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Side projects can be amazing for building skillsets in areas that aren't a direct part of your current role but will be in a desired next role. 95% of domain knowledge for non-engineering interview purposes is lingo and plausible applications from your past.

Anecdote warning: Some years ago (pre big data) I wanted to move into analytics from more general strategy consulting because I found it more intellectually challenging, but didn't have much on my resume to support it. I started building database-backed sportsbetting algorithms (first horses, then hockey) and trying to find profitable strategies. I never did find one, but a year later when I found myself a part of the inevitable downsizing that happens in the industry and applied for analytics jobs, the statistics, probability and analytics strategies I learned betting on sports definitely got me the job.




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