engineer
Computer vision
NLP engineer vs ML engineer
Conversational designers
Linguistics outside of chatbots
When does a team need an NLP engineer or a linguist?
The future of NLP
NLP pipelines
GPT-3
Problems of GPT-3
Does GPT-3 make everything obsolete?
What NLP actually is?
Does NLP solve problems better than humans?
State of language translation
NLP Pandect
Links:
https://github.com/ivan-bilan/The-NLP-Pandect
https://github.com/ivan-bilan/The-Engineering-Manager-Pandect
https://github.com/ivan-bilan/The-Microservices-Pandect
Ivan's presentation about NLP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRur3xey31s
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Dec 17, 2021 • 1h 3min
Product Management for Machine Learning - Geo Jolly
We talked about
Geo’s background
Technical Product Manager
Building ML platform
Working on internal projects
Prioritizing the backlog
Defining the problems
Observability metrics
Avoiding jumping into “solution mode”
Breaking down the problem
Important skills for product managers
The importance of a technical background
Data Lead vs Staff Data Scientist vs Data PM
Approvals and rollout
Engineering/platform teams
Data scientists’ role in the engineering team
Scrum and Agile in data science
Transitioning from Data Scientist to Technical PM
Books to read for the transition
Transitioning for non-technical people
Doing user research
Quality assurance in ML
Advice for supporting an ML team as a Scrum master
Links:
Geo's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geojolly/
Product School community: https://productschool.com/
http://theleanstartup.com/
Netflix CPO Medium blog: https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/
Glovo is hiring: https://jobs.glovoapp.com/en/?d=4040726002
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Dec 10, 2021 • 59min
Moving from Academia to Industry - CJ Jenkins
We talked about:
CJ’s background
Evolutionary biology
Learning machine learning
Learning on the job and being honest with what you don’t know
Convincing that you will be useful
CJ’s first interview
Transitioning to industry
Tailoring your CV
Data science courses
Moving to Berlin
Being selective vs ‘spray and pray’
Moving on to new jobs
Plan for transitioning to industry
Requirements for getting hired
Publications, portfolios and pet projects
Adjusting to industry
Bad habits from academia
Topics with long-term value
CJ’s textbook
Links:
CJ's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-jenkins/
Positions for master students: one two
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Dec 3, 2021 • 1h 1min
Advancing Big Data Analytics: Post-Doctoral Research - Eleni Tzirita Zacharatou
We talked about:
Eleni’s background
Spatial data analytics
Responsibilities of a postdoc
Publishing papers
Best places for data management papers
Differences between postdoc and PhD
Helping students become successful
Research at the DIMA group
Identifying important research directions
Reviewing papers
Underrated topics in data management
Research in data cleaning
Collaborating with others
Choosing the field for Master’s students
Choosing the topic for a Master thesis
Should I do a PhD?
Promoting computer science to female students
Links:
https://www.user.tu-berlin.de/tzirita/
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Nov 26, 2021 • 59min
Becoming a Data Product Manager - Sara Menefee
We talked about:
Sara’s background
Product designer’s responsibilities
Data product manager’s responsibilities
Planning with the team
Design thinking and product design
Data PMs vs regular PMs
Skill requirements for Data PMs
Going from a product designer to a data product manager
Case studies
Resources for learning about product management
Data PM’s biggest challenge
Multitasking and context switching
Insights from user interviews
Using new, unfamiliar tools
Documentation
Idea generation
Do Data PMs need to know ML?
Links:
Product Management Courses: https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/course and https://www.reforge.com/mastering-product-management
Product Management Reading:
https://svpg.com/inspired-how-to-create-products-customers-love/ and https://steveblank.com/category/customer-development/
Data Engineering for Noobs: https://www.datacamp.com/
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Nov 19, 2021 • 60min
Data Science Manager vs Data Science Expert - Barbara Sobkowiak
We talked about:
Barbara’s background
Do you need a manager or an expert?
Technical and non-technical requirements for managers
Importance of technical skills for managers
Responsibilities and skills of a manager
Importance of technical background for managers
Getting involved in business development and sales
Developing the team
Checking team’s work
Data science expert
Hiring experts
Who should we hire first?
Can an expert build a team?
Data science managers in startups
Project management
Ensuring that projects provide value
Questions before starting a project
Women in data science
Finding Barbara online
General advice
Link:
Barbara's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-sobkowiak-1a4a9568
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Nov 12, 2021 • 1h 2min
Ace Non-Technical Data Science Interviews - Nick Singh
We talked about:
Nick’s background
Being a career coach
Overview of the hiring process
Behavioral interviews for data scientists
Preparing for behavioral interviews
Handling "tricky" questions
Project deep dive
Business context
Pacing, rambling, and honesty
“What’s your favorite model?”
What if I haven’t worked on a project that brought $1 mln?
Different questions for different levels
Product-sense interviews
Identifying key metrics in unfamiliar domains
Tech blogs
Cold emailing
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html