From Dentistry to Data Science: A Grad’s Career Journey

Venmathi Shanmugam and her five-year-old daughter shared a special milestone. They both received diplomas in the same month—one graduated from kindergarten while the other from the University of Wisconsin Master of Science in Data Science online degree program.

A couple days before crossing the stage at UW-Eau Claire, her home campus for the program, Venmathi reflected on the major accomplishment:

“When it comes to putting your heart and soul into something, you need to go for it,” she said. “People can say going back to school is impossible. I have a family and a busy, full-time job. If I can do it, anybody can do it.”

Venmathi is currently the Modeling and Simulations Engineer working at the Veterans Affairs office based in Austin, Texas. This dual role includes data engineering and data scientist responsibilities where she works with large amounts of government data pertaining to veterans healthcare, finance, as well as the supply chain division.

Read more of  Venmathi’s story as a UW-Eau Claire student.