A couple of months ago, I talked to the graduating class of the MA in Computational Social Science program at the University of Chicago. As a recent alumna, and member of the program’s guinea pig cohort, I was excited to share my experiences from the last two years of being out in the world, and I figured a lot of what I shared with them is potentially applicable to a wide variety of data science job seekers. ...
I’ve been feeling with growing certainty that barring extreme circumstances and mental or physical illness, whether you feel happy on a daily basis is mostly a function of habits. I’ve noticed, anecdotally, that I tend to be happier on days I get adequate sunshine, exercise, don’t use my phone too much, actually watch tv as opposed to letting Grey’s Anatomy play while I scroll aimlessly through Twitter, etc. Conversely, I’m more likely to wake up early, go outdoors, be productive, read and engage with other human beings on days I’m feeling happier. ...