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This past May, New York Life’s Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSAi) welcomed the inaugural class of the team’s new Data Science Rotation Program. Combining practical on-the-job experience with a formal graduate education sponsored by New York Life, the program is the first of its kind to develop data science talent at the company. The program aims to give young data science professionals, specifically those having just completed their undergraduate degrees, the experience, skills, support, and exposure needed to launch successful data science careers. 

As CDSAi Corporate Vice President Rita Fuller explains, “Our Data Science Rotation Program is driven by three key components: emphasizing growth in knowledge, delivering a varied work experience to the associates, and providing a nurturing and supportive network. Over the next few years, rotation associates will earn graduate degrees while cycling through CDSAi’s various areas and working alongside the team’s seasoned data science professionals to create innovative business solutions, honing their professional skills while also providing crucial contributions to the team.”

The program’s components include:

Emphasizing growth in knowledge: Involving both technical and non-technical knowledge, associates are highly encouraged to continue their learning when they join New York Life. Working alongside in-house experts, they will gain a deeper understanding of machine learning, statistics, and MLOps engineering. They will also join New York Life’s flourishing data science community that includes individuals from areas across the company who are highly engaged in learning and sharing experiences in the applications of data science. This community regularly comes together for lunch & learns, technical talks, guest speaker forums, and CDSAI’s annual Data Science Expo.

Through New York Life's tuition reimbursement program, associates will also pursue master's degrees and data science certificates in addition to benefitting from the team’s learning stipends for conferences and other classes.

Beyond these practical skills, new hires are given ample opportunities and training to strengthen their soft skills, which include presentation & communication strategies, program management, and leadership experience.

Delivering a varied work experience: Rotations are designed to take associates through the entire model development life cycle, from project ideation to data evaluation, data pipeline development, data analysis, model building, model governance, and model deployment. During this time, associates will have the chance to interact with a wide range of individuals from internal CDSAi colleagues to cross-team business partners and stakeholders.

Providing a nurturing and supportive network: New hires will be supported throughout the program by mentors who are closely invested in their growth and development. Through routine one-on-one and group meetings, mentors will provide career guidance and strategies to help these young professionals build connections and grow their networks.

“Projects our rotation associates will undertake include using natural language processing to improve survival model predictions, incorporating new sources of data to improve underwriting accuracy, employing geospatial analytics to identify recruitment and sales opportunities, and using machine learning to improve retention,” adds Fuller. “Our objective with this unique program is to help early-career data scientists flourish in the field.”

Recently recognized among the "Top Employers for Tech Talent™ and as the leader within the insurance industry, New York Life offers compelling and rewarding career opportunities in data science, technology, and a variety of other areas. Learn more about data science opportunities at New York Life here and other career opportunities at the company here.

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