A banner image portrays a woman standing in front of a computer, dreaming of a career in data science.

A Career in Data Science - The Key To Lucrative Come-back for Women After a Career Break

By Milan Jain Category Hot Topics Reading time 9-10 mins Published on Sep 28, 2022

A Career Break Now Can't Stop Women from Growing

Women are usually considered not to be good at tech jobs; it was always considered that a man was ideal for a tech job until the advancement that took place back in the 90s. Today we have a lot of female engineering graduates, but still, the ratio of men and women in the tech field is not that satisfactory. Gender biases are still believed to exist today, mostly in the tech world, and males are still prioritized.

Does it sound awkward to your ears?

You might be thinking of your well-established sister or a female friend who is earning more than you in the IT field. Well, I am not saying that women are lagging behind in the tech industry, but due to so many family reasons and personal issues, about 60% of women need to take a career break. Now, 30% of such women restart their careers, but with compromised salaries and designations.

However, with the new fuel of extending job market opportunities, a career in data science can change the entire game.

I have seen my female friends achieve a 450% hike while joining back after a long career break. All they did was switch to a career in data science.

It's better to say, they have also transformed their careers toward a bigger world of opportunities.

The most advantageous thing is that no matter where a woman is in HR, sales, marketing, banking or accounting, they are all eligible to crack a lucrative career in data science, even after a long career break.

An illustration shows a data science interview that faces the interviewer. A chat bubble from the interviewer writes, 'Congratulations.' The left side of the illustration shows a cursor pointing to a button labeled 'job.'

A career break is nothing compared to a man when it comes to women. Women usually do not get recruited after a career break. The career gap is not because of their personal choice but because what happens later leaves them stranded. It can be because of marriage, maternity leave, or any other issue that can or cannot be addressed.

But you will not believe what data science is. For passionate women, it's nothing less than a magic wand.

So, how can women achieve a professional comeback after a career break without sacrificing their prior position and package?

In 2020, Burtch-works studies showed that the number of women in data science roles is on a steady but slow rise. In 2018, 15% of data scientists were female. In 2019, the figure rose to 17% and then to 18%. The study also revealed that the highest percentage of women working in data science is at the entry-level and managerial levels. In fact, in India, a range of women in AI and data science are at the leadership level.

The education system has also been revolutionized and paved the way for online training of professional courses. Over the years, many organizations have started to offer online data science and AI training. But those were mainly self-paced. A few courses were available with proper instructor support, but those were offline.

But now, you can find online data science and AI courses with end-to-end job assistance. In fact, such courses also offer the scope of doing industrial projects. So women can get the proper industrial training along with personalized career assistance from their home during the career break.

Data science and AI are a boon to women who are going through a career break or are struggling to find a job.

Women can learn data science and AI in online courses during their career break or when they are recovering before they start to work again. Their degree or any experience would not go in vain. Even if they have completed their bachelor's or master's in commerce and have worked in accounting, HR, or sales, they can still learn during the career break by learning the same domain they previously worked in and making a stunning career in data science.

An image of a mother sitting with her newborn infant in front of a laptop, takes advantage of an online data science course.

How will data science and artificial intelligence online courses help women get back to an adequate hike?

Just upgrade yourself -

Data science is now everywhere, in every field. So, no need to change the domain. A woman just needs to upgrade herself with data science skills to apply the same in her prior expertized domain.

The reason women have to take a career break is mentioned above and may or may not have to be addressed. So in the meantime, when women are wandering about joining a new job, they might not get the designation, salary, or good firm. But once they are updated with the latest and industry-demanding data science skills, they will be in high demand for top MNCs and even for fast-growing SMEs.

End-to-end professional training from home -

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence courses are just the right solutions. These courses can be learned and completed from home and do not require a high demand fee that universities ask for or do not even take years to complete. In fact, you can experience an offline university class like a live session in the comfort of your home.

Let's say a lady named Seemika has completed a degree and opted for a career break for any given reason. Later, she chose a data science and AI course in the domain that she worked in before (ex: HR); you can choose a data science and AI course in the HR domain, so once you complete a course, you will gain a domain knowledge and skills that will enable you to get recruited into a good organization without compromising on designation or salary.

An image representing the use of domain specialization can undoubtedly assist you in recognizing different career transitions.

Domain specialization - The magic key to a stunning comeback after a career break

Artificial intelligence and data science courses can offer a great opportunity to start working in a job after a career break. Domain specialization is learning in-depth about a particular field or domain. Five years back, no one gave much importance to domain knowledge, but in the past couple of years, domain knowledge has been a great way to improve your resume, so after a career break, you can say that you have again worked upon the trending skills and knowledge that the world is currently working on.

The domain where you can make a stunning career in data science after a career break is:

Below are a few top organizations that have a specific site dedicated just to providing career restart opportunities for women.

  1. IBM - Tech Re-entry Program
  2. Tata Group - Second Careers - Inspiring Responsibilities
  3. Accenture - Career Reboot
  4. Hindustan Unilever - Career By Choice
  5. Goldman Sachs India Returnship Program

Women returning after a career break needs to be addressed. We need more alternatives where we can help them or work towards women's empowerment, which we often forget. They always said that AI and data science would not be the future of technology, but today we can witness the power of AI and data science and how it has helped humans in many ways. A career in data science can be one of the best ways for women to start working again after a career break.

Data science and AI online classes will help women to develop their soft skills, which most universities just brush up on students, and soft skills even play a vital role during recruitment. Get prepared with mock interviews and get domain knowledge certified by IBM. Every domain has different roles and job opportunities where women can excel without worrying about their designation and career gap.

So, there is no need to take the stress of a career break. Just utilize the time to hone your existing skills with the efficacy of data science. You will certainly be ready to grab a lucrative hike.