Grad Gallery: Palesa Nombula

LinkedIn: bit.ly/3tHibwY

Current position:

Data Analyst in Fraud Risk Management at Standard Bank Group

Past positions:

Commercialisation at SKA South Africa

Data Scientist at SKA South Africa

Academic history:

2019 Master of Science in Astronomy and Astrophysics at University of Western Cape

2017 Bachelor of Science Honours specialising in Astrophysics and Space Science at UCT

2016 Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics at UNISA

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How did you obtain your current position?

In my previous role, I held a graduate position where I worked as a commercialisation specialist and a data scientist. I decided to further my career in data science out of the astrophysics and cosmology field. I decided to look into prospects in banking. Having made this decision, I attended the online UWC career day online. I spoke to the bank representatives about my passion and they connected me to recruiters! The rest is history.

What do your day-to-day responsibilities look like?

I am responsible for ingesting data, processing it and building machine learning models. My team and I then have to interpret the findings we get from the data to mitigate business decisions.

What value do your qualifications add to your work, directly or indirectly?

My field of study is Astrophysics and Space Science and, with this qualification, I was able to increase the scope of my profession by using data science in cosmological radio data and simulations to develop new optimisation techniques for one of the biggest radio telescopes in the world. Now [in banking] I use my skills to solve problems which directly impact clients daily.

What are the key skills that have contributed to your success so far?

Key skills that have assisted me tremendously in my career is building a network and social presence, effective communication and building a progressive career development plan.

Look up the skill requirements from employment listings and upskill yourself by taking online courses.

What advice would you give to graduates currently entering your industry?

Start building your network – reach out to people (LinkedIn is a good platform) who are in your desired vocation. Look up the skill requirements from employment listings and upskill yourself by taking online courses. Develop your self-confidence and start having a vision of where you want to be in your career. People tend to become stagnant in their careers because they failed to have a career development plan.

What impact has COVID-19 had on your career?

I was fortunate to get my new position [at the Standard Bank Group] in the midst of COVID-19. What I learned is that applying for opportunities online is not enough to get attention from recruiters – one needs to be bold enough to talk to them. I had to take time to center myself and understand where I want to be in order to reinvent myself accordingly – in skill, interests, and other areas.

Start building your network – reach out to people who are in your desired vocation.