Ali Armaghan

Data Analyst

My academic pathway was shaped by my early interest in Computer Sciences and programming. Propelled by my surety about the field I wanted to pursue a career in, I graduated from university with a degree in Computer Science. During this time, I worked in various areas, such as web design, web development, Java desktop application development, and Android development.

Despite extensive exploration, I did not find something I considered instrumental to my tastes until I came across Data Sciences. I came to know about it in my university’s final year. My final year project was to predict the emotions of cartoon characters through pictures. All the hard work and research I went through during this project made me believe that this field is for me.

During my time at university, one of my professors helped me a lot to understand the fundamentals of Computer Science. He even hosted a free summer session at his house so that some of his students could learn about data structures, operating systems, and other foundational topics. It was the finest moment of my life.

To propel this newly found interest forward, I took the initiative by myself and learned Python for Data Science / Machine Learning. After that, I discovered KAGGLE, an online network of data scientists and machine learning practitioners that became an important part of my professional development. I worked on different freelance projects that gave me the opportunity to put my knowledge to good use. I did almost a hundred projects on my own and it exposed me to a wide variety of data, all of which I’ve had to analyze in order to develop conclusions and acquire information that will inform future decision-making.

My first job after graduation was in the police sector, and not long after that, I shifted to the health sector. During my time working for the police department, I was in charge of the online FIRs as well as the online complaint management system. Whereas in the Health Department, I was in charge of developing reasonable medication regimens to ensure the most efficient use of medicine, as well as forecasting medicine usage over the entire province and doing a variety of MIS activities.  However, I did not want to have a cookie-cutter career, so I left the government sector. I ventured out of what had previously been a comfort zone for me. This was a big step for me because I did not want my professional life to follow a predetermined course.

In search of something which connects me back to my field Emerald Labs became my gateway and I find myself content here. Emerald Labs helped me gain confidence in myself. Helping and understanding seniors and colleagues is the main reason that keeps me going. I look forward to the exciting things that this will bring for me.