From Data Scientist to Power Platform Developer | 11 Reasons Why I Made this Switch

I know this might sound crazy to you. I am leaving the sexiest job of the century for something not known to all. I will like to share with you my reasons and journey on this path.

I am a very passionate Data Scientist, and I’ve delivered a couple of Machine Learning solutions. I began the first Data Science team at my place of work where I was able to standardize the team's activities with the EXCOM supports.
So, Data Science is amazing!

============
The global lockdown in 2020 was a significant game changer as everything was hung on the cloud. Our on-prem infrastructures failed us.
We were all locked down.
============

We are all aware that software changes how we work, and in every century, the very nature of work itself changes. We are already on the verge of experiencing another major shift. It is the 2nd wave of digital transformation, and the lockdown accelerated it.
Deep down, my passion is to help people and organizations simplify processes and map innovative solutions to drive growth, reduce cost, and optimize operational processes. At the root of this passion is no attachment to a particular software or tool. Data Science was a technique I discovered that could help me deliver on this.

Why then did I make this Switch from Data Science
Reason No 1:
My passion is not tied to technique but instead centered around people. This made it easier to consider a change of job title and use of a tool.
Back to the conversation on the global lockdown, I saw businesses shutting down, people losing jobs and loved ones (My heartfelt condolences to all families affected by the pandemic. It was too emotional for me), employees getting significant pay-cut, and so on.

My passion got redefined, and I found its pivot on love and empathy. I saw more reasons why I have to give all my best to the organization.
As a Data Scientist in the Nigerian market, we are limited in application and use cases because of data structures and management. Most of the available data in businesses today are not adequately managed to make them suitable for advanced analytics use cases (however, we were able to pick up a couple of use cases and delivered some during the pandemic).

We are aware that the lockdown accelerated the digitization need of every organization and AXA Nigeria wasn't an exemption. From a hard copy form that could no longer be filled and submitted to the next office, to the leads that can no longer be contacted in person. This led to more inefficient processes with limited capacity.
I hurriedly searched for sustainable tools (apps and services) that could help my organization streamline these processes and become more resilient, and I found Power Platform.

I was able to work with my team and managers' support, address significantly several processes within the organization, and bring relief to lots of teams (several team/divisions). The joy was immeasurable for me.

With the Microsoft Power platform and its integration to Microsoft 365 Apps and Services, I was able to leverage Microsoft Forms, SharePoint List, Power Automate, MS Teams, Power Apps and build working solutions in hours while some cases, in days (because of the learning gap).
With the capabilities of Microsoft Power Platform, I realized the workplace is changing rapidly.

The highlight here is that
Without prior knowledge of Power Platform, I learned so much and accomplished so much in a matter of days. This was not the case some years ago.

Reason No 2
As against Data Science projects, I could leverage the existing data in their raw form and simplify processes. Meanwhile, some Machine Learning projects were abandoned because the data available are not sufficient to deliver on the project's objectives.

Reason No 3
The Smooth learning Curve. No software or tools have been more straightforward for me to learn (in terms of learning) like the Power Platform Applications. There are numerous learning resources that will address your needs and ever-growing learning communities all over the world.

Reason No 4
Just You! While a team of ProDevs and Citizen Developers can come together to build a solution using Power Platform-tools (FusionDevs), you can single-handedly create a production-ready application without dependency on several teams as you would have in the traditional application development experience.

Reason No 5
The Speed of Delivery: I can't express my feeling when I built a Power Apps application connecting to SharePoint List within an hour. It's a mind-blowing experience. Application development has been like rocket science to me for years until I started using PowerApps.

Reason No 6
The Extensibility of the solution: The fact that I can customize my solution, build my connector, visualization card, themes, etc. was something I found intriguing.

Reason No 7:
It is no-code/low-code: How can I build a functional application without writing code or at most writing expressions similar to Microsoft Excel?

#powerplatform #datascientist #career

[talktotaiwo]

This was suppose to come as a learning video. But trust me, this is real content.

I love the swap of outfit. Makes this interesting to watch althrough.

Message passed in intelligence and humor 😀

[ayophiliponi]

Wow, looks like you have known this platform forever. Interesting to know you just picked it up to study and implement

[ogunlekesamuelolufemi]

Thank you for this video. This is so insightful, so more knowledge passed across to us.

It's the visualisation for me, love the comic part of the clothes too 😃.

Thank you sir. God bless you