Remote Fellow Superpowers

Fellows selected to join our Remote Fellows programs gain an extra set of skills that put them ahead of the game. We asked Kyle Frankovich, who’s been running the Remote program for several years, to share some of these superpowers and their origin stories.

During my grad school career I became excited about transitioning to data science, so I organized a group of like-minded grad students to work together and build some of the skills we knew would be relevant for us. As my friends wrapped up their degrees, many of them moved to Silicon Valley to join Insight as Data Science Fellows. They were all incredibly happy with their decision and I looked forward to joining their ranks in the Bay Area. However, by the time I graduated I had decided to move back to Chicago and start my new career there, where my only option to join Insight would be as a remote Fellow.

The decision to participate in Insight remotely was difficult. I had concerns (which are common amongst applicants): Would anything be lost in translation going through the program remotely? Are remote Fellows as successful as in-person Fellows? Will I learn as much in a remote program?

I’m happy to report back that being a remote Fellow was not only an incredible experience, but it also gave me additional skills that Fellows who participate in-person don’t always have the chance to develop. In this post, I’d like to highlight some of the highly valuable superpowers that Fellows who join Insight remotely acquire.

Hands-on experience with distributed work

As a remote Insight Fellow, you gain significant experience utilizing industry-standard distributed tools. You quickly become a pro at Zoom: efficiently engaging in group chats and distributed presentations. You’ll also master the skill of presenting complex data products to stakeholders — something that data scientists and engineers need to do frequently over video with clients and teammates in other locations.

In addition to video, you also become a super-user of our internal messaging platform, which Fellows use to share code, ask questions, and form domain-specific knowledge channels. This is excellent preparation for joining your data team’s Slack (or other internal messaging platform), which is a popular way modern data teams stay in touch, even when they all work out of the same office. From a technical standpoint, being a remote Fellow also necessitates developing expertise at using Github for version tracking, code sharing, and contributing to a shared codebase.

Exposure to a broader range of companies and their challenges

The broad geographic diversity of partner companies in the remote program provides Fellows with the added advantage of being able to meet and interact with data teams from a huge range of industries. While there’s a certain type of data science that’s well-represented in, say, Silicon Valley, the remote Fellows are exposed to data teams working across the country: large-scale manufacturing in the midwest, the burgeoning Austin tech scene, nation-wide pharmaceutical giants in Chicago, etc. By meeting a diverse set of teams, Fellows can more easily identify the kind of role that’s going to be an optimal match for their skillset and interests. They also learn about the disparate ways in which data is transforming how business is done outside the bubbles of NYC and San Francisco, impacting companies large and small.

Technical advantages when connecting with hiring teams

At Insight, Fellows build full-scale data products and present their results to various data teams they’re interested in joining. After these initial meetings, Fellows are called back for interviews which will typically involve one or several phone screens, some form of technical screen/virtually paired programming exercise, a data or coding challenge, and eventually an in-person onsite. Many of these interview stages are done over the phone or via video call. Since remote Fellows spend so much time communicating over chat and video, talking about their work and engaging in distributed problem solving, they’re typically much more practiced and fluid in these interactions.

Fellows in the remote program also know how to take advantage of all the tools at their disposal in this format: preparing helpful digital notes ahead of time to keep their presentations polished and professional, the use of their own familiar computer setup (including how to troubleshoot and recover when they run into technical difficulties), and the ability to take (and refer back to) notes more discreetly.

More experience contributing to an equitable work environment

Insight’s remote program has the amazing advantage of being more inclusive and equitable across several important dimensions. First off, by eliminating any cost or geographic barriers to participation, the program is more accessible for Fellows who otherwise wouldn’t be able to join Insight. Remote participation also opens the door to individuals with special needs, be they physical or mental. And Fellows with competing responsibilities (like caring for a child or parent) often find that the remote program is more amenable to those constraints, especially because of the flexibility to stop and start their workday without a commute.

Remote collaboration can also function as a great equalizer: things like physical stature, the loudness of someone’s speaking voice, or their ability to dominate a room aren’t as effective when everyone is participating via an identical video stream. As one of our remote alumni recently told me, “Suddenly, everyone shares the same digital real estate.” With physical advantages canceled out in remote collaboration, Fellows with quieter speaking voices can still have the full attention of the group. During the program, we emphasize and practice skills that Fellows can bring to their future data teams: taking turns, calling on people by name to contribute, making “space” for everyone to be heard and included in team work, all of which enable them to foster more inclusive and equitable work environments when they move on to new teams.

Stronger, better, faster relationship-building skills

But wait, you may be asking yourself: “How does this even work? Won’t this be a socially isolating experience?”

Just the opposite: a surprising aspect of the remote program is how quickly the Fellows form tight-knit, lasting bonds with one another. There seems to be something special about being able to participate from your own personal space; being able to get to work first thing in the morning, and to always have someone there for you to help you get through any blockers you’re facing. Essentially, “being there” with your friends in each other’s comfortable living spaces seems to engender a very strong sense of camaraderie, one that helps everyone accomplish their goals.

In our experience, remote Fellows tend to stay very close with their fellow Fellows, long after everyone has started their new careers. And in this current moment of widespread shelter-in-place restrictions, our remote alumni have taken the lead in self-organizing social events like virtual weekend brunches, happy hours, and game nights. No matter whether they join distributed teams or not, Fellows who’ve participated in Insight remotely definitely have a leg up in knowing how to build positive relationships with colleagues quickly, and they know how to maintain these relationships over time, even during huge disruptions in people’s daily lives.

Are you ready to make a change & transition to a career in tech? Sign up to learn more about Insight Fellows programs and start your application today.