[scatter]

Great reply. Just out of curiosity, did you end up giving your semiconductor job before joining the start up with a data scientist title ?

I am deep into semiconductors, and am facing the dilemma of giving up my expertise so far, to join a startup as an entry level engineer.

I have done a couple of MOOC specializations and am trying to find projects within my industry to gain some credibility. Also trying to stay active on Kaggle to build some basic data analysis portfolio.

[agentofoblivion]

In my particular case, I did quit my job before I got my "real" Data Science position. I can't recall exact timelines, but I think I had already lined up the relationship with the startup.

The reason I did this is because there just wasn't enough hours in the day, and my job was taking ~10 hours a day with commuting...etc. It was a risk, but the idea was that I would be able to transition much more quickly if I worked full-time towards it. I also had the financial savings to support myself for 6-9 months and was willing to get a part time job if necessary. Once it became clear that my job's only purpose was to pay the bills in the context of my goals, and I had enough to pay the bills for the near future, it was clear that quitting was the easiest way to free up a lot of time.

This turned out to be the best decision of my career, but YMMV. I doubled my salary in less than 2 years. It's also nice to be part of an industry that isn't so cost-sensitive. I also have a skill set that's in much higher demand, so you can live almost anywhere and there's a ton of companies that want/need it. With semiconductors, you're much more limited.

It's true that you're giving up some expertise and will start in a less senior position in a different field than if you stayed in semi. Sticking around because you have experience is classic Sunk Cost Fallacy. Think 5 years down the line. If you leave now, you'll have 5 years experience in ML. You'll definitely be giving something up if you leave, but there's huge opportunity cost if you don't leave.

[scatter]

Would you be open to have a brief conversation on the phone for advice? My email is [e-mail].

[ultrasounder]

Hi OP here. I don't think you need to give up Your Experience to join a startup as a Data scientist. But what won't be 100% transferrable would be your Semiconductor specific skills(think spice, process technology etc). If you have been coding your current job that is a skill that is transferrable.Your PhD is a massive foot in the door. Have you considered something like Data incubator or Insight data science fellowship which require a minimum P.hD to transition.