Alexey Grigorev on His Career, Data Science, and Writing

Eugene Yan · 5 years ago

Alexey Grigorev, a lead data scientist at OLX Group, discusses his transition from Java software engineering to data science after watching Andrew Ng's machine learning course in 2013, and reflects that his two-year Master's degree in Business Intelligence was not optimal when six months of self-study could have sufficed. He emphasizes that a strong project portfolio matters more than formal credentials, and that becoming a senior data scientist requires taking end-to-end responsibility for problems, communicating effectively with stakeholders, and determining whether machine learning is actually the right tool before implementation. He advises early-career professionals to prioritize startups for broader experience but acknowledges that larger companies offer mentorship, mature processes, and the opportunity to work at scale.