Bronco Spotlight: Thomas Weinandy
Ph.D. in applied economics, 2021
Data Scientist at BlueGranite
I work as a consultant for companies looking to deploy machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions to their business problems. This includes causal analysis, data visualization, automation, or building and interpreting predictive models. I work primarily with cloud-based computing and leverage the Microsoft stack of technologies.
What resources helped you prepare for your career?
At Western I was able to choose challenging classes and research that gave me the opportunity to learn the essential skills for a data scientist. I applied concepts from courses like econometrics, data mining, and big data analytics to my dissertation on digital economics. Now I primarily use Python at work, which I was able to learn through my research that included building a dataset of 2.7 million tweets. I am deeply appreciative of my program for giving me the autonomy to pursue my own direction and for the professors that provided support along the way.
What advice do you have for others pursuing a career similar to yours?
Data science is a young and fast-changing field. To be successful you need to have a strong foundation in programming and statistics, but most importantly, a willingness to learn the latest methods and approaches.