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Discussion on: What to do with an eclectic background?

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R Sanjabi

This is the question for career changers, right?!

And I'm guessing you mean what you should you focus on in terms of communicating your background for getting a job (i.e., resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letters, and interviews)???

I would like to think that nothing in your background hurts you, it just competes space & time-wise with your stronger assets. But I don't have a data science job yet, so...¯_(ツ)_/¯

I figure the work I did as a data analyst looks better on my resume than getting a certificate in landscape architecture, even though as far as life experiences go it might have impacted me more and was certainly more recent.

People definitely seem to grok the power of quantitative degrees and seem to be able to see how looking for answers and asking scientific questions is relevant even if you are switching from photosynthesis to business questions. So unless there's some angle I'm missing, you probably want to play that up over music. That being said listing a degree in music might be more beneficial than uber driving (showing you have a breadth of interests) but freelance writer could be even more beneficial if the hiring individuals recognize the importance of communication skills.

But I don't think any of those things you listed are weaknesses. They may not check off the skills the hiring company wants to see but that doesn't make them liabilities. I would really like to believe that companies have moved beyond expecting cookie-cutter career path. My concerns are honestly more sexist and ageist (stay at home mom returning to the workforce), than simply unconventional path.

How about this, is there something, in particular, you are worried about?