Break Into Data

break into data

Break into Data is a series designed to connect graduate students and postdocs from all fields with the range of career opportunities in data. Explore careers in data science, machine learning, AI, analytics and more!  

Join us for site visits to top Austin employers like Dell and Microsoft, participate in hands-on workshops, engage in lively discussions with industry experts and access tailored resources.  

See how your unique skills can lead to a fulfilling career in the data field, while also building meaningful connections with industry leaders and fellow students. 

We are still adding site visits and partner events – check back for more! 

Spring 2025 Events

Career and Life Design logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Tuesday February 4, 2025, 5:15 pm - 6:15 pm
Virtual
Learn how to network effectively and build meaningful, two-way relationships at an upcoming site visit in this interactive virtual workshop with the Office of Career and Life Design! Identify where you can add value, refine your messaging and practice strategies to connect.
Career and Life Design logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Friday February 7, 2025, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Off-Campus
Learn how to ace technical interviews for graduate-level roles in data science, machine learning, AI and other data roles in this interactive workshop with Microsoft hiring managers and UT alumni, hosted at Microsoft’s Austin Office.
Career and Life Design logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Monday February 17, 2025, 5:15 pm - 6:15 pm
Virtual
Learn how to network effectively and build meaningful, two-way relationships at an upcoming site visit in this interactive virtual workshop with the Office of Career and Life Design! Identify where you can add value, refine your messaging and practice strategies to connect.
dell logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Friday February 21, 2025, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Off-Campus
Join us at Dell Headquarters to connect with UT alumni and explore career opportunities in data, software development, marketing and more! Learn why many UT advanced degree graduates choose Dell, and what it’s like to work at one of the pillars of the Central Texas tech sector.
Career and Life Design logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Wednesday February 26, 2025, 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Peter T. Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 2.236
Learn how to curate and build a data portfolio to share with potential employers in this interactive workshop. We’ll discuss which projects to choose, how to present them in Github, what hiring managers are looking for and more.
Career and Life Design logo
Event Status
Scheduled
Tuesday March 4, 2025, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Peter T. Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 2.236
What does it take to break into data? What’s it like to do data engineering at an enterprise scale – or at a startup? Join the Office of Career and Life Design for a panel conversation with graduate alumni working across the data pipeline, and learn about the range of careers and opportunities in data.
View all Events

Meet Alumni in Data

Alumni Profiles

Learn what it’s like to transition from grad school into a data role straight from UT graduate alumni! Read their profiles and watch their Alumni@Work videos for short interviews with Master’s and Ph.D. students from across the university.

Decio Correa

Senior Data Scientist
IBM
Ph.D. Ecology, Evolution and Behavior

Isha Kanani

Data Scientist
Dell
MSIS

Robyn Rap

Data Science Manager
Indeed.com
Ph.D. Sociology

Aditya Rawal

Machine Learning Scientist
Amazon AWS AI Labs
Ph.D. Computer Science

Gracieli Scremin

Data Analyst
Citi
Ph.D. Advertising

Data Internships & Fellowships

CONNECT Program

CONNECT pairs graduate students with community organizations across the globe to work together to increase impact through better data and program evaluation practices. Projects are a semester long and are funded through a CONNECT Fellowship.

Capacity Catalyst

Capacity Catalyst matches externs with community mentors for high-impact data projects, and provides personal and professional development through workshops and seminars for the duration of the externship.

Experiential Learning Resources

Explore our growing library of UT internships and fellowships on our site.

Prepare for Data Roles

Exponent

Prep for data interviews with Exponent! Designed by hiring managers at companies like Meta and Google, Exponent includes technical interview prep courses, real interview questions, mock interviews and referrals. Prepare for interviews in data science, machine learning, data engineering, and more! Exponent is free for all UT grad students and postdocs.

Coursera Career Academy

Take Coursera courses to fill knowledge gaps and prepare for a wide range of data careers while you are still in school. Access to Coursera is free for all UT graduate students and postdocs, and you can take individual courses (R, SQL, Python, etc) or full professional certificates. 

Popular data certificates include: